135 20 12614 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, February 01, 2002 1:11 PM New Vote.com votes as of 01:11 PM EST on February 01st, 2002 Dear September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Vote.com is the Internet's most popular voting site. Millions of people regularly express their opinions and - in just one click - automatically send their views to important decision makers like you. Here are the latest votes on the question, SHOULD FAMILIES OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO DIED ON 9-11 GET MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL VICTIMS' FUND?: YES: 131 votes NO: 887 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojP000334.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-02-01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, March 11, 2002 6:04 PM Gay Families and 911 Fund Kenneth Feinberg's comments about gay and lesbian families in the media were appalling in their ignorance and homophobia. We will stand for nothing less than absolutely equal treatment of the people in our community who were affected by the loss of their partners and family members. To do anything else would be to dishonor the memories of all of those who died. Individual Comment San Francisco, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000256.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 20, 2001 4:14 PM Fair relief Benefits December 20, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Austin, TX September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN000022.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 10:14 AM AGAIN??????????? HOW DARE YOU DISCRIMINATE AGAINST GAY PARTNERS OF THE 911 TRAGEDY!!! I INTEND TO DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO FIGHT THIS DISCRIMINATORY MEASURE! AM I STILL IN AMERICA, OR HAS THE COSMOS SUDDENLY PICKED ME UP, BODY AND SOUL,AND DUMPED ME INTO THE CENTER OF A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY???? THIS ANTI-GAY BASHING (AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING) IS GETTING OLD. GET OVER YOURSELF. MOVE ON AND FIND ANOTHER GROUP TO SPEW YOUR HATE UPON. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS (GAY AND PROUD OF IT) Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000387.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Saturday, January 19, 2002 8:47 PM Victim Compensation Comments Mr. Feinberg, This is the second time I am commenting on the interim guidelines you have established for the Victim Compensation Fund. I have just learned that you intend to determine my 21 year old son's award by looking at his salary during the last 3 years. When my son died on September 11th, he was not old enough to have worked for 3 years. He had been a full time college student until May 2001 and began full time employment in July 2001. My son had just begun what would have been a promising career in the electrical industry. His goal was to obtain a Masters degree in electrical design. It is my understanding that you will average his salary during the last three years. This is no way represents my son's expected earnings in his lifetime. What an unfair, arbitrary guideline. This, along with the insulting "presumed" figure of $250,000 for pain and suffering makes it impossible to accept. No, Mr. Feinberg, I will not agree to waive my right to bring those responsible for facilitating my son's murderers to justice in a court of law without first knowing the amount offered for this waiver. Even if I obtain no award by pursuing litigation, I will at least know that I did not show disrespect to my son's memory by agreeing to an unjust, politically-motivated, insulting compensation amount. And I will be able to sleep at night. Individual Comment Woodside, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002102.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, December 23, 2001 10:11 PM New Vote.com votes as of 10:11 PM EST on December 23rd, 2001 Dear September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Vote.com is the Internet's most popular voting site. Millions of people regularly express their opinions and - in just one click - automatically send their views to important decision makers like you. Here are the latest votes on the question, DOES THE GOVERNMENT'S AID PROGRAM FOR FAMILIES OF SEPT. 11 VICTIMS GO FAR ENOUGH?: YES: 1101 votes NO: 59 votes September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN001314.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 13, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Long Beach, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001797.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. January 16, 2002 Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20350 Re: Response to DOJ request to Comment Dear Mr. Zwick: Trial Lawyers Care takes this opportunity to comment on certain aspects of the "Interim Final Rule" for the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. As you know, we previously submitted comments and recommendations for regulations. Please accept this letter as a supplement to those submissions for the purpose of commenting on the following specific points: 1. Section 104.44 Non-Economic Compensation. This section states that in death cases the presumed non-economic award shall be $250,000 for decedents and $50,000 for a spouses and each dependent. Section 104.45 additionally authorizes the Special Master to rely on these amounts in determining the non-economic losses for claimants who suffered physical harm. Those amounts are arbitrary, unreasonably unfair and contrary to the Act The Act establishing the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund expressly authorized non-economic compensation for a wide range of harms. As defined by the Act, "noneconomic losses" means losses for physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium(other than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, injury the reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind of nature. The severely limited presumed non-economic compensation does not begin to adequately address any of those elements much less all such losses "of any kind or nature". As explained in the Statement of the Special Master which accompanied the Interim Final Rule, the presumed award of $250,000 for decedents is based upon existing federal programs providing death benefits for survivors of public safety officers or military personnel killed in the line of duty. Those programs, one of which includes a cost of living increase since 1998, were not, however, intended as compensation for a decedent's pre-death suffering. If those programs provide a guide for anything-a highly questionable premise in view of the non-economic losses specifically authorized by the Act,-it would be for a surviving spouse or dependent's losses, not the pre-death suffering of the decedent. No rationale was provided for the presumed award of only $50,000 to a spouse or dependent. By any known standard, such sums are woefully inadequate. These presumed awards seem more a product of arbitrariness and refusal to address individual circumstances than an effort to fulfill the spirit and intent of the Act. Family members and other loved ones instantly learned of the attacks and had to watch in horror as their loved ones died, only to see those death endlessly repeated in the following days. A few were able to share last words. Most can only imagine the horror or their loved one's death. Many deaths were concentrated and connected in ways that destroyed or rendered normal support groups dysfunctional, which has compounded the families' losses. Those that escaped death on September 11 have been engulfed in survivor's guilt, and emotional damage, including PTSC will be common. Spouses and children have an will continue to suffer and relive September 11 for the rest of their lives. These losses are very real and will vary among victims. Spouses have also lost the companionship, comfort and protection of their husbands and wives. Children have lost the comfort and parental guidance of their parent(s). It will be years before the full magnitude of these losses will be finally known. But, whatever the extent, these losses can be established on a case-by case basis. And, under no circumstances, will these presumed awards be fair or fulfill the mandate of the Act. There is also no rationale for using these amounts in personal injury claims. Part of the reason for a uniform value for all decedents was the circumstances of death in most cases was "unknowable". Quite the contrary is true in all injury claims. The circumstances of the injury and its effect on the claimant and family members is or can be known and established on a case-by case basis. Further more, federal death benefits for surviving family members, on which the $250,000 value is based, have no relevance to the non-economic losses arising by reason of a personal injury. It was not the intent of Congress to both effectively eliminate rights to litigation and at the same time provide essentially no non-economic compensation. That is, however the effective result of a presumptive award of only $50,000 to spouses and children and the presumption award for decedents is also unreasonably low. Trial Lawyers Care objects to these "presumed" awards and request that they be stricken from the regulations. Instead, non- economic damages should be established based on the facts and circumstances of each claim. 2. Section 104.3(a) and 104.45(a), Loss of Earnings Compensation and the Presumed Loss Tables. These sections authorize the development of a methodology for the determination of loss of earnings and other employment benefits. Based on that authority Presumed Loss Tables have been published for various ages, family composition and earnings categories. While the accompanying text provides some description of the methodology, much remains undisclosed and it is not possible to discern, much less critique, the various assumptions, values and calculations underlying the tables. According to the Special Master's explanation which accompanied the tables, the tables are based on nationwide averages. Nationwide averages are not relevant to the vast majority of victims who worked in the New York marketplace. Overall averages also ignore education and occupation, forcing all victims into a "one size fits all" matrix. It is widely known, for example, that in New York at least 1000 victims worked in the field of Securities and Financial Services, and approximately 375 of the victims were firefighters, police, port authority and other government employees. This is approximately 45 percent of the New York victims and for both there is New York-specific, occupation-specific data available. It is unfair and improper to ignore such data. In addition, the use of nationwide averages is inconsistent with the deduction of a decedent domicile's local taxes. Furthermore, it also appears that the data may be out-of-data or gender biased which would be improper and unfair. Finally, it is unclear what are the bases or rationale for "wage growth" and "consumption factors". There is also a great deal of confusion as to whether the tables express "caps" on economic losses. If they do, that is directly contrary to the Act. While there is no such explicit statement, the Statement of the Special Master which accompanied the Interim Final Rule notes that awards in excess of $3 million "will rarely be appropriate" and the tables contain a footnote to the effect that awards will only be computed on compensation levels up to $231,000. Arbitrarily "capping" wage loss compensation is directly contrary to the Act which neither contains nor authorizes any such "caps". It is also inconsistent with Section 104.33(b) which states that claimants can present a wide range of evidence. On the other hand, Section 104.33(c) seems to require that it must generally be done in two hours. These rules not only create confusion but at least the appearance of arbitrariness and unfairness. The final rules should make it clear that there is no fixed ceiling on awards, that awards will be based on the best evidence available and that each claimant shall have an adequate amount of time to present their claims. 