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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
WASHINGTON--U.S. senators have expressed "serious concerns" about the management of WTC Captive Insurance Co. Inc. and the use of the captive's $1 billion in federal funding.
In a letter sent last week to Christine LaSala, WTC Captive's president and chief executive officer, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and ranking committee member Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., seek answers as to when and how injured Ground Zero workers will be compensated by the insurance company.
The lawmakers also called reports that WTC Captive has spent $45 million on legal fees and hundreds of thousands of dollars on salaries for the captive's administrators "troubling."
Sens. Leahy and Specter noted that they are consulting with Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, both D-N.Y., on the matter and are considering calling a hearing in September.
In a statement, WTC Captive said it "has received the letter from Sens. Leahy and Specter, and we will, of course, respond to them directly. However, the fact is that the captive has been and continues to faithfully fulfill the mandate set for it by the federal government at the time of its formation, which was and is to insure the City of New York and the scores of contractors and subcontractors the city engaged against claims arising from their respective roles in the rescue, recovery and debris removal work that began immediately after the collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001."
The captive also said it continues to support reallocating a $1 billion Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to reopen or institute a Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund.