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A message from Special Master Sheila Birnbaum - VCF Program Update

October 23, 2013

October 3, 2013 was an important registration deadline for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Anyone who was diagnosed with a 9/11-related condition on or before October 3, 2011 for which they intend to seek compensation from the VCF must have registered with the Fund by the October 3, 2013 deadline.

The Fund conducted an extensive outreach effort in the months leading up to the deadline in an effort to make sure that all individuals and families who were affected by the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 were aware of the Fund and this critical deadline. I want to personally thank all those in the community, 9/11 support organizations, elected officials, the media, and others who supported our outreach efforts leading to the October 3 deadline.

Although we are still completing our analysis of the registrations received in the weeks leading up to the deadline, I am pleased to report that as of October 18, 2013, we believe that we will have approximately 55,000 individuals who met the statutory registration deadline in order to preserve their right to submit a claim with the VCF. These registrations include those who have completed the registration process, as well as those who have submitted Interim Registration forms or other forms of communication.

During the weeks leading up to the deadline, our Helpline representatives responded to thousands of calls, and were able to provide assistance to callers in languages in addition to English, including calls in Spanish, Mandarin, and Polish.

The Fund is now focused on making sure that individuals who met the deadline and preserved their right to file a claim understand the next steps they need to take to complete their registration (if their registration submission was incomplete) and then complete and submit the Eligibility and Compensation Forms in order to file their claim. It is important to note that the October 3, 2013 registration deadline applied only to those individuals who were diagnosed with a 9/11-related condition on or before October 3, 2011. The October 3, 2013 deadline did not apply to individuals diagnosed with a 9/11-related condition after October 3, 2011 and those who have not yet been diagnosed with a 9/11-related condition. Please click here for more information on the filing deadlines.

We are preparing our second Annual Report to be released in the next month and I look forward to sharing more detailed information on our outreach efforts and program statistics at that time.

Yours,

Sheila