[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1624 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1624
To establish the Office of World Trade Center Attack Claims to pay
claims for injury to businesses and property suffered as a result of
the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City that occurred on
September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 1, 2001
Mrs. Clinton (for herself and Mr. Schumer) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment
and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Office of World Trade Center Attack Claims to pay
claims for injury to businesses and property suffered as a result of
the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City that occurred on
September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``World Trade Center Attack Claims
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Affected Area.--The term ``affected area'' means the
area in lower Manhattan, New York City, that is comprised of--
(A) the area located south of Chambers Street and
west of Broadway; and
(B) the area located south of Worth Street and east
of Broadway.
(2) Attack.--The term ``attack'' means the attack on the
World Trade Center in New York City that occurred on September
11, 2001.
(3) Claim.--The term ``claim'' means a claim by an injured
person under this Act for payment for injury suffered by the
injured person as a result of the attack.
(4) Claimant.--The term ``claimant'' means an injured
person that submits a claim under section 4(b).
(5) Director.--The term ``Director'' means--
(A) the Director of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency; or
(B) if an Independent Claims Manager is appointed
under section 3(d)(4), the Independent Claims Manager.
(6) Injured person.--
(A) In general.--The term ``injured person'' means
an individual, corporation, partnership, company,
association, cooperative, joint venture, limited
liability company, estate, trust, or nonprofit
organization that--
(i) suffered injury as a result of the
attack; and
(ii) resides or maintains a place of
business in the affected area.
(B) Exclusions.--The term ``injured person'' does
not include--
(i) a lender that holds a mortgage on or
security interest in real or personal property
affected by the attack; or
(ii) a person that holds a lien on real or
personal property affected by the attack.
(7) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of World
Trade Center Attack Claims established by section 3.
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK CLAIMS.
(a) In General.--There is established within the Federal Emergency
Management Agency an office to be known as the ``Office of World Trade
Center Attack Claims''.
(b) Purpose.--The Office shall receive, process, and pay claims in
accordance with section 4.
(c) Funding.--The Office--
(1) shall be funded from funds made available under this
Act; and
(2) may reimburse any other Federal agency for provision of
assistance in the receipt and processing of claims.
(d) Personnel.--
(1) In general.--The Office may appoint and fix the
compensation of such temporary personnel as are necessary to
carry out the duties of the Office, without regard to the
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing
appointments in the competitive service.
(2) Personnel from other agencies.--On the request of the
Director, the head of any other Federal agency may detail, on a
reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of the agency to the
Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist the Office in
carrying out the duties of the Office under this Act.
(3) Effect on other fema duties.--The establishment of the
Office shall not diminish the authority of, or funding
available to, the Director to carry out the responsibilities of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), including the timely provision of
disaster assistance to any area with respect to which a major
disaster or emergency is declared by the President to exist
during the period in which the Director carries out this Act.
(4) Appointment of independent claims manager.--The
Director may appoint an Independent Claims Manager to head the
Office and to assume the duties of the Director under this Act.
SEC. 4. COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF THE ATTACK.
(a) In General.--Each injured person shall be entitled to receive
from the United States compensation for injury suffered by the injured
person as a result of the attack, as determined by the Director in
accordance with subsection (d).
(b) Submission of Claims.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date on
which interim final regulations are promulgated under
subsection (l), an injured person may submit to the Director a
written claim for payment of injury suffered by the injured
person as a result of the attack in accordance with such
requirements as the Director determines to be appropriate.
(2) Statement of use of payment.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), an
injured person shall include in a written claim
submitted under paragraph (1) a statement of the
purposes for which any payment on the claim will be
used.
(B) Authorized uses.--An injured person may use a
payment on a claim only to continue, repair, replace,
start, establish, or locate, in New York City, a
business or residence that was located, before
September 11, 2001, in the affected area.
(c) Investigation of Claims.--The Director shall investigate,
adjust, grant, deny, or settle any claim submitted under subsection
(b).
