According to three people whom Feinberg has consulted on the issue, he has yielded to the charities’ pleas that deducting this privately contributed aid would–in the words of one of those advisers–“make all the Americans who responded so generously forever cynical about giving to charity in disasters like this, even though their donations were the only source of immediate relief to thousands of people.” Feinberg is expected to issue his guidelines for dispensing money from the fund tomorrow and said today that he would not comment until the guidelines have been announced.
Under the federal law that established the fund, those who suffered serious physical injuries in the attacks or the next of kin of those killed can file claims on the condition that they do not sue the airlines, the trade center, private airport-security companies or any other entity connected to the attacks–with the exception of the terrorists.
Feinberg’s decision not to offset the payouts by charities like the Red Cross is likely to be one of the only aspects of his decision that is popular with the victims. Questions have already been raised about the potential disparity in awards by the federal fund. While families of high-earning victims like stockbrokers are expected to complain that Feinberg’s guidelines will award them less than they would probably get in court, relatives of lower-paid workers are likely to object to having a lower monetary value placed on the lives of their loved ones.