3. Section 104.41 and 104.47. These sections require that the amount of compensation shall be reduced by all collateral source compensation. As presently set forth in the relations, collateral sources are to be deducted from the entire award-from both economic and non-economic losses. This can result in unfair and inequitable results such that the meager non-economic awards contemplated by the regulations could be completely eliminated by collateral source deduction. Trial Lawyers Care submits that this is contrary to the spirit and intent of the Victim Compensation Act and that the regulations should provide, instead, that collateral sources only be deducted from economic losses. 4. Section 104.3(b) and (c). These subsections define a spouse and dependents, subject to a few minor exceptions, as being the persons so identified on the victim's 2000 federal tax returns. These rules are inflexible and will create inequities whereby spouses and children will be excluded because of the narrowness and rigidity of these definitions. For example, some spouses file separate returns-indeed the tax code forces that result in certain cases-so that neither is listed as a dependent on the other's return. Frequently in divorces, as part of a settlement agreement, the divorcing parents agree that the dependancy deduction fo children will be taken by one of the parents(usually the lower wages earner or the unemployed parent). In addition, may individuals undertake to support others, such as parents, siblings and step- children, who are not listed by them as dependents on their tax returns. In all those cases, real spouses, real children and real dependents would be arbitrarily excluded by the regulation definitions. It should make no difference in claims under the Fund how a decedent elected to use or allocate his or her earnings. Once economic losses have been determined, the victim's pre- death actual allocations and expenditures should be respected. Trial Lawyers Care therefore recommends that there be a flexible definition tied to actual facts. Specifically, Trial Lawyers Care proposes the following definitions. Spouse. The term, "spouse," shall mean the person who is deemed by the laws of the state in which the claimant resides to be legally married to the claimant at the time of his or her death; or is deemed to be the claimant's spouse under the laws of the state in which the claimant resided that would apply in determining the devolution of the claimant's intestate personal property or would have the right of a spouse to share in the claimant's interstate personal property under such laws. Child: The term, "child", shall mean any natural, adopted child or step-child of the claimant or decedent on whose behalf a claim is brought under the Act. Dependent. The term, "dependent." shall mean any person to who the claimant or decedent contributed support services. 5. Section 104.2(c)(1). This subsection defines physical harm as requiring treatment within 24 hours of injury. This is a very inflexible rule that will unfairly exclude injured victims, especially in New York where everything was very chaotic for the first 24 hours and especially in the case of rescuers, many of whom continued to work notwithstanding their injuries. Consider, for example, a person with a broken ankle who thought the ankle was only sprained and treated it at home with ice for over 24 hours, only to find out several days later that x-rays showed it was fractured. Or consider the person who received a latent injury or internal injuries on September 11 which did not manifest until day or weeks later. Those cases would all be excluded from compensation. Trial Lawyers Care recommends that there be a flexible definition and that injury and treatment not be tied together in a fashion that will exclude legitimate injuries. Specifically, Trial Lawyers Care proposes that the requirement for treatment be linked to the diagnosis of the injury and that the period be expanded to at least 96 hours after diagnosis. That definition, coupled to requirements of CFR104.2(c)(1)(i) and c(1)(ii) is sufficient to serve the purpose of eliminating phantom injuries while preserving the right to compensation for legitimate harm. 6. Section 104.43(c) and 104.45(c). These are identical sections, one for death claims and the other for injury claims. Both are entitled "Replacement service loss" but neither deals with the very real losses that occur when a decedent or injured person can no longer perform services and those services have to be replaced. Rather than cover such losses, the content of both sections deal with the method by which economic loss can be calculated for part-time or unemployed workers. The losses resulting from having to replace services that were performed by a decedent or injured person are very real and can be substantial. Like medical expenses, they have to be determined on a case-by-case basis. And, their calculation is a standard economic analysis that is done in every case involving decedents or injured persons. Trial Lawyers Care therefore recommends that in each of these sections, the following subsection be added. ( ) Loss due to Replacement of Services. This loss equals the value of the services performed or provided by the victim and which can no longer be performed or provided due to physical harm suffered by or the death of the victim. In addition, Sections 104.43(c) and 104.45(c) should be retitled as "Economic Loss of Part-time Unemployed Workers". 7. Structured Awards. There is presently no regulation authorizing structured awards. Trial Lawyers Care recommends that such an option be offered to claimants and understands that the Special Master is taking steps to do so. However, Trial Lawyers Care believes that a regulation is necessary to protect the tax-free status of such awards and therefore recommends the adoption of the following provision: Periodic Payments . At the election of any Claimant or beneficiary, amounts payable to said Claimant or beneficiary pursuant to a decision under the Act may be received as a periodic payment described in 26 U.S.C. 104(a)(2), funded by an annuity the cost of which shall be such amount. Any such election shall be made by providing notice thereof to the Hearing Officer within 7 days after the decision. If an amount is payable in periodic payments, See 26 U.S.C., 130. The claimant or beneficiary shall provide to the Special Master or the Hearing Officer, within 60 days following issuance of the written notice under section 405(b)(3), the name of the assignee to whom a qualified assignment is to be made and the documents required to make te qualified assignment in a form acceptable to the Special Master. 8. Undocumented Workers. There is presently no regulation protecting undocumented workers who make claims from retribution. Undocumented workers were victims of these attacks and their families should be able to make claims free from fear of the consequences. For that purpose, Trial Lawyers Care recommends that at least the following provision be added to the regulations: Immigration Status Information - Any information concerning the immigration status of a Claimant or a dependent of a Claimant shall not be disclosed to the Immigration and Naturalization Service Many victims are very confused and concerned about the fairness of the Compensation Fund. On the one hand, they understand that to benefit from the Fund, they have to give up all rights to sue defendants who may share some responsibility for the loss of life and injuries which occurred on September 11. On the other hand, there is no adequate assurance that they will be treated fairly under the existing regulations. Indeed, many presently believe that they could receive virtually nothing from the Fund. Over the past three months, as more information has come available, the total number of victims has been able to be drastically reduced. If the numbers of victims played any role in the drafting of the "Interim Final rule", such consideration should not be allowed to influence the final regulations. The goal should be solely to provide compensation in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Act and the individual circumstances of the victims. We therefore asked on behalf of these innocent families that the regulations be amended to clearly reflect the intent of Congress and provide the victims with confidence that they will be treated fairly. As was the case before, we stand ready to meet with you, the Special Master or the Department to assist in any way in finalizing regulation, Very truly yours, Comment By: Trial Lawyers Care September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002389.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, March 17, 2002 12:08 AM Re: Discrimination Discrimination against gays or homosexuals is UNFAIR. Their partners deserve the same that is being given to everyone else. Even fetuses and illegal aliens will be receiving benefits heck, they've even promised to overlook federal law and NOT arrest and kick out the families of illegal aliens, nor will they punish American companies that hired illegals in violation of federal labor laws. But when it comes to gay and lesbian heroes of the day - &nbsp who helped bring down the flight in Pennsylvania, NY Fire Dept. &nbsp who died in the line of duty when the first tower fell, and &nbsp who was &nbsp of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon (there are many more) - we are told the law is the law and no exceptions can be made. This is UNFAIR to all who lost loved ones. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001298.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, December 14, 2001 12:24 AM Ensure Fair Treatment for September 11th Victims' Families Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001684.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, December 09, 2001 11:46 AM September 11 Victim Compensation Fund Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. It is unquestionable that the devastating grief and economic losses suffered by the families of gay and lesbian victims are no less than that of other families. Just as the terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. I urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-09 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001373.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-09 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 13, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a diswasher in one of the restaraunts destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayers money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian famillies are especially vulerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in a traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunaely, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Englewood, OH September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001867.