225 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. 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 Kensington, MD 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 dojA004745.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 30, 2001 10:29 PM Equal Rights for All December 30, 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 St Paul, MN 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 dojN001245.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. Saturday, March 23, 2002 9:51 AM Compensate equally Mr Zwick: I have recently learned that you plan to descriminate against gay and lesbian victims of the 9/11 attacks. You state that you would not compensate the surviving partners of gay victims if the state in which they lived at the time of their death currently practices discrimination against them by not recognising their partnership. Does that mean that if a victim lived in NJ where descrimination is not legal their surviving partner would be compensated but if they lived across the river in Yonkers NY where descrimination is legal they would not be compensated? What if the victim lived a few miles south in NYC where descrimination is illegal under city law but legal under state law? You will have created a monstrous and fundamentally unfair system that will be mired in controversy and court challenges. I urge you to compensate the families of all victims fairly and equally. There is no other just and moral solution. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-23 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 dojR002654.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. 2002-03-23 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 Olympia, WA 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 dojA003925.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. Sunday, March 17, 2002 10:15 AM Discrimination is un-American Gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11 deserve the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. Shame on those in charge for dealing out benefits to illegal aliens & fetuses, but not to living, grieving, loving American partners. FOR THE MEMORY OF: And so many more... Please, do what's right! Sincerely, 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 dojR001368.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. Sunday, December 23, 2001 3:15 PM Equal access to benefits under 9/11 Victims Relief Fund for ALL!! December 23, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, As a member of Amnesty International, I am writing to help ensure worldwide human rights. A.I. is an international movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the 9/11 Victims Relief Fund for ALL victims, regardless of their sexual orientation or marital status. As I assume you know, the U.S.A 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 ways to administer the relief fund, I ask solemnly that you keep basic international human rights standards in mind, 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. 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 the victims have had mixed results in getting 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 heartfelt concerns. I look forward to a response from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the much-needed relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Castro Valley, CA 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 dojN000811.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 11:31 AM Support Fairness 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 San Francisco, CA 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 dojA003110.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. Thursday, November 29, 2001 1:11 PM All Americans: Please include all Americans in the distribution of funds. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-29 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 dojA000190.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. 2001-11-29 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. Dear Sirs: Divide amount of money EQUALLY. Simple Division for The deceased survivors, No offsets, If claimant needs more ONLY then go to a set of regulation, such as Special Master has established-which need to BE REVISED Thank You Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-29 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 dojN002394.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. 2002-01-29 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, January 30, 2002 8:11 AM New Vote.com votes as of 08:11 AM EST on January 30th, 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: 105 votes NO: 990 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-30 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 dojP000284.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. 2002-01-30 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. President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 cc: Vice-President Dick Cheney Attorney General John Ashcroft Dear Mr. President, At the sixth month commemoration of the September 11th tragedies, as a proud Americans, I feel deeply betrayed. I feel anger like no anger I?ve ever felt. It?s almost at the same degree of anger I have toward Osama Bin Laden, Al Queda, and the Taliban. Our faith and belief in a nation of equality, of one people, and renewed by the events of 9/11, was shockingly spat upon by the remarks of the head of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Kenneth Feinberg, on the March 10th telecast of NBC?s ?Meet The Press?. To defer to state laws and dodge a political bullet is nothing less than cowardice. It is a disgrace to the honor of heroes like , , and the of the airplane which hit the Pentagon, all of whom happened to be gay. We?re sure there must be many more. Few states, if any, provide the same legal protection and accommodation for same-sex partners, as they do for married heterosexual citizens. By using this method of disqualification, it means that compensation will be denied to these equally deserving victims. To deny equal compensation implicitly makes the gay men and women who died, lesser kinds of heroes, lesser kinds of victims and their loved ones. When I hear of special accommodation and immunity being offered to illegal aliens by Mr. Feinberg and Attorney General Ashcroft in order to extend 9/11 Fund benefits, yet see no similar effort nor accommodation being made to the gay American legal citizens who lost a partner, I am ashamed of and angry at this country?s leaders who perpetuate such divisive standards. As a nation, have we not learned anything from our history, especially in times of crisis? We have apologized and paid a symbolic compensation for the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. (Ironically, a second generation Japanese-American, Minoru Yamasaki, was the architect for the World Trade Center.) We have since recognized racial segregation in the military during the same period, and in American society in general until the mid-1960?s. We have established laws to protect most of our citizens against such inequality. Would we even consider the same divisive practices today? Apparently we do, especially when it comes to matters of sexual orientation and determining which heroes? loved ones are worthy of compensation. Some would say that these early policies reflected the opinions and beliefs of the times. Perhaps that?s true to a degree, but moreover, they are examples of the hypocrisy we continue to see in our laws and social behavior. What if things were reversed? Can you imagine extending 9/11 Fund benefits only to the loved ones of homosexual victims and not to those of heterosexual victims? I seriously doubt that the opinions and beliefs of the American public today would support the decision to exclude any 9/11 victim?s surviving spouse, partner, child, or anyone who depended greatly upon the victim