U.S. senators eye WTC insurance report

NEW YORK, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Two U.S. senators have taken it upon themselves to follow up on a report that found discrepancies in a $1 billion insurance fund for the World Trade Center.

The New York Post Sunday said its investigation into the clean-up efforts at the World Trade Center had prompted Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., to look into alleged misappropriations of federal aid.

The Post investigation found that tens of millions of federal aid was spent on lawyers and overhead.

The investigation also found that injured Sept. 11 recovery workers were paid far less and employee compensation claims for related illnesses have been rejected.

That report prompted Leahy and Specter to request answers from WTC Captive Insurance Co. regarding the investigation's findings.

"We are interested in learning how and when the 9-11 cleanup volunteers and workers will receive the $1 billion in taxpayer money Congress appropriated for their injuries," the pair said in a letter to the company's president.

The Post said the senators threatened to hold hearings on the matter should their request be denied.