The Victims of Terrorism: An Assessment of Their Influence and ...

14 The Victims of Terrorismthe attacks, the program has registered more than 2,000 children. Tuesday’s Children activelyworks to foster good relationships between families and staff to promote healthy, supportivedialogue and the formation of support networks. These networks then participate in groupactivities attended by crisis counselors and health care professionals who offer participantscomfort and assistance. Tuesday’s Children also provides families in the New York area withtickets to sporting and cultural events in addition to sponsoring mentoring programs thatinclude internships and apprenticeships for older children seeking guidance with careers andcontinuing education (Tuesday’s Children, undated).Less than two weeks after September 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress passed legislationestablishing a federally mandated Victims Compensation Fund (VCF) as part of the greaterAir Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. Congress’ intent in creating the fundwas to provide immediate financial relief for victims and their families while protecting theU.S. airline industry from potential litigation. Applicants to the fund surrendered their rightto sue the airlines and PA and, in return, received an average award of $1.7 million beforedeductions—as determined by both federal guidelines and the discretion of the fund’s specialmaster, Kenneth R. Feinberg. During the couple of years following its creation, the fund wouldbecome a source of debate and frustration among families and groups, only one of which, Fixthe Fund, was formed to specifically address related issues of compensation.In retrospect, the haste with which the VCF legislation was enacted—because of theurgency generated by the potential collapse of the U.S. airline industry under the weight ofimpending litigation—created a number of unanticipated problems. Congress, for example,stipulated that insurance proceeds that families received would be deducted from their finalreward, essentially penalizing those who had made adequate estate arrangements before theirdeaths and arguably rewarding those who did not. Disputes also arose when some family memberstried to undermine one another’s entitlement to compensation. Most problematic, however,is that the fund does not cover the victims of prior disasters or terrorist attacks (Jacoby,2004). In the event of some new terrorist attack either in the United States or that directlyinvolves U.S. citizens overseas, Congress will need to decide whether or not to establish a similarlyorganized and oriented compensation fund.Charles Wolf founded Fix the Fund in reaction to many of these issues by supporting amodification of the VCF in what he saw as the victims’ best interests. Having lost his wife,Katherine, in the WTC, he became deeply committed to obtaining reasonable compensationlevels for victims’ families. Early on, he noticed that many families misunderstood the fund’sintricacies and that victims’ groups would call on Feinberg to make changes that only Congresscould authorize. Driven by his desire to inform others while helping widows and theirfamilies achieve financial stability, Wolf created Fix the Fund and its Web site during thesummer of 2002 to answer supporters’ questions and relay VCF updates (Wolf, 2006; Fix theFund, undated).At a New York Bar Association meeting in May 2003, Feinberg revealed that he wouldmake alterations to the fund, much to Wolf’s satisfaction, who then announced his decision toapply to the VCF (Wolf, 2006; Fix the Fund, undated). By the fall of 2003, Wolf’s efforts hadachieved tangible success. Congress, for example, required that payouts from the fund reflecteach victim’s financial earnings. As special master, Feinberg exercised his authority to limit the