P000112
January 21, 2002
The Honorable John Ashcroft
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
Mr. Kenneth R. Feinberg
Special Master, Victim Compensation Fund
The Feinberg Group, LLP
Suite 740 South
1120 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Dear Mr. Attorney General and Mr. Feinberg:
My name is and I lost my husband, , on September 11, 2001, in One
World Trade Center. We were married for 19 years and he is the father of my two
children and . We lost a remarkable, loving and dedicated man. This
has left us devastated and with deep wounds to heal, not only because he is dead, but also
because the trauma that has followed due to the violent way he was killed, retrieving him
in pieces and the constant visuals. This was the second time my husband was at The
World Trade Center when terrorists attacked and for whatever the reasons may be the
attempt to protect the World Trade Center failed. Our lives as we knew it is over. We
will have to deal with unrealized hopes, dreams and expectations about the future. I ask
you to realize the tremendous pressure that has been put on my shoulders to rebuild our
hopes, dreams and expectations. We are faced with harsh realities and the reality is that
we need compensation to face whatever challenges lay ahead, the predictable as well as
the unpredictable ones. The lease we should have is that security, after what has been
taken from us. Compensation should be realistic and fairly compared to compensation
sought in court in order for us to move on with our lives. Most of us are mothers with the
task of rebuilding for not only ourselves but for our children. Do not formulaize us into
a statistic. Consider what you would want if it were your family.
When Congress passed legislation creating the Victim Compensation Fund, it did so to
provide compensation for those who lost a loved one or were themselves physically
harmed. It was to relieve them form financial burdens. As you know this Fund, was
enacted as part of a comprehensive package, which bailed out the airline industry, The
World Trade Center and other parties and imposed restrictions on the rights of the
victim's families to sue the airlines in court. We implore upon you, as our elected
officials, to demand changes to the interim rules issued by Mr. Kenneth Feinberg, the
Special Master. As it stands, Mr. Feinberg's rules fail to satisfy the letter or the spirit of
the legislation, which was enacted.
1. The arbitrary income limits imposed by the Special Master are not only
unfair but also inconsistent with the letter and the spirit of the law. Those
victims form the financial industry are specially harmed by this limit. They
were targeted and murdered precisely because of the jogs they held and where
they worked-the World Trade Center, the Financial capital of the world, the
embodiment of financial success. Those who achieved such success should see
that reflected in their awards. They personified American Business and
commerce, democracy and freedom, and let us not forget the American Dream.
We ask that you demand that Mr. Feinberg lift the arbitrary income limits so that
each family can be treated fairly; commensurate with the support they provided
their families before their death.
2. If these provisions of the Interim Rule were made final, some surviving,
family members of deceased victims would receive far less compensation
from the Fund than they are entitled to receive under the governing statute,
especially when collateral sources are considered. Collateral sources penalize
those who planned and saved and should be eliminated from the process.
3. The restrictions of the non-economic award for pain and suffering are
insulting. These were citizens that were not protected when alive and whose
rights are not being protected when they died. The award should not be compared
to awards given to service men, who also receive other benefits that we do not,
but to the awards given in a wrongful death claim. It must reflect our
government's and society's estimation and appreciation of the magnitude of our
loss. Non-economic awards in considerable excess of $1 million are typical for
other airline crashes and terrorism cases.
4. Consumption deductions are also unfair unless you take into consideration
loss of service that a family experiences when it looses a primary overseer of
a home, autos, and finances, etc. and a secondary caretaker of children. In
many cases there is an increase in total insurance payments because of loss of
employer discounts and a loss of flexible health spending allowances.
As Mayor Giulani stated in his farewell address: "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 help and 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 that horror which was
suffered. Justice demands no less.
Sincerely
Individual Comment
Manhasset, NY