137 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. Saturday, March 16, 2002 8:48 PM 9/11 compensation to victims Hello, I strongly disagree with the decision to exclude domestic partners of the gay victims of the 9/11 tragedy from receiving compensation. Those people should receive the same compensation as the heterosexual partners of the 9/11 victims. I hope someone there will recognize before it is too late how discriminatory this is, and change this policy to include gay life partners. Thank you. Individual Comment Kirkland, WA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 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 dojR001234.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. 2002-03-16 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. Wednesday, December 12, 2001 10:30 AM de facto relatives I lost my only brother in the WTC on 9/11. I am the beneficiary of his estate. My brother was engaged for one month and lived with his girlfriend for less then one year. I DO NOT agree with "De Facto" relatives getting any benefits from the Victim's Compensation Fund. This fund is for Legal Relatives only. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-12 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 dojA001502.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. 2001-12-12 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. Thursday, December 20, 2001 10:53 PM Pain is the Same for All 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 Oshkosh , WI 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 dojN000165.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, January 15, 2002 10:04 AM Victims Compensation Fund January , 2002 Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Mr. Zwick, Re: "September 11th Victims Compensation Fund of 2001" P.L. 107-42 In the immediate aftermath of the tragic attack of September 11th upon our nation, Congress enacted the above referenced legislation to compensate the relatives of the victims of that brutal attack. As elected representatives of many of those relatives, it is our firm belief that the interim rules issued by the Special Master on December 20th fail to satisfy the letter or the spirit of the legislation which we enacted. The legislation authorized payment for economic and non-economic loss. Economic loss was defined as "any pecuniary loss? including the loss of earnings? to the extent recovery for such loss is allowed under applicable State law." (Sec. 401(5)). Non-economic loss was defined to include among other things "physical and emotional pain, suffering ? mental anguish ? and loss of consortium." (Sec. 402(5)). The sole offsets to the payment for economic and non-economic loss were the "collateral sources" specified in Sec 402(4). These included "life insurance, pension funds ? and payments by Federal State or local governments related to the attacks of September 11th." These were clearly intended to be the only offsets. In his proposed rules, however, the Special Master has imposed offsets which are in no way authorized by the statute. Specifically, he imposes arbitrary income limits and restricts pain and suffering awards to $250,000 - no matter what the extent of the pain and suffering may have been. The practical effect of these caps is to drastically reduce the award from what the statute intended. Relatives of the victims who were in the financial services sector or in the public service sector - such as police officers and firefighters - will suffer a particularly adverse effect. This is not only contrary to the legislation but also entirely unfair. The financial services victims were killed precisely because of the jobs they held. They personified American business and commerce. That is why they worked in the World Trade Center and that is why our enemies targeted them. The police and firefighters were killed carrying out the most successful rescue operation in the history of the United States. It is bad enough that these good people were victimized by bin Laden. We cannot allow their relatives to be victimized again. As Mayor Giuliani stated in his farewell address: "we have an obligation to the people who did die? Their families need to be protected just as if they had been alive, financially and in every other way that we can help and assist their families? There should be no compromise about that ever ?" The Victims Compensation Fund was created as a part of a comprehensive legislative package which bailed out the airline industry and imposed restrictions on the right of the victims' relatives to recover from the airlines in court. The Fund was established to protect the rights of the victims' relatives. The Special Master cannot take it on himself to restrict those rights. Additionally, at the time the legislation was enacted, the amount of fatalities was expected to be between 6,000 and 10, 000. The final number will be less than 3,500. This will result in a significant reduction in the expected expenditures and makes the Special Master's false economies even less defensible. We request therefore that the interim rules be amended and redefined to the extent that income caps be removed when computing economic loss and that each victim's case be addressed separately when computing the non-economic loss attributable to pain and suffering. Mr. Feinberg has arbitrarily restricted the non-economic awards for pain and suffering, no matter what the extent of the pain and suffering. This is unacceptable. In the words of Congressman Peter King, "every death is tragic. A murder is particularly tragic. But to have your love one murdered in a burning building in full view of the world - in a scene which will be repeated in the media for decades to come - is a horror these families will never escape from. The Special Master cannot take it upon himself to restrict the rights of the families." Therefore, we request that the interim rules be amended to more appropriately compensate the victims' families' for the immeasurable pain and suffering endured by our loved ones. As Mayor Giuliani stated in his farewell address: "we have an obligation to the people who did died?Their families need to be protected just as if they had been alive, financially and every other way that we can help and assist their familiesS?There should be no compromise about that ever" We request that the interim rules be amended and that compensation for pain and suffering more accurately reflect that horror which was suffered. Justice demands no less. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-15 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 dojN001617.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. 2002-01-15 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 Justie 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 Miami, FL 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 dojA004732.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. 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 Austin, TX 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 dojA004028.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. Thursday, April 04, 2002 10:49 PM LGBT Discrimination. This is a classic case of discrimination demonstrated in the worst possible way. Are you comensating blacks? Arabs? Chinese? or any other group? Then why not my fellow members of the LGBT society?? Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-04-04 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 dojR002907.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. 2002-04-04 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, January 22, 2002 6:23 PM Comments on Interim Final Rule Attachment 1: January 22, 2002 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL (victimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov) Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20530 Re: September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Dear Mr. Zwick: This letter is a submission of comments on the Interim Final Rule issued by the Attorney General, in consultation with the Special Master, on December 21, 2001 (the "Interim Rule"), to implement the "September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001" (the "Fund"). The President signed the Fund into law on September 22, 2001, as Title IV of Public Law 107-42, "Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act" (the "Act"). I am an attorney specializing the estate planning and estate administration who is writing on behalf of the family of a young woman from Boston, Massachusetts, who was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11. This young womans family includes her fiancé, her mother and her father. The purpose of this submission is twofold. First, the family wishes to urge the Attorney General and Special Master to recognize the interests in the Fund of all those persons who were financially and emotionally dependent on the victims, beyond the limited class of heirs under state intestacy laws and dependents listed on income tax returns. Second, the family wishes to offer examples of situations where the treatment of collateral source payments under the Interim Rule may lead to unintended results and suggest that the types of such payments that are deducted from awards be limited to ones more in keeping with a careful reading of the Act. Before proceeding to outline the comments to the Interim Rule, I would like to review the parameters of the Fund that were set down by Congress in the provisions of the Act. Section 403 of the Act states that the purpose of the Fund is to provide compensation to any individual (or relatives of a deceased individual) who was physically injured or killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001. Under Section 405 of the Act, a "claimant" may file a claim for compensation with the Special Master. In the case of a deceased individual, the claimant is the personal representative of the decedent. The claim form to be developed by the Special Master shall request information confirming the decedents death as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes, information concerning any possible economic and noneconomic losses that the personal representative suffered as a result of such crashes, and information regarding collateral sources of compensation that the personal representative has received or is entitled to receive as a result of such crashes. The term "collateral source" is defined in Section 402 of the Act to mean all collateral sources, including life insurance, pension funds, death benefit programs, and payments by federal, state or local governments, related to the such crashes. Section 405(b) of the Act provides that the Special Master is to determine, after review of the claim submitted, the extent of the harm to the personal representative, including any economic and noneconomic losses, and the amount of compensation to which the personal representative is entitled based on the harm to the personal representative, the facts of the claim and the individual circumstances of the personal representative. The Special Master is to reduce this compensation by the collateral source compensation that the personal representative has received or is entitled to receive. Pursuant to Section 406 of the Act, the Special Master is to authorize payment to the personal representative of the amount determined to be due the personal representative. It is important to note that, in the language of the Act dealing with claimants, awards and offsets, Congress speaks of personal representatives only. A personal representative is commonly the administrator of the estate of a deceased individual who has not left a will or the executor of the estate of a deceased individual who has left a will. By dealing only with personal representatives and imposing no restrictions on the ultimate beneficiaries of the award, Congress did not exclude any class of survivors who have lost loved ones and suffered economic and noneconomic harm as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes. In addition, by referring to collateral source payments to the personal representative, Congress was limiting the deductions from the award to such payments received by the personal representative only (i.e., the estate of the deceased individual) and not to such payments received by individual loved ones. Section 407 of the Act vested the Attorney General with the authority, in consultation with the Special Master, to promulgate regulations to carry out the title, including those with respect to forms, procedures for hearings, procedures for pursuing claims and other matters he deemed appropriate. The Interim Final Rule represents these regulations. We submit, however, that the Attorney General and Special Master have issued procedural rules that restrict the substantial application of the Act in ways not provided in the Act itself and offer the following comments: 1. Definitions of family. "Family" for purposes of the Fund should not be limited to those who appear as dependents on the victims tax returns and/or who are the victims heirs under state intestacy or wrongful death laws. Any term for "family" should recognize the reality of the victims life and the tremendous losses suffered by all those survivors who were financially and emotionally intertwined with the victim. The Interim Rule introduces terms that do not recognize these survivors. Section 104.3(a) of the Interim Rule defines the term "beneficiary" as a person entitled under the laws of the victims domicile to receive payments or benefits from the estate of or on behalf of the decedent. "Dependents" are defined by Section 104.3(b) as those persons so identified by the victim on her federal income tax return for the year 2000. We ask that the Special Master recognize those loved ones who were financially dependent or mutually interdependent upon the victim and include them within any term appearing in the regulations that refers to familial relationships, such as "beneficiary" and "dependents." Many of the victims who died on September 11th were young people who did not leave wills. Many were in the midst of building their lives and creating their own families and homes with fiancés or domestic partners who shared in their income and expenses along with their hopes for the future. We urge the Special Master to emulate New York Governor George Patakis Executive Order 113.3, signed on October 11, 2001, which directs the state to consider all appropriate factors in determining an eligible dependent, for purposes of these regulations. The Executive Order reads in pertinent part as follows: Such a dependent person shall be eligible for awards upon a showing of unilateral dependence or mutual interdependence upon such a victim, which may be evidenced by a nexus of factors, including but not limited to common ownership of property, common householding, shared budgeting and the length of the relationship between such person and the victim. 2. Determination of economic and noneconomic losses. In considering the individual circumstances of the claimant when determining economic and noneconomic losses as a result of the victims death, the Special Master should be required to include the financial resources and the financial needs of all survivors who were financially and emotionally intertwined with the victim. Now, Section 104.41 of the Interim Rule provides merely that the individual circumstances of the claimant may include the financial needs or the financial resources of the claimant or the decedents dependents and beneficiaries. In determining presumed economic loss, under Section 104.43 of the Interim Rule, the Special Master shall consider presumed determinations of loss of earnings and other benefits related to employment that are calculated based upon the number of dependents who survive the victim and whether there is a surviving spouse. And, in determining presumed noneconomic loss under Section 104.44 of the Interim Rules, the Special Master will determine such loss to be $250,000 plus an additional $50,000 for the spouse and each dependent of the deceased victim. The combined effect of this is that, under the Special Masters "Presumed Loss Calculation Tables Before any Collateral Offsets," the loss (before collateral offsets) for the family of a married decedent with no dependents would be presumed to be as much as $1.3 million more than a single decedent with no dependents. This means that, in the case of a young victim who considered her family to include her fiancé and her parents, who had not yet had children and who left no will, the presumed loss would be as much as $1.3 million less than if this young victim had married her fiancé prior to September 11, 2001. And the actual loss, based on individual circumstances, may be determined by the Special Master to be even less, because the Special Master is not now mandated to consider the financial needs of the fiancé but merely those of the parents, who are not likely to be financially dependent upon their child. Such a result is contrary to the true "individual circumstances" that exist in the case and more narrow than what is required by the Act. 3. Collateral source payments. Under the Act, the Special Master is to reduce the amount of compensation by the amount of the collateral source compensation