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, November 20, 2001 9:10 AM Topic #5 on Claimant Eligibility Regarding your Topic #5 on Claimant Eligibility, I request that you consider those unborn children who were killed along with their pregnant mothers as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks as "eligible victims." Individual Comment Kosciusko, Mississippi September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000425.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 20, 2001 2:20 PM Equal Access to benefits: The American Way, especially with America under attack December 20, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Cleveland, OH September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA004526.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, December 30, 2001 11:49 PM fund The fact that the calculation only can reach a salary of $231,000 is unfair. There are plenty of good, hard working citizens who earned a much higher salary who perished that day who should be compensated in an EQUAL fashion. Two of these fine people happen to include my brothers who worked for . It was stated and re-stated by the special master at a meeting in NY that "there would be NO cap." Treating everyone EQUALLY is the only fair way to go. Why should my brothers be treated differently because they worked many years and were able to be compensated well for their efforts? Fair and equal treatment for ALL. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-30 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN001248.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-30 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, November 28, 2001 7:20 PM Gay and Lesbian Partners Dear Sir: At this time of tragedy, it has been inspiring to see the outpouring of generosity and good will from the American people. It is consistent with this spirit that I expect our government to compensate the partners of gay and lesbian victims of 9/11 equally. As we learned from the heroism of , one of the brave citizens that confronted the terrorists on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, gay men (and women) support and love this country as much as any other American. In fact, it is despite the lack of equal treatment that gays and lesbians love and support their country. Even and his loved ones have been treated differently. The President did not invite his partner to his address to the nation to sit next to the wives of the other men involved on his flight. Most Americans do not know that one of the leaders in this effort was gay. Please do not add to the injustice by ranking the partners of gay and lesbian victims of 9/11 below those of heterosexual partners. I know that most Americans would support me on this. Americans do believe in equal treatment of gays, lesbians, and transgendered persons. Honor that belief in fairness and freedom. Respectfully yours, Individual Comment West Hollywood, California September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000142.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, December 10, 2001 9:55 PM 9/11 Compensation Comments Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing to you with my comments regarding fair and equitable distribution of payments from the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." First, I would like to say that I applaud the government (both Executive and Adminstration) for creating and passing the bill that allowed this fund to be created. Secondly, that I appreciate the opportunity to be able to comment on the distribution of these funds. Many people were grievously impacted by the 9/11 tragedy. Families were torn asunder; 'breadwinners' lost; loved ones disappeared. Assisting citizens in these circumstances is a trying task; doing it with compassion is a necessity. I would urge you to develop and publish guidelines to the appropriate governmental bodies that would allow husbands, wives and children to receive appropriate compensation - whether the individuals claiming benefit are, as most probably will be, legally married or not. I would urge you to develop rules that encompass compassion to those who may have had long-term relationships, either as partners, spouses, children or parents who may or may not be married. Loss is loss and it did not respect legal status, sexual orientation nor gender. Everyone who counted on a person who was lost should be included in consideration for benefits. Whatever test or 'bar' is developed should include those in legally recognized relationships, but should also include a 'test' for those in 'alternative' relationships - whether joint mortgages, other joint financial 'entanglements', civil union licenses or other objective 'proof' of mutual benefit and mutual care. In this way, all of those impacted can have the opportunity to be 'cared for' and the government can demonstrate its responsibility to all citizens who were impacted by the heinous acts committed on September 11th. I thank you for the opportunity to write to you. Please let me know should you have any questions regarding my communication. Sincerely yours, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-10 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001444.