N002672
January 17th, 2002
Mr. Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Dear Mr. Feinberg:
After the tragic attack on the United States on September 11 Congress passed the Victims
Compensation Fund of 2001 P.L. 107-42. This fund was to compensate the relatives of
the victims of that brutal attack. The Fund was enacted as part of a comprehensive
package which bailed out the airline industry and imposed restrictions on the rights of
the victims relatives to recover damages from the courts. We implore you to change the
interim rules you previously issued. These rules fail to satisfy both the latter or spirit of
the original legislation which was enacted.
Specifically, we request that you make the following changes to the interim rules:
1. Remove Arbitrary Income Limits
The arbitrary income limits you had imposed are not only unfair but also inconsistent
with the letter and the spirit of the law. Those victims from the financial industry are
specifically harmed by this limit. They were targeted and murdered precisely because of the jobs they
held and where they worked, namely, the World Trade Center, The financial capital of the world. They
personified American business and commerce, democracy and freedom. We as that you life the
arbitrary income limits so that each family can be treated fairly; commensurate with the support they
provided their families before their death.
2. Increase non-economic awards
You have arbitrarily restricted the non-economic awards for pain and suffering, no
matter what the extent of the pain and suffering experiences. This is unacceptable. In
the words of Congressman Peter King: Every death is tragic, but, to have your loved
one murdered in a burning building in full view of the world - a scene that will be
repeated in the media for centuries to come - is a horror these families will never
escape. You cannot take it upon yourself to restrict the rights of families. Therefore,
we request that the interim rules be amended to more appropriately compensate the
victims' families for the immeasurable pain and suffering endured by our loved ones.
As Mayor Giuliani stated, we have an obligation to the people who did die. Their
families need to be protected just as if they had been alive, financially and every other
way that we can assist their families. There should be no compromise about that
ever. We request that the interim rules be amended and that compensation for pain
and suffering more accurately reflect the horror which was suffered.
Sincerely yours,
Individual Comment
Scotch Plains, NJ