for financial support or other assistance. Does this include the guy who sold him a newspaper each day? Of course not. Does it include a life partner who shared the rent or mortgage? Someone who is caring for a child of the victim? You bet. Forget about the victim?s or loved one?s sexual orientation. Apply a fair, comparable standard. Today, my partner and I are celebrating our fourth anniversary as life partners. I can only imagine what the victims and their loved ones felt on September 11 and since that fateful day. I ask you, is the wife of a World Trade Center investment broker more worthy of benefits than the 20-year loving male partner of , the hero who died while helping to avert a second aircraft destined to hit Washington, DC? These are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary action and compassion. It is a time when unity and fairness must be the just cause to repeal, amend, or eliminate inequitable laws and policies which divide and exclude. If we are truly a nation founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and if we truly believe in justice and equality for all of our citizens, we must act accordingly. Please seize this opportunity to correct a wrong for the gay victims of 9/11, and to renew the fight to end discrimination and unequal treatment of America?s gay citizens. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-14 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 dojR000233.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. 2002-03-14 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. Monday, February 04, 2002 7:49 PM Compensation Fund Comment With reference to the above, while I sympathize with the pain families of the victims are feeling, as a citizen I am disturbed by what appears to be a new entitlement. I am also dismayed by the greed of the families based on comments they have made on television and stories in newspapers. Furthermore, it would appear that the life of a Wall St. trader and/or other high paid people is more highly valued than others. As a retired securities analyst with nearly 30 years on "Wall Street" I find the decision to base compensation from the fund on projected earnings to be unfair in this instance and somehwhat misguided. While, I realize that the decision is based on how settlements are decided in the insurance industry, the 9/11 situation is not typical. As a matter of fact, the projection that a 35 or 40 year old trader will work until age 65 is unrealistic. The majority of traders retire by the time their 50 or 55. In fact, the investment business is typically a youth oriented business and encourages early retirement. Earning spouses are killed in all types of accidents in this country everyday. Families cope and move on for the most part without government assistance. This program is overly generous. There is no easy way to say this, but I do not pay taxes to keep the widows of high paid professionals in expensive houses. I think the economic loss is more acute for the familes of lower-paid employees who worked in the buildings. Respectfully, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-04 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 dojP000389.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. 2002-02-04 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, November 06, 2001 9:06 AM Handling Compensation Until all the people who donated the money know how these funds will be distributed and when, the other issues cannot be commented on. Why put the cart before the horse? If the distribution is equitable, the decision over additional compensation should be weighed as to how much more is needed. As for 's comment that lawsuits should be the way to go, I find this selfish, self serving statement one more nail in the coffin of "sleazy lawyer" perception. If I thought for one minute that lawyers would get their hands in the pot, I would NEVER HAVE CONTRIBUTED. Furthermore any recommendation of the Trial Lawyers Association for a choice to oversee the fund, I view with skepticism---why do they have an opinion and preference? The first step is to lay out the plan to disburse funds. The primary assurance must be no one will have to resort to paying a lawyer to receive any monies. As to who is entitled, widows/widowers and children are the victims who will suffer long term from the loss of financial and emotional support. While other family members will suffer the emotional loss, the majority will not endure a financial crisis and should not be the focus of aid. I say this as a mother and sister and aunt. All life is beyond a dollar value, but I gave money to assist those who will most suffer from the loss of the financial support. Let's not lose sight of the intent of most of the contributors. This is not a Pollyanna. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-06 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 dojW000044.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. 2001-11-06 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 U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20530 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 I 1 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 conunenting on the following specific points: I . 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 spouse and each dependent. Section 104.46 additionally authorizes the Special Master to rely on these amounts in determining the non-economic losses for claimants who suffered physical harm. These amounts are arbitrary, unreasonably unfair and contrary to the Act The Act establishing the September I I 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 to reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or natare. 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". 80 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013-4306 Trial Lawyers Care, Inc. is the non-profit corporation set up by volunteer trial lawyers across the nation to provide free legal services to the September 1 ith terrorist attack victims,who choose to make claims under the federal September 1 @ Victim Compensation Fund. 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 1988, 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 deaths endlessly repeated in the following days. A few were able to share last words. Most can only imagine the horror of their loved one's death. Many deaths were concentrated and connected in ways that destroyed or rendered normal support groups dysfimctional, which has compounded the families' losses. Those that escaped death on September 1 1 have been engulfed in survivor's guilt, and emotional damage, including PTSD, will be common. Spouses and children have and will continue to suffer and relive September 1 1 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 that the circumstances of death in most cases was '@owable". Quite the contrary is trlic 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. Furthermore, 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 noneconomic 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 104.43 (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 discem, 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 I 000 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-date 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 $23 1,000. 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. I 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 regulations, 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 deductions. 