(d) Amount of Payment.--
(1) In general.--Any payment on a claim by an injured
person--
(A) shall be limited to the amount necessary to
compensate the injured person for injury described in
paragraph (2) suffered as a result of the attack during
the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending
on March 11, 2003;
(B) shall be subject to subsection (e)(1)(C);
(C) shall not include--
(i) interest on the amount of the payment
before the date of settlement or payment of a
claim; or
(ii) punitive damages or any other form of
noncompensatory damages; and
(D) shall not exceed $500,000, except in the case
of a claim for which the Director determines that a
greater amount is appropriate.
(2) Types of injury.--
In general.--Under paragraph (1), subject to
subparagraph (B), an injured person may receive payment
for--
(i) an uninsured or underinsured property
loss;
(ii) damage to or destruction of physical
infrastructure;
(iii) damage to or destruction of tangible
assets or inventory;
(iv) a business interruption loss;
(v) overhead costs;
(vi) employee wages for work not performed;
(vii) an insurance deductible;
(viii) a temporary living or relocation
expense; and
(ix) debris removal and other cleanup
costs; and
(x) any other type of injury that the
Director determines to be appropriate.
(B) Limitation on certain types of business loss.--
An injured person may receive payment for a type of
injury specified in clause (iv), (v), or (vi) only if
the injured person has experienced, as a result of the
attack, with respect to a business facility of the
person--
(i) disruption in power;
(ii) disruption in telecommunications
capacity;
(iii) damage to or destruction of physical
infrastructure; or
(iv) disruption in physical access.
(3) Burden of proof.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), a
claimant shall have the burden of demonstrating injury
suffered by the claimant.
(B) Absence of documents.--If documentary evidence
substantiating injury is not reasonably available, the
Director may pay a claim based on an affidavit or other
documentation executed by the claimant.
(4) Applicability of state law.--Except as otherwise
provided in this section, the law of the State of New York
shall apply to the determination of injury under this
subsection.
(e) Payment of Claims.--
(1) Determination and payment of amount.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
date on which a claim is submitted under subsection
(b), the Director shall--
(i) determine the amount, if any, to be
paid for the claim; and
(ii) pay the amount.
(B) Parameters of determination.--In determining
and paying a claim, the Director shall determine only--
(i) whether the claimant is an injured
person;
(ii) whether the injuries that are the
subject of the claim resulted from the attack;
(iii) the amount, if any, to be paid under
this section; and
(iv) the person or persons entitled to
receive the amount.
(C) Insurance and other benefits.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), to
prevent recovery by a claimant in excess of the
equivalent of actual compensatory damages in
accordance with subsection (d), the Director,
in determining the amount of, and paying, a
claim, shall reduce the amount to be paid for
the claim by an amount that is equal to the sum
of the payments or settlements of any kind that
were paid, or will be paid, with respect to the
claim, including--
(I) payments on insurance policies;
(II) benefits under the public
assistance program, individual
assistance program, or other program of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency
or under a program of any other
Federal, State, or local agency; and
(III) financial assistance provided
by a charitable or other nonprofit,
nongovernmental organization.
(ii) Government loans.--Clause (i) shall
not apply to the receipt by a claimant of any
Federal, State, or local government loan that
is required to be repaid by the claimant.
(2) Advance and partial payments.--
(A) In general.--At the request of a claimant, the
Director may make 1 or more advance or partial payments
before the final settlement of a claim, including final
settlement on any portion of a claim that is determined
to be severable.
(B) Judicial decision.--If a claimant receives a
partial payment on a claim, but the Director denies any
further payment on the claim, the claimant may--
(i) seek judicial review under subsection
(j); and
(ii) retain any partial payment that the
claimant received, unless the Director
determines that the claimant--
(I) was not eligible to receive the
partial payment; or
(II) fraudulently obtained the
partial payment.
(f) Acceptance of Payments on Claims.--The acceptance by a claimant
of a payment on a claim under this section, except an advance or
partial payment under subsection (e)(2), shall--
(1) be final and conclusive on the claimant with respect to
all claims arising out of or relating to the same subject
matter;
(2) subject to subsection (h), be final and conclusive on
the United States; and
(3) include a certification by the claimant, made under
penalty of perjury and subject to section 1001 of title 18,
United States Code, that the claim of the claimant is true and
correct.
