NEW YORK, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The American Red Cross said the Liberty Fund raised in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 will go solely to the victims.
"Until now, the families of victims have been our first priority," said Harold Decker, the organization's chief executive officer. "Starting today, they will be our only priority."
When the Liberty Fund was originally conceived shortly after the attacks, the Red Cross planned to give a portion of the donations to the families of terror victims, and spend the rest on long-term preparations for possible additional terrorist acts.
The organization drew criticism for the action and New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer threatened legislation. The Red Cross decided to refocus the fund solely on the victims of the attacks.
In addition, the Family Gift Program, which covers living expenses for families of relatives who were lost or seriously injured in the attacks, will be extended to as much as a year for those in need, Decker said. So far, the Red Cross has given $47 million to families, and it plans to spend another $111 million by the end of the year. Decker said the Red Cross will do its best to fund administrative costs with only the interest earned on the half-billion Liberty Fund.
New York lost a key vote in the House Appropriations Committee, 33-31, to get all of the $20 billion approved by Congress after the terrorist attacks, but less than $10 billion has been allocated by the White House.
While the White House has promised funding would be available next year, the New Yorkers argued that the money was needed now for contracts to begin rebuilding Lower Manhattan and to keep businesses confident the financial district will rebound.
"Businesses are deciding whether they will stay in New York or not," said Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat from Saugerties.
New Jersey officials are offering $35 million in tax incentives to lure six financial firms and their 700 employees displaced by the collapse of their buildings at the World Trade Center to move to New Jersey.
According to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the "rebates" offered the New York companies are based on how much the state would collect in income taxes if the 700 employees moved.
Gov. George Pataki said second quarter revenues for fiscal 2001-02 were 1.3 billion lower than the same period last year and he forecast that the state will end its fiscal year with a $3 billion deficit as a result of the attacks.
"It's the largest (revenue decrease) we've ever had," Pataki said, commenting that the quarterly revenue falloff was larger in percentage of the total budget than during the Great Depression.
The Republican governor said his budget office forecasts a $6 billion revenue decrease for the next fiscal year, however, the Democratically-controlled New York State Assembly said it is preparing it's own revenue forecast.
Pataki has initiated a hiring freeze, early retirement and cuts in state agencies. But he said he hopes Congress will come through on aid for the state since "the attack on America that took place in New York and we are the ones dealing with the human and economic consequences."
Bechtel, the San Francisco-base construction firm, is close to taking over the day-to-day
operation of "Ground Zero" at the World Trade Center as project manager. Currently a city department is overseeing the work of four construction companies hired to remove more than 1.2 million tons of rubble and steel from where the World Trade Center once stood.
Bovis Lend Lease, Amec Construction Management, Tully Construction and Turner Construction have been awarded contracts to clear one quarter of the 16-acre site.
Bechtel, best known for its building of the Hoover Dam and the Alaska Pipeline, has already been contracted to develop a safety plan for the disaster site.
According to city officials:
-- 3,554 declared missing by police
-- 632 have been declared dead
-- 589 bodies have been identified
-- 1,895 death certificate applications
-- 463,810 tons of rubble removed
-- 104,265 tons of steel removed
-- 568,075 total tons of debris removed
-- 42,371 truckloads removed debris
(Reporting by Alex Cukan in Albany, N.Y.)