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 dependency deduction for children will be taken by one of the parents (usually the lower wage eamer or the unemployed parent). In addition, many 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 the 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 intestate 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 whom the claimant or decedent contributed support or 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 I I which did not manifest until days 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 the 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 or 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 ftmded by an annuity, then the Special Master may transfer, in a qualified assignment, the obligation to make such 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 the 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 I 1. 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 the regulations. Very truly yours, Comment by: Trial Lawyers Care New York, NY 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 dojN001900.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. Tuesday, January 22, 2002 7:02 PM Comments re Interiim Final Rules - September 11 Victim Compensation Fund Attachment 1: January 22, 2002 Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 Washington, D.C. 20530 Re: September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Dear Mr. Zwick: The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. ("LDF") is a non-profit corporation established under the laws of the State of New York. It was formed to assist black persons in securing their constitutional rights through the prosecution of lawsuits and to provide legal services to those suffering injustice by reason of racial discrimination. LDF's first Director-Counsel was Justice Thurgood Marshall. For six decades, LDF attorneys have represented parties in litigation in federal and state courts, including the seminal case of Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). We urge you to consider carefully the detailed analysis submitted to you on this date by the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund but write separately to express our deep concerns regarding published reports that the Special Master of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, through implementation of the Interim Final Rules, intends to use life expectancy tables that discriminate against minority and female victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. It is simply incomprehensible to us that an agency of the United States government would sanction the use of race-based and gender-based calculations to disadvantage people of color and women in the determination of compensation to victims. Published reports indicate that the Special Master intends to use the separate "work life expectancy" tables generated by the Bureau of Labor Standards from 1979-80 data. By using these tables (and any other race or gender-based tables) the federal government endorses the concept that minority and female victims of the attack, had they lived, would have faced the same discrimination in the workplace and elsewhere as existed in this country during the last fifty years. The 1979-80 data, if it is to be used, will inevitably reflect the effects of racial discrimination in this country. This is utterly at odds with the federal government's commitment to end race and gender discrimination. Use of race and gender-based classifications in this context is also unconstitutional. The federal government has, for the past fifty years, treated the struggle to end invidious discrimination on the basis of race and gender as among its highest priorities. Pursuant to the statutory prohibitions against discrimination contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the United States Supreme Court struck down as unlawful the use of gender-based annuity tables in Los Angeles Dept. of Water & Power v. Manhart, 435 U.S. 702 (1978). The Supreme Court has, only recently, concluded that even "benign" classifications designed to remove the effects of this Nation's history of racial discrimination are subject to strict scrutiny. Adarand Constructors v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200 (1995). There is no compelling national interest in calculating the value of an African-American life, or a woman's life, at an amount lower than that of their white or male contemporaries. Race-neutral means for making those calculations exist and should be used. The Constitution requires nothing less. We ask the Special Master to disavow publicly and forcefully the use of race-based and gender-based tables for any purpose connected with the administration of the Fund. The Special Master should also publish a detailed explanation of how award calculations will be made and what data sources will be used. The public should be given an opportunity for comment. The use of race and gender-based tables to calculate compensation to families of victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks will surely be divisive, will lead to litigation and by any measure, will be a serious mistake. Very truly yours, Comment by: NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. New York 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 dojN002324.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. Monday, February 04, 2002 8:59 AM Help all victims of terrorist attack 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. 2002-02-04 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 dojP000366.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. 2002-02-04 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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 10:40 PM LGT Action 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.BR>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 Seabrook, TX 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 dojA003872.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. Friday, December 21, 2001 12:57 PM urgent December 21, 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. Please remember that we are all human, and that loving someone of the same sex does not hurt anyone. 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 cincinnati, OH 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 dojN000446.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. Tuesday, December 18, 2001 8:32 PM Victims Relief Fund 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 Westport, CT 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 dojA002264.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. Thursday, December 13, 2001 2:16 PM September 11 Victim Compensation Fund December 13, 2001 Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice e-mail: victimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov In late September, President Bush and Congress did a wonderful thing and authorized the creation of the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund" to provide assistance to the surviving victims of the attacks and the "relatives" of those who died. I was recently made aware that the Department of Justice is in the process of writing the regulations that will govern implementation of the Fund and has invited public comments to guide this process. Unfortunately, it seems, there are factions who are mounting a campaign to request that the surviving partners and children of gay and lesbian victims be excluded from the benefits of the Fund. I find these views to be unpatriotic, cruel and reprehensible. How could anyone believe that the emotional, financial and psychological pain of the September 11th attacks and the loss of loved ones should be addressed based only on life style choices. Clearly, such a determination would have to be considered a blatant exercise in discrimination. As The Justice Department considers the regulations governing the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund" I urge you to ensure that compensation is available to all surviving families of those killed, including the committed partners and non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. Thank you for your consideration. Individual Comment Fort Worth, Texas 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 dojA001550.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