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-10 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, February 03, 2002 2:48 PM (no subject) Mr. Ashcroft, this letter was sent to the President and I feel you should also get a copy. January 27, 2002 Honorable George W. Bush President United States of America 300 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington D.C. DearHonorable George W. Bush, As a retired Port Authority of New York and New JerseyPolice Lieutenant, I lost many friends and acquaintances on September 11,2001. Unfortunately, my brother-in-lawwas also one of those who suffered and died on that day. In all, I lost over 40 people who Iknew. I realize that you â?? above all â??understand the pain that we, as a family, have been through. I write to you today hoping that you willrealize what OUR government is adding to that pain and suffering. My brother-in-law, , would havecelebrated his 36th birthday on September 22nd. Unfortunately, that was not to be. He was a director of the for located on the floor of the NorthTower. No one knows how he died (or howlong he suffered) before the collapse, but we do know that he and hiscolleagues were alive after the initial impact and knew that there was no helpcoming for them. We DO know that hewent to work that fateful Tuesday and did not return to his family. is married to and has five smallchildren â?? 9, 8, 6, 5 and 2. He was also the most loving and generousfather to his children that I have ever met. On August 10th of 2001, he and closed on a new home inRidgewood, NJ, moving from Stamford, Connecticut.  wanted to cut his commuting time, so that he could spendmore time with his family. Recently, the US Government devised a formula to assist tohelp the families of September 11th. Unfortunately, that formula may exclude and her childrenfrom receiving any compensation for their loss. was well compensated during his employment by for his expertise and dedication. He also had the foresightto provide for his family through private insurance. As a result of his love and devotion to his family, it nowappears that our government wants to penalize his heirs. This is neither fair nor equitable. There is absolutely no reason whysomeone whose sole ambition in life was to provide for his family should bepenalized under this plan. Under thepresent government formula, and her five children would not be eligiblefor compensation. The only way to knowwould be to apply for the aid and then wait for a reply. If the reply is negative, JUST FOR APPLYING,they have forfeited the right to sue. This is unjust. With all the brilliant minds that we have elected torepresent us, someone should be able to come up with a better formula tocompensate the families. To penalizesomeone for earning over a set amount or to deduct insurance monies from asettlement is not a fair or equitable way to try and compensate a familyâ??sloss. Based on 's earning potentialand his age ANY court in the land would hand over many times what thegovernment is offering. Is it fair toforce the widow and five children of a victim to seek justice through the courtsystem? Is it fair and just to offerthem nothing when others will receive compensation for their losses? Is this the RIGHT thing to do to those whohave already suffered so much? It wouldseem that the only thing this promotes is litigation. The only ones who profit are the attorneys. And the only ones who will not be able toget on with their lives are the immediate families. I know you are an extremely busy man with many pressing matterson a daily basis, especially now. Ialso know that you are a kind and compassionate man. I only hope that you see the inequities of the proposed systemand can convince others to change the present formula. I pray for you and our elected officials and GOD BLESSAMERICA.  Respectfullyyours, Individual Comment Wood-Ridge, NJ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-03 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojP000371.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-02-03 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 4:12 PM Compensate gay domestic partners of 9-11 victims Please compensate the gay domestic partners of 9-11 victims in the same way you?d compensate a grieving spouse. The U.S. Department of Justice?s September 11 compensation fund is compensating illegal aliens, who are breaking our federal laws, but not compensating the domestic partners of gay 9-11 victims. I have just spoken with at the DOJ, who confirmed this fact. DOJ cites as their policy justification that state laws don?t acknowledge domestic partners. In fact, this is homophobic logic. Yes, most states don?t yet legalize the unions of gay partners. That doesn? t change the facts. Americans use the freedom we have in the ?pursuit of happiness? in many ways. Many millions of Americans choose to commit themselves to partners of their same gender. Both at the DOJ and myself have such unions in our families. Even Dick Cheney has such family members. When you love someone, you can feel the love and humanity in their families. You know that their loss upon a death is as deep as anyone?s loss at the death of a spouse. The September 11 fund is supposed to compensate people for their grief, not cause grief. The Department of Justice should stand for justice. Here, the justice should be for those who lost their life partners (in fact, not according to changeable laws). Without compensation for gay domestic partners, the ?Department of Justice? stabs a knife into the already-open emotional wound of their loss. Respectfully submitted, Individual Comment San Francisco, California September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000417.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, March 27, 2002 5:04 PM equal rights I've recently heard of a woman who'se partner was killed in the 9.11 terrorist acts being denied victim compensation. This totally flys in the face of everything thing that is American, everything that is right. You can not deny someone compensation because they don't fit into what you believe is "normal". This is a manifestation of homophobia in its most insidious form. I demand that you do what right and figure same sex couples into the money dispursement plan. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-27 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR002786.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-27