New York: Two American lawmakers want the
9/11 victims and first responders to get the USD 50 million
bounty for slain al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, as the secret
US operation in Pakistan's Abbottabad garrison town does not
make anyone eligible to receive the reward.
"If the bounty isn't paid, Osama bin Laden's victims
should get it," said New York Representative Anthony Weiner of
the Democratic Party.
"I can think of no better recipient than those
organizations which have committed themselves to helping first
responders, their families and survivors whose lives have been
forever affected by Bin Laden?s actions," he added.
Weiner and Representative Jerrold Nadler, also from
the Democratic Party, introduced legislation on Sunday for the
money to be given to the 9/11 victims.
In 2004, the then-Senator Hillary Clinton pushed for
the passage of a bill that would allow the Secretary of State
- the position she now holds - to authorize as much as USD 50
million as a prize money.
"Because there is likely no awardee for the USD 50
million bounty for Osama bin Laden?s capture, those funds
should now be used in support of the thousands of 9/11
families, responders and survivors," said Nadler.
"I urge the State Department to distribute the reward
money to established organizations and institutions which
provide services and programmes to the 9/11 community," he
said.
Approximately 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11
attack masterminded by Bin Laden.
In 2001, the State Department offered a USD 25 million
reward for information about bin Laden's whereabout, CBS News
reported.
54-year-old bin Laden was killed on May 2 by the US
special forces in a secret operation in Abbottabad, 80 kms
from Pakistani capital Islamabad.
White House Spokesperson Jay Carney, however, said
that no one qualified to receive the federal government's USD
25 million reward money for finding Bin Laden because no one
intentionally directed the US government to the al Qaeda
chief.
"As far as I'm aware, no one knowledgeably said, 'Oh,
Osama bin Laden's over here in Abbottabad at 5703, you know,
Green Avenue,'" Carney was quoted as saying by CBS.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, May 10, 2011, 21:25