the claimant (i.e., the personal representative) has received or is entitled to receive as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001. The Interim Rule amplifies this by stating, in Section 104.41, that the Special Master shall reduce the amount of compensation by the amount of source compensation that the claimant "(or, in the case of a Personal Representative, the victims beneficiaries)" has received or is entitled to receive. The parenthetical added by the Interim Rule represents a significant broadening of Congress definition of collateral source payments and could serve to reduce or wipe out entirely any economic loss component of a familys award from the Fund. This treatment of collateral source payments under the Interim Rule could lead to inequitable and, at times, unduly harsh results. For example, the children of a victims first marriage could lose most of their award if the victim had chosen to leave his estate to them but benefit his second wife with substantial amounts of insurance. As another example, the surviving spouse of a decedent who had a will that left everything to her could lose most of her award because of a large life insurance policy that benefited the decedents grown children. (These results will not be uncommon, because some estate plans are designed to benefit one set of loved ones with estate assets and another set with insurance and other non-probate assets.) And, the families of victims who made no advance plans and/or chose to invest their income in the stock market will receive greater awards than the families of those victims who planned ahead and/or chose to invest their incomes in life insurance. To avoid situations such as these, the regulations should abide by the provisions of the Act and offset any awards by collateral source payments received by the victim or the victims estate only. Along the same lines, the Special Master should not have the discretion (as now given to the Special Master in Interim Rule Section 104.47(b)(2)) to determine that funds provided to victims families through a private charitable entity constitute, in substance, a payment that constitutes a collateral source. This proviso to Section 104.47(b)(2) of the Interim Rules should be removed, so that charitable donations distributed to the beneficiaries of the victims by private charitable entities will not constitute collateral source compensation. The continued existence of the proviso will leave some doubt in the minds of families who are deciding whether to proceed under the Fund or file a lawsuit. 4. Distribution of awards. Awards should be distributed among all those loved ones who can show unilateral dependence or mutual interdependence upon the victim. As Section 104.52 of the Interim Rule reads, the Personal Representative shall distribute the award in a manner consistent with the law of the decedents domicile or any applicable rulings made by a court of competent jurisdiction. If the victim died without a will, this reference to "law of [her] domicile" means that the Personal Representative would be required to distribute the entire award to the victims parents, if she left no children and no spouse. This portion of the Interim Rule would prevent the Personal Representative from paying over any amount of the award to a fiancé or domestic partner who was dependent upon the victim, regardless of a showing that the fiancé or domestic partner and the victim shared a residence, shared expenses and were otherwise financially and emotionally intertwined in a familial relationship. The Personal Representative and the victims parents may very well agree that a portion of the award should be used to compensate the fiancé or domestic partner for his or her loss, but the Interim Rule stands in the way of the parties achieving that result. We ask that the Attorney General and Special Master allow the Personal Representative to act on behalf of all of those who can show themselves to be the survivors of the victim, seeking compensation in proportion to their losses and distributing the award accordingly. Where no will exists, the awards should not be confined to the victims heirs as defined only by state intestacy law or distributees under state wrongful death statutes. This is unduly restrictive and ignores the true needs and losses of those who can demonstrate unilateral dependence or mutual interdependence upon the victim. The suggestions we offer are as follows: a. The Special Master should be authorized to direct the Personal Representative to distribute a part of the award to a dependent fiancé or domestic partner of the victim. This would be akin to Section 104.52 of the Interim Rule, which allows the Special Master, "notwithstanding any other provision of these regulations or any other provision of state law," to direct the Personal Representative to distribute all or part of the award among the victims relatives if the Special Master concludes that the Personal Representatives plan for distribution does not appropriately compensate them. b. In the alternative, the Special Master should be authorized to accept a Personal Representatives plan of distribution that includes payment of part of the award to a dependent fiancé or domestic partner of the victim. c. Otherwise, the Special Master should be required to accept any distribution of the award by the Personal Representative that is in a manner consistent with any applicable ruling made by a court of competent jurisdiction. The authority conferred on the Special Master by Section 104.52 of the Interim Rule to reject a Personal Representatives plan of distribution should not extend to such plans derived from a local court order. The Statement by the Special Master that precedes the text of the Interim Rule makes many references to