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Ashcroft advised on 'survivor' definition
Tom Musbach, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
Friday, November 19, 2001 / 03:40 PM

SUMMARY: U.S. House members urged Attorney General Ashcroft to broadly interpret "survivor" eligibility for Sept. 11 relief funds.

Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., and a bipartisan group of 44 other U.S. representatives have sent a letter urging Attorney General John Ashcroft to broadly interpret "survivor" eligibility when disbursing Congress-approved relief funds associated with the Sept. 11 attacks.

Since Ashcroft and his staff must determine who qualifies as "survivors of someone lost in the crashes," as stated in the legislative measure, the representatives advised him to provide compensation "to all those who had a close relationship with the murdered victim and whose own financial position will be seriously adversely affected by the death."

The decision-making criteria should include, according to the representatives, shared residences, shared bank accounts, join membership health plans and shared living expenses.

The letter also reminded Ashcroft that Congress approved funds for the victims' loved ones without much detail about eligibility because it was important "to act speedily." It adds that Congress' intention with the funds was not "to regulate any set of personal relationships, nor to encourage or discourage people from following any particular pattern in their living arrangements."

"This (letter) will ensure that a wide variety of valid personal relationships will be recognized in the distribution of these funds," said Rep. Frank, who is openly gay.

Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., the other openly lesbian and gay members of the House, also signed the letter.

 
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