[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 154 (Thursday, November 8, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S11587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     DISASTER VICTIMS RELIEF FUNDS

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, one of the greatest comforts to me 
personally in the terrible aftermath of September 11 has been the 
immediate and overwhelming generosity of the American people in 
providing relief to the thousands who have been directly and indirectly 
affected. Our first priority must be to ensure that the victims and the 
families of the victims of the September 11 attack receive the 
financial relief they have been promised.
  There is a tremendous amount of work going on in New York to ensure 
that families get their assistance. Many families have expressed their 
gratitude to me, to my staff, to FEMA, to the city, and the centralized 
support that was established at Pier 94. The fund that the mayor 
created to aid families, the Twin Towers Fund, has announced that it 
will get aid to families prior to Thanksgiving.
  I am particularly grateful to the attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, 
who has led in trying to eliminate the bureaucratic redtape that can 
delay or prevent families from receiving the help they need in a timely 
manner. Working with the attorney general as he tries to create 
centralized databases of charitable organizations and families in need 
of services, I have joined him in calling for all charities to 
establish a uniform application that will help achieve the goal of 
simplifying the process of applying for necessary assistance.
  I am sure many in this Chamber have seen the reports or perhaps seen 
on television some of the victims' family members who have been 
overwhelmed trying to work their way through the myriad of services 
available and who have to spend hours going from one place to the next 
until they could get some kind of answer, who say that not only have 
they be victimized but they have been made to feel like beggars. That 
is just unacceptable.
  Like so many New Yorkers, we are concerned about those families who 
may not have the time to go stand in line and fill out endless 
application forms, who may not have the experience to permit them to 
navigate this maze, who do not have the stamina, and who, frankly, are 
sill suffering.
  I have met and talked with a number of people who lost loved ones, 
particularly widows who are having a very difficult time being able to 
do what is required to take care of their children and go about their 
daily business. They need help going through this charitable and 
governmental process.
  Recently, the senior Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy, called 
to my attention the work he is doing in Massachusetts.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is advised that we are under an 
order to vote at this time.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Then we should vote, Mr. President.

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