NEW YORK, NY November 08, 2001 — Charities are still trying to decide how to coordinate the process of distributing more than one billion dollars to the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The lack of such organization has local public officials increasingly concerned, as was evident at a State Assembly committee hearing on the use and distribution of charitable funds.

Eight weeks after the September 11th attacks, and 1.2 billion dollars of donations later, committeemembers said they and their constitutents wanted to see results. Brooklyn Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein said she's worried that the process of applying for aid from more than 180 groups is bewildering for victims, and lacks accountability.

Weinstein: it's also clear, as talking to my constitutents, that the public's patience is starting to wear thin. It's imperative that all the charities work together to share information, and to expedite aid to victims and their families.

Several charities told the committee they're concerned about this, too, and that they're working on it. But State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said there was initial resistance to his efforts to create a database of charities. And the American Red Cross only recently agreed to cooperate with the creation of a database of victims. He noted he has no authority to tell charities how to spend their money, or how to operate. So Mr. Spitzer appears to be making a lot of suggestions…urging charities to develop a single, uniform application, for instance, and to form a working group to tackle ongoing issues.

Spitzer: This cooperation is essential if the charities are to maintain the faith of the American people -- faith not only in the wise use of the donations raised in this crisis, but in the integrity of our great tradition of private philanthropy.

The state assembly committee's oversight hearing came one day after the U-S House of Representatives held a similar one in Washington. There, the American Red Cross was roundly criticized for its recent decision to set aside more than $200 million dollars in Liberty Fund donations for victims' future needs….and for future terrorist attacks. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver questioned Mr. Spitzer about the Congressional hearing.

Silver: What about a reserve fund for future terrorist activity that was the subject of quite a bit of discussion yesterday?Spitzer: My antenne get raised when I hear that enormous sums of money that have been raised are not going to be dedicated to victims whom we can already identify. I think there will be -- there's the possibility -- of future tragedies, whether in the form of hurricanes, or another terrorist attack. When those events occur, the generosity of the American spirit will be tapped once again, and we will respond to that event.

He said the Red Cross' fundraising for the Liberty Fund did not rise to the level of misrepresentation…but he asked Assemblymembers to stiffen the penalties for fraud, and to close several legislative loopholes so that he could prosecute groups more aggresively. Michael Farley, the Red Cross' vice president of development, defended the charity's actions. He said it was prudent to set aside money, because some victims don't seek help for many months. And he believes using money for anthrax victims, or for future victims of terrorism, still honors the intention of those who donated to the Liberty Fund.

Farley: Because we are now dealing with a category of tragedy that we've really not seen before. And for us to, having raised $564 million dollars, and then to go back out to the community six months later, and say, well, that's a different situation, now we're talking about a different tragedy, does not pass the test of common sense, in my view.

Mr. Farley said the charity did not mislead donors about how Liberty Fund dollars would be spent….but he conceded that there was miscommunication. The Red Cross is contacting thousands of donors to the Fund, to clarify how they wanted their contributions to be spent.

Although the bulk of the committee's hearing focused on the Red Cross, those who testified brought up other thorny issues, such as, who is a victim? And how will their needs be determined? Several participants noted those questions might be best addressed by the charities themselves….again, in a working group that has yet to be established. With mounting political and public frustration, officials are hoping charities will be able to clarify these issues, and speed up the process of delivering aid to victims' families. But they received no assurance at this hearing that this will happen anytime soon. For WNYC, I'm Amy Eddings.

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