Government Matters: Rupa Bhattacharyya Tags: 2022 Sammies, Government Matters Series Back to All Videos The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has helped pay out billions of dollars to individuals dealing with the long-term impacts of the terror attacks. Mimi Geerges spoke to Rupa Bhattacharyya, former special master of the fund at the Department of Justice and finalist for a Service to America award, who helped the fund bounce back from a series of major challenges. Bhattacharyya said her team successfully resolved slow claim processing times and insufficient funding after she took the lead in 2016.They revised claim forms, implemented outreach and education, developed policies, created guidelines for evaluating claims, increased staffing and made process changes, she told Government Matters.The fund was set up after 9/11 and closed in 2004, but Congress reopened the fund in 2011 when it was clear that people were still getting sick from toxins released at the three plane crash sites, said Bhattacharyya.
