[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 28742-28743]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS FOR SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIMS ACT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, in the days following the terrorist attacks 
of September 11, Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle came 
together to pass comprehensive legislation entitled ``The Air 
Transportation Safety and

[[Page 28743]]

System Stabilization Act.'' This measure provided victims the option of 
filing a claim with a national compensation program or seeking limited 
damages in one Federal district court--the United States District Court 
for the Southern District of New York. Unfortunately, the legislation 
we passed failed to grant that trial court with the power to serve and 
enforce subpoenas outside of the traditional 100-mile radius of the 
Southern District of New York, even in the very cities where the 
hijacked flights originated and where two of them crashed on the 
morning of September 11.
  We were able to pass a legislative fix to this problem recently in 
the Senate. I understand that the House of Representatives is poised to 
pass the Senate bill today. I praise my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle and in both Chambers for acting to provide nationwide service of 
subpoenas for the September 11 victims. Although no amount of 
compensation can replace a lost loved one, the Procedural Fairness for 
September 11 Victims Act offers a technical fix that is crucial to 
allowing victims and their families to have their claims fairly and 
thoroughly heard in court. I urge the President to sign this 
legislation into law without delay.

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