231 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. Thursday, January 24, 2002 4:36 PM Questions regarding september 11 fund Dear Sir/Madam: I have a few questions regarding the calculations and distributions from the September 11 fund. They are: 1) Will housing allowances, and other cash benefits received by military personnel killed in the Pentagon attack be included in the annual salary used to determine the range listed in the compensation chart? This was considered by individuals as a very important part of the individuals compensation plan. 2) If an expecting mother delivered a child 1 1/2 months after the attack, would this child be considered a dependent and accounted for on the compensation chart? The surviving spouse will claim this child as dependent on their 2001 tax return. 3) Will survivor benefits (veterans administration benefits and social security) be considered collateral offsets? This is not a pension as the victim did not retire from the military. 4) For a victim that was a Military Officer, retiring in less than 4 years, expecting to go into private industry in a professional/executive position earning an average of 50%-100% more annually would you consider this private industry salary when calculating his future earnings. If so how do we calculate his compansation range on the chart? If not, why not? Thank you for your response. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-24 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 dojP000091.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. 2002-01-24 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 12:36 PM Victim compensation 9-11 was a devastating tragedy.  It happened because of hatred and discrimination. But everyday, gays and lesbians are victims of the same venom.  It is high time our governmental representatives, who, according to our Constitution, should be working for the people and not only the heterosexual people, step up to the plate and end this discrimination.  Through inaction, our government condones such discrimination.  Those who were effected at as result of 9-11 do not deserve further disrespect and punishment at the hand of our government.  WE ARE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES!  Treat us as such!  Allow gay and lesbian survivors to benefit from the 9-11 Fund.  Individual 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 dojR000848.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. Congress of the United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 January 14, 2002 The Honorable Kenneth Feinberg Special Master September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to provide comment on the interim final rules for September 11th Victim Compensation Fund("the Fund"). I appreciate the hard work you, your staff, and the Justice Department put into assembling g the interim final rules. I also appreciate the fact that, under the interim final rules, charitable contributions to persons injured in the September 11th terrorists attacks or the relatives of those who lost their lives in this tragedy will not offset Fund awards. I had weighed in on that particular issue during the prior notice-and-comment period, in correspondence dated November 26th, 2001. At the same time, I strongly and respectfully request that the interim final rules be modified to provide truly full and fair compensation for economic and non-economic harm incurred by victims of the September 11th terrorists attacks and their loved ones. I had emphasized the moral and practical imperative of providing full and fair economic and non-economic damage awards through the Fund during our meeting of December 13th, 2001. Unfortunately, I do not believe the interim final rules achieve this objective. More importantly, those directly affected by the September 11th terrorist attacks consider the interim final rules to be seriously deficient and are-- quite understandably angry, hurt, and frustrated. A combination of unjustifiably low presumed non-economic damages awards, a flawed presumed economic damages formula, the collateral source offset rule, and an inappropriately steep evidentiary hurdle to securing modifications to presumed Fund awards will operate in many instances to prevent victims and their loved ones from receiving full and fair compensation -and, on occasion, any compensation-through the Fund. This would frustrate Congress's intent, deprive some families of resources critical to their economic security, encourage litigation, and send entirely the wrong signal to these families regarding our government's and society's estimation and appreciation of the magnitude of their loss. In the airline relief and airline security bills, Congress limited the courtroom liability of airlines, the airline industry, the World Trade Center, and other parties. It recognized that these liability limits-operating alone-might deprive victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks and their loved ones of full and fail compensation for the terrible harms they have suffered. Thus, Congress created a government-funded program to provide full and fair compensation for the economic and non-economic harm suffered by victims and their lobed ones, minus a narrow range of collateral source payments. Notably, it did not subject the program to the annual appropriations process. Rather, it funded the program through mandatory spending. In other words, the manifest intent of Congress was to ensure that the program fully and fairly valued the economic and non-economic harm suffered by victims and their loved ones federal budgetary and cost consideration notwithstanding. Indeed, this would not only benefit victims and their loved ones but also reduce litigation arising from the September 11th attacks. Along these lines, the fact that courtroom litigation may be less attractive to victims and their loved ones due to the liability limits imposed by recently enacted federal law certainly does not support valuing economic and non-economic damages incurred by victims or their loved ones for purposes of the Fund at levels significantly lower than what one would secure in a successful courtroom action. Those liability limits instead make it particularly imperative that damages estimates under the Fund be full and fair. Again, this is not only good policy but also the clear intent of Congress. To achieve this objective, I respectfully urge you to modify the interim final rules to insure presumed non-economic damage awards to amounts that fully reflect the damages that Congress listed as compensable, correct and all methodological and statutory interpretation flaws in setting of presumed economic damages, and allow increases to presumed awards based simply upon a showing that such awards do not accurately reflect the damages incurred by victims and their lobed ones(as opposed to requiring a showing of "extraordinary circumstances" for increases to presumed awards). First, the presumed non-economic damages awards provided under the interim final rules are substantially lower than those paid in comparable cases. Non-economic damage awards in considerable excess of $1 million are typical for other airline crashes and terrorism cases, but in this instance, presumed non-economic damages awards are limited to $250,000 per victim and $50,000 for a spouse and each dependent. This dramatic undervaluation of presumed non- economic damages runs contrary to Congress's general intent to provide full and fair compensation and, significantly, to the specific language of the law establishing the Fund, which lists an extremely broad array of non-economic damages for which victims and their loved ones are to be compensated(regardless of what may be allowable under state law). This problem bears considerable responsibility for the fact that manly victims of their loved ones would reportedly be severely undercompensated or even receive no compensation under the Fund- potentially driving them to pursue litigation which, due to statutorily imposed liability limits, may shortchange them as well. The interim final rules can and should be fixed to increase presumed non-economic damages awards to amounts which properly reflect Congress's intent and are a more realistic assessment of the considerable pain and suffering endured by the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks and their loved ones. Second, a number of economists or experts have pointed out flaws in the interim final rules' methodology for calculating presumed economic damages. The use of outdated and improperly aggregated federal government data and the underestimation of household services performed by victims and of real increases in earnings by administrative support and clerical workers, among other things, has resulted in the unjustified and unnecessary undervaluation of presumed economic damages. The interim final rules' cap on the level of income a victim may be considered to have earned per year for the purpose of calculating presumed economic damages awards serves to exacerbate this problem. I strongly urge you to provide interested parties with all information that is necessary and useful to further evaluate the propriety of the interim final rules' presumed economic damages methodology and then correct all flaws that would tend to undervalue such damages. The fact that these are merely presumed economic and non-economic damages amounts- purportedly subject upward adjustment based on specific evidence of loss presented at hearings or through supplemental evidentiary submissions by victims or their loved ones- does not excuse flaws in their calculation. Rather, presumed awards should be based on the best available data and methodologies regardless of the hearing or evidentiary submission option. Indeed, the goal of providing accurate compensation expeditiously through the Fund is furthered by having properly justified presumed Fund awards, as this may diminish the need for hearings or supplemental evidentiary submissions in each and every case. It also may be overly optimistic to assume that each Fund claimant will be able and willing to present evidence at a hearing to correct inaccuracies in the presumed Fund awards in light of their individual circumstances. Indeed, one can reasonably expect that some victims of their loved ones may, upon viewing inadequate presumed Fund awards, have little faith in the ultimate fairness of the hearing or supplemental evidentiary submission process and decide to forsake the Fund altogether. More importantly, the misplaced requirement contained in the interim final rules(though not contained in the statute establishing the Fund) that a Fund claimant demonstrate "extraordinary circumstances" through supplemental evidentiary submissions or at a hearing to justify increases to presumed Fund awards could serve essentially to "look in" the unfair presumed economic and non-economic damage awards in any given case. Whether or not the presumed awards are fair, upward adjustments should be possible simply upon a showing by a claimant that a presumed award does not accurately reflect the economic and non-economic damages he or she has endured. But this degree of flexibility is particularly essential, if the presumed economic and non-economic damage wards would in many cases provide less than fair and full compensation. The "extraordinary circumstances" threshold, however, may prevent the accurate and individualized Fund awards intended by Congress, because while all victims and their loved ones have endured extraordinary hardships, it may be difficult for a single Fund claimant to establish that his or her circumstances are "extraordinary" relative to all other victims and their loved ones. The hearing or supplemental evidentiary submission opportunities for victims and their loved ones must certainly be structured so as to afford them ample time and a convenient way to make their case. But even a properly structured hearing or evidentiary submission process would not remedy the difficulties arising from the inappropriately stringent "extraordinary circumstances" standard. Congress did not erect or envision any such obstacle to the awards of accurate and individualized compensation to victims and their loved ones. Indeed, as Congress has considered bankruptcy reform legislation over the past few years, it has moved away from using an "extraordinary circumstances" threshold for permitting deviations from a grid of allowable expenses for debtors in favor of a standard that more readily accounts for debtors' particular economic circumstances. Accordingly, the "extraordinary circumstances" threshold should be modified. I do appreciate the fact that the interim final rules will not offