Fund created for victims' families

WASHINGTON -- Former President Clinton and former Sen. Bob Dole announced Tuesday they've raised $105 million to create a college fund for families whose relatives were killed or injured in the Sept. 11 attacks.\n"Any victims' spouses or children -- whether or not they're American citizens -- can qualify," Clinton said on CNN's "Larry King Live."\nSeveral corporations and organizations donated money to the effort, along with 20,000 private contributors. Children of victims can apply for scholarships of up to $28,000, depending on their need.\n"It doesn't need to be a four-year college. It can be pilot training, it can be cosmetology," Dole said. "We all thought it would be a good idea if we could do something for the next 25, 30 years. It's going to be a gift that lasts."\nDole said he and Clinton, rivals for the presidency in 1996, have mutual friends who led them to begin raising money for the college fund a few days after the hijacked planes crashed in New York, Washington and Somerset County, Pa., killing more than 3,000 people.\n"We've reached our goal and we hope it's going to be a great program for the future," Dole said.\nDole and Clinton had aimed to raise $100 million for the scholarships.\n"There were a lot of women who were pregnant at the time, so this is going to go on for a long time," Clinton said.\nThe federal government has set up a separate compensation fund for victims' relatives. At least nine families have accepted checks averaging $1.36 million, from that fund.\n"It's going to be etched in our memories forever," he said. "You thought about it, you prayed about it. That's about all you could do."\nClinton learned of the events in Australia when a friend called him described watching the World Trade Center collapse. The White House sent a plane to bring him back to New York.