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December 2, 2008 8:34:55 PM CST

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9/11 Fund Must Stand Alone to Mark Tragedy

Posted Sep 11, 08 12:50 PM CDT in Opinion,  US 

(Newser) – The fund set up to aid the injured and bereaved of 9/11 should not be a model for compensating those affected by disasters like Hurricane Katrina or even other terror attacks, Kenneth Feinberg writes in the Washington Post. The $7 billion September 11th Victim Compensation Fund was a unique "demonstration of American resolve in the wake of tragedy," he argues.

"Bad things happen to good people every day," adds Feinberg, the administrator of the 9/11 fund. He notes that families of firefighters, police, and soldiers do not receive the $2 million death payments like those given to the families of 9/11 victims. "Congress does not come to their financial rescue with generous, tax-free checks," he writes. The fund, Feinberg concludes, should stand alone as a response to one of the very darkest days in the nation's history.

Source Washington Post

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Miriam Jurabe of the Bronx, who lost her firefighter son, Angel, to the 9/11 tragedy, mourns her loss during ceremonies last year marking the attacks.   (AP Photo/David Handschuh, Pool)
Family members of New York City firefighter Leon Smith leave Ground Zero during ceremonies last year marking the 9/11 attacks.   (AP Photo/Stan Honda, Pool)
Retired fireman Captain Jim McDermott, of Ladder 52 in the Bronx, examines photos of victims on a bus parked near Ground Zero.   (Getty Images)
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The fund should be viewed historically as a unique response to a national tragedy rivaled only by the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 
- Kenneth R. Feinberg

I believe establishing the 9/11 Fund was sound public policy and the right thing to do. The nation would stand as one. - Kenneth R. Feinberg

In our free society, based on notions of limited government and equal protection of the laws, we simply do not expect the government to step in whenever misfortune strikes. 
- Kenneth R. Feinberg

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September 11 • terror attacks • 9/11 attacks • compensation


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