(g) Use of Payments on Claims.--An injured person may use a payment
on a claim only for the purposes stated in the statement submitted
under subsection (b)(2).
(h) Recovery of Funds Improperly Paid or Misused.--The United
States may recover any portion of a payment on a claim that--
(1) was improperly paid to the claimant as a result of--
(A) fraud or misrepresentation on the part of the
claimant or a representative of the claimant;
(B) a material mistake on the part of the United
States;
(C) the payment of benefits described in subsection
(e)(1)(C) that were not taken into account in
determining the amount of the payment; or
(D) the failure of the claimant to cooperate in an
audit; or
(2) is used by the claimant in violation of subsection (g).
(i) Arbitration.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish by
regulation procedures under which a dispute concerning a claim
may be settled by arbitration.
(2) Arbitration as remedy.--On establishment of arbitration
procedures under paragraph (1), an injured person that submits
a claim that is disputed may elect to settle the claim through
arbitration.
(3) Binding effect.--An election by an injured person to
settle a claim through arbitration under this subsection
shall--
(A) be binding; and
(B) preclude any exercise by the injured person of
the right to judicial review of a claim under
subsection (j).
(j) Judicial Review.--
(1) In general.--A claimant aggrieved by a final decision
of the Director under this section may bring, not later than 60
days after the date on which the decision is issued, a civil
action in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York to modify or set aside the decision, in
whole or in part.
(2) Record.--The court shall hear a civil action under
paragraph (1) on the record made before the Director.
(3) Standard of review.--The court shall uphold the
decision of the Director if the decision is supported by
substantial evidence on the record as a whole.
(k) Attorney's and Agent's Fees.--
(1) In general.--No attorney or agent, acting alone or in
combination with any other attorney or agent, shall charge or
accept, for services rendered in connection with a claim, a fee
in excess of 10 percent of the amount of any payment on the
claim.
(2) Penalty for violation.--An attorney or agent who
violates paragraph (1) shall be subject to a civil penalty of
not more than $10,000.
(l) Regulations.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not
later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Director shall promulgate and publish in the Federal Register interim
final regulations for the processing and payment of claims.
(m) Public Information.--
(1) In general.--At the time of publication of interim
final regulations under subsection (l), the Director shall
publish, in newspapers of general circulation in New York City,
a clear, concise, and easily understandable explanation, in
English and Spanish, of--
(A) the rights conferred under this section; and
(B) the procedural and other requirements of the
regulations promulgated under subsection (l).
(2) Dissemination through other media.--The Director shall
disseminate the explanation published under paragraph (1)
through brochures, pamphlets, radio, television, and such other
media as the Director determines to be likely to reach
prospective claimants.
(n) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the Director shall
coordinate with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration,
other Federal agencies, and State and local agencies, as the Director
determines to be necessary--
(1) to ensure the efficient administration of the claims
process; and
(2) to provide for local concerns.
(o) Applicability of Debt Collection Requirements.--Section 3716 of
title 31, United States Code, shall not apply to any payment on a
claim.
SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP TO FEDERAL ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS.
Nothing in this Act affects any right of an injured person that
submits a claim to submit a request for benefits under any Federal
entitlement program.
SEC. 6. REPORTS AND AUDITS.
(a) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of promulgation
of interim final regulations under section 4(l) and annually
thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress a report that
describes the claims submitted under section 4(b) during the year
preceding the date of submission of the report, including, with respect
to each claim--
(1) the amount claimed;
(2) a brief description of the nature of the claim; and
(3) the status or disposition of the claim, including the
amount of any payment on the claim.
(b) Audits.--The Comptroller General shall--
(1) conduct an annual audit of the payment of all claims
submitted under section 4(b); and
(2) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act and annually thereafter, report to Congress on the
results of the audit.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this Act $2,000,000,000, to remain available until expended.
(b) FEMA Funds.--None of the funds made available to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency for the administration of disaster relief
shall be used to carry out this Act.
SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.
The authority provided by this Act terminates effective 42 months
after the date of enactment of this Act.
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