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American Morning
Director Discusses 9/11 Fund
Aired March 08, 2002 - 08:14 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The big question at this hour, is the government doing the right thing for the relatives of the victims of 9/11? This morning, there are new rules governing compensation for the victims of September 11. And the government's expansion of a federal fund means more money for those left behind and more people eligible to claim benefits.
On average, each family will receive $1.85 million. That is $200,000 more than previous estimates. 401(k) accounts will not be deducted from their awards. And payments for non-economic damages to surviving spouses and dependents will increase to $100,000.
Now joining us this morning from the White House is Kenneth Feinberg, the special master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
It's nice to have you back, sir.
KENNETH FEINBERG, SPECIAL MASTER, VICTIMS COMPENSATION FUND: Thank you -- nice to be here.
ZAHN: Sir, we just outlined some of the major changes that families need to be aware of. Is there anything else that you want to alert them to this morning?
FEINBERG: Well, one major change has nothing to do with the funds themselves. And that is, under the final rule, families need not opt into this program without having some indication of what they'll receive. Under the final rule, a family can come into the program, get a -- sort of a ballpark preview of how the fund will evaluate their individual claim, and then they can decide, Paula, whether they want to participate or not.
ZAHN: Now has that just been instituted or have you seen families who have been exposed to this thus far? And can you walk us through a decision they might have made?
FEINBERG: Well we've been meeting with families all over the country. The last 10 weeks I've been traveling around the country to meet with the families. We have sat with the families, we have talked about how we would go about computing their award. What offsets, as you say, 401(k), Social Security, worker's compensation, life insurance -- what offsets will or will not be required or deducted.
We've given -- we've tried to give them some indication. But now formally in this rule, they can come in, get a pretty good indication -- not exact, but a pretty good indication, and make a decision.
ZAHN: So what is the latest rule if a family has a pretty large pension benefit coming down the way or a large insurance policy? What happens to them?
FEINBERG: Well, once we compute the economic and non-economic laws, a life insurance policy must be offset. That's not my doing, that's the statute that Congress enacted. The pension -- as we spell out in the final rule, the pension may very well be not offset, especially if it was contributed to by the victim, him or herself, we will not offset the pension. And that will temper somewhat what was perceived as harshness in these deductions.
ZAHN: I know you said you've been spending probably a large chunk of your time over the last ten weeks meeting with families. What has been their thinking as they go through this process with you, knowing that if they sign on to this fund, then, they have to sign a waiver saying they won't pursue any litigation?
FEINBERG: Well, there is no monolithic view on this. I mean, the families are all over the lot over this. Most families -- most families, the great majority, either understand that the litigation option doesn't make a whole lot of practical sense, because the litigation option would take years and years of litigation, they may not win the case. Even if they win the case under the statute that Congress passed, there won't be the financial liability of the airlines. The World Trade Center is capped. There won't be enough funds to pay them even if they win.
So most families have come around to the view -- maybe reluctantly, but they have come around to the view this final reg is out, the final rule. They will file under the program.
ZAHN: And Mr. Feinberg, in closing this morning, how many families so far have opted to participate in this fund? Anyway of gauging that?
FEINBERG: Well -- oh, yes. We know even before the final rule was announced yesterday, we had about 400 families that have already said we want to participate. Now that the final rule has been announced, I suspect over the next few weeks we will see the vast number of families -- at least I hope so -- we'll see the vast number of families take the advantage of this program, which will pay them within 120 days. And they will come into the fund.
ZAHN: All right. Kenneth Feinberg, as always, it's good to have you on to help us better understand some of the big changes in this plan. Continued good luck to you and thanks again for joining us this morning.
FEINBERG: And thank you very much -- thank you.
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