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American Morning

Spirit of America: Americans Have Donated Near A Half Billion Dollars

Aired September 28, 2001 - 11:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Americans have generously opened their wallets to the victims of the September 11th attacks. A half billion dollars, by some estimates, has been donated. Now, agencies are beginning to hand out the checks.

Here is CNN financial correspondent Hillary Lane in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY LANE, CNNfn CORRESPONDENT: It is under the white tents of the Red Cross that many of those affected by the September 11th attacks begin the lengthy process of applying for aid. Some are referred to other agencies, others walk away with a check in hand for temporary housing or other expenses. There's up to $30,000 available per family. With an average of 200 cases per day in this one service center alone, the paperwork is heavy. The task, complicated, for the Red Cross and the dozens of private and public agencies involved.

LORIE SLUTSKY, NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST: We believe, in the final analysis, there will be far more people who need help than there will be resources.

LANE: One concern at the United Way, that providing individuals with private cash assistance could make them ineligible for certain federal funds. No one is quite sure, just yet.

GORDON CAMPBELL, SAFE HORIZON: We are working very closely with other nonprofits, such as the American Red Cross, but also FEMA, the mayor's office, the governor's office, to make sure that when people do receive immediate financial assistance, it doesn't impact their ability to receive funds from other sources later on.

LANE: Inside the family relief center at pier 94, the nonprofit Safe Horizon is writing checks on the spot to families in need, and to displaced workers and residents, such as Gloria Munoz, who until September 11th, worked at the Millennium Hotel.

GLORIA MUNOZ, DISPLACED WORKER: I have to work somewhere else. I'm not going to wait for them to call me to, you know. I'm going to look for -- because, I have a little child. I have to take care of her.

LANE (on camera): It's all a matter of trying to balance long term needs with short. A bit of perspective, the Red Cross is just wrapping up operations set up to help families of the Oklahoma City bombing victims. Here, they estimate they will be working with families for at least another 10 years.

Hillary lane, for CNN financial news, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Those donations are intended primarily for families that have lost a wage earner, or the thousands of people put out of work by the chaos in lower Manhattan.

How do you chose a charity, and who decides who gets that money? Let's bring in now Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general for the state of New York.

Sir, this, I guess, one of the good complicated items. We have talked about how complicated the investigation is, how complicated the diplomatic effort is. The outpouring of support, how do you make sure the money gets to the right organizations, and then back to the right people?

ELIOT SPITZER, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well John, as you say, this outpouring of generosity is wonderful, half a billion dollars at least, by most estimates. What we are trying to to do is coordinate help for the charitable entities, major organizations doing a spectacular job. Help them organize how they want to give the money out, by making sure that each one understand what others are doing, so they do not overlap in their objectives.

So each major charity can sit down and say, well, if organization A is giving to this group, maybe we should focus on that issue to try to lend so some coherence to give the public confidence that the funds that they have given so generously will be used for the best purposes; and to help however we can in our oversight function of all of the charities, to make sure that rational, wise decisions are being made.

KING: Rational wise decisions. Who, in your view, right now is the group with the greatest need?

SPITZER: I think that in the short term, those who need food, those who need shelter, those who have immediate psychiatric harm, the damage that was done to people because of, both, they've lost loved ones, they saw this horrible incident. Those are the immediate needs.

Longer term what we are hearing, the economic fallout. Those, as we've just seen, who have lost jobs. Those who have young children at home, but can't pay for health insurance. Those who have economic consequences that will continuing to last. As we've heard in Oklahoma City, this issue continues for years. And as a consequence, integrating information, facilitating good decision making; which means, getting people around a table so each person knows what the other is doing, is what we're trying to do to help out in this dire consequence.

KING: The financial victims obviously span quite a broad array of financial resources.

SPITZER: Absolutely.

KING: Some people work for brokerage houses who might be reasonably well off, and have life insurance and the like. On the other happened, some of those killed and some of those thrown out of work include people on the very low income scale.

SPITZER: That's right.

KING: Janitors, perhaps even people who can't apply for benefits because they are undocumented.

SPITZER: That's correct.

KING: How do you deal with that?

SPITZER: Well, what we are trying to do is sit down with the groups to say that, you're right, there are those who were senior partners at investment houses, whose families will be rather comfortably, certainly. Then you're dealing with folks who were either delivering the mail or were the janitors.

So, we have a broad array of those in need. We want to make sure that those who are in desperate need, perhaps at the bottom end of out economic totem pole, also get attention. That's why we want to sit down with all the groups and say, here is where money is most needed. We want you to consider this factor when you determine what to do with this vast sum of money that has generously been given by the American public.

KING: And amid this outpouring of generosity, there have been reports of some people trying to take advantage of this moment. Some scams. People trying to raise money for groups that are frauds.

SPITZER: That, unfortunately, will always be part of a situation like this. We are not focusing on that publicly, because of course, we would prefer to pick at that one affirmative story here, which is the outpouring of generosity.

The only advice, or the most important advice that I have been giving to the public, and it has been echoing with many, say is to give to organizations you know. Give to organizations that have a well established name. If you have any doubts, make a phone call, check with a bank or a religious organization, somebody, a governmental entity, to make sure that you are giving to an organization that you are comfortable with. Because, we want your generosity to be used in the best possible way.

KING: Eliot Spitzer, state attorney general of the state of New York. We thank you for your time and your job today.

SPITZER: Thanks, John.

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