2026 Messages from the Special Master

There is an author who once said, “Time does not pass, it continues.”  It’s a simple statement, but also profound.  And if there is one thing that I am aware of every day in my role as Special Master, it is that the impacts of the terrorist attacks 25 years ago today, like time, have not passed. They continue.

Message from Special Master Allison Turkel

2025 marked the completion of the VCF’s 14th year of operations. We continue to serve the 9/11 community with a laser focus on remaining faithful to our statute, fair to our claimants, and defensible to the taxpayers. More than two decades later, the VCF has served tens of thousands of victims and their families, and we continue to receive around 900 new claims each month – a clear indication of the ongoing importance of our mission. The number of people who have died of 9/11-related health conditions has far surpassed the number of people who died on the day of the attacks.