the regulations reliance on state law and the Special Master should be required to observe an applicable ruling of a court of competent jurisdiction in the state of the victims domicile. d. Finally, if the current text of the Interim Rule becomes final, the loved ones of the victim who receive the award should be permitted to transfer as much of their award as they deem appropriate to loved ones of the victim who were precluded from benefiting from the Fund. Such a transfer, if made within the year of the award or the year following the award, should be free of federal estate, gift or generation-skipping transfer tax consequences. Thus, the parents of a victim who receive an award as their daughters sole heirs-at-law and who wish to benefit her fiancé with a portion of that award should be allowed to do so without a diminution of their so-called "unified credit" or applicable exclusion amount or an obligation to pay federal transfer taxes as a result. 5. Publication of awards. To assist potential claimants in evaluating their options of either filing a claim with the Special Master or filing a lawsuit in tort, the Special Master should be required to publicize the amounts of all awards granted under the Fund. Section 104.34 of the Interim Rule provides merely that the Special Master reserves the right to publicize the amounts of some or all of the awards. If the Special Master was to publish only a portion of the awards -- or none at all - potential claimants could receive a skewed picture of the distributions and be unable to evaluate their options in a fully informed way. Potential claimants, in either case, would need to understand that the published decisions, as now stated in the Interim Rule, would be intended by the Special Master as general guidelines and not as binding precedent. We are grateful for the opportunity to submit these comments and respectfully ask for full consideration of their contents. Very truly yours, Individual Comment Boston, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-22 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 dojN002337.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. 2002-01-22 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, January 15, 2002 10:38 PM Offsets, Caps, and eligibility To The Special Master, Offsets: Life insurances and pensions would not be deducted from compensation if the victims were to exercise their right to sue in a court of law. By capping the amount of liability (1.5 Billion per plane crash) our lawmakers infringed on the victim's survivors basic freedom to seek redress in a court of law and by doing so made it impractical to pursue this path. Therefore, these should offsets should be eliminated or modified greatly so that much higher awards are granted. Cap on pain & suffering: This is the greatest indignity of all is placing a very low figure on pain and loss. This is insensitive in the utmost degree. While realistically it is understandable that a figure must be established capping, this most private grief and suffering, at the paltry sum of $250,000, demeans the life of each individual who perished at Ground Zero. Again in a court of law, where no caps would have been imposed, compensation for pain and loss would have been many times greater. Eligibility: My son was engaged to a lovely young woman, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , and they were to married on November 16th 2001. Her deep grief and anguish is as excruciating as our family's. Her whole world was destroyed and all her future plans for a happy life with &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp were ruined permanently by the tragic events of 9-11. Who compensates her for her pain and loss?. Why isn't she eligible under Public Law 107-42?. Likewise domestic partners who lost their beloved mates. Why aren't they eligible?. I recommend that the Special Master ponder this question deeply, because if they are made ineligible the spirit of the law to compensate those affected by this horrible, evil attack is compromised. Our lawmakers bailed out the Airline Industry to the tune of $15 billion and by taking this action probably bolstered our economy. This was the right thing to do. Next they capped the Airlines at $6 billion. This action is questionable, as the Airlines will probably recover within the next few years. and may have been able to compensate survivors beyond this amount. Public 107-42 was probably enacted to compensate survivors for the disparities created by capping the Airlines liability but falls short of it's goal. It is time to modify the rules and regulations to correct the inequities outlined above. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-15 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 dojN001765.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. 2002-01-15 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 21, 2001 6:54 AM Justice help all terrorist victims Dear Mr. Zwick: The very humane Fund for relatives of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks must include all relatives of all the victims. This importantly should include the partners and children of same sex unions. They suffer just as grievously for their deceased loved ones as do other survivors, and their need for assistance is just as great. Please do not give in to the importuning of callous homophobic groups and individuals who would have the Department of Justice limit compensation to survivors of heterosexual unions. They are interested in a political victory, not humane assistance. This Fund is intended for humane purposes; it is not a political statement, Mr. Zwick. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 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 dojN000324.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. 2001-12-21 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, December 19, 2001 9:15 AM Equal Access to the September 11 Attack Fund December 19, 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 Twin Lake, MI September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 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 dojA002834.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. 2001-12-19 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. December 14, 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 Menomonie, WI 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 dojA004407.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. Tuesday, December 04, 2001 4:39 PM Victim compensation for Families of Gay/Lesbian People Dear Director 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 and helping 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 and honor the lives of the heroes and victims by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment Livonia, Mi September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-04 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 dojA000369.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. 2001-12-04 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, March 16, 2002 1:19 PM Doubts To whom it may concern, I am appalled at your stance that gay and lesbian partners of victims of thw WTC attack may not be given the same benefits as fetuses and illegal aliens. I am ashamed that even in times of tragedy our country can still be discriminatory against people of different sexual orientation. If I could, I would take back my donation,and give it to a charity that does not care if a victim's partner was of the same sex. I am going to forward the letter telling me about this to everyone I know, so the world can see just how wrong your actions are.I hope you and the people that make these decisions can sleep at night, because I can't, and I don't even know anyone that was directly affected by the attacks. I bet the victims's families who are affected by your decision can't either. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 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 dojR000900.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. 2002-03-16 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. Monday, March 11, 2002 2:02 PM coward Leaving gays and lesbians are left out of the 911 compensation program to the extent that their own state doesn't include them is outrageous and cowardly. No state includes us (except some as state employees) and you know it. What a convenient excuse. I hope our future gay heroes remember your ingratitude and injustice. If state law had discriminated against a minority, would you use take the same action? I have never been prouder of my community, and more ashamed of my government, than this moment. You are all cowards. Individual Comment 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 dojR000140.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 8:21 PM Equal rights means equal access December 19, 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 Penfield, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 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 dojA003784.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. 2001-12-19 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. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 6:24 PM gay and lesbian partners Dear Madam or Sir: The Final Rule on the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund will not fairly compensate (to the extent it is even possible to try) the survivors of those lost on that terrible day. Specifically, engaged persons and gay men and lesbians whose partners were killed -- in short, people who intended to marry victims but had not yet done (or had not yet been permitted to do) so -- may not be eligible for compensation. I understand that the procedure defers to state law -- but as the Final Rule notes, state laws vary. Surely, as this is a Federal fund, this is an appropriate time for the Federal government to set the example: a man who has lost his wife, a man who has lost his fiancee, and a man who has lost his husband are all equally bereaved, and should by every standard of decency be treated so. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your response. Individual Comment Arlington, VA 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 dojR000445.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. Tuesday, December 18, 2001 8:06 PM Equal Access to Crisis Relief Benefits for Gays and Lesbians December 18, 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 Los Angeles, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-18 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 dojA002253.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. 2001-12-18 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, March 15, 2002 10:08 AM New Vote.com votes as of 10:08 AM EST on March 15th, 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: 2 votes NO: 3 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-15 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 dojR000798.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. 2002-03-15 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 4:59 PM Gay and Lesbian Domestic Partners Let me add my voice to those who are outraged that surviving same sex partners have received so little consideration under the rules that are being considered for fund distributions. It makes me feel sorry that I have donated money to the cause. Individual Comment West Hollywood, 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 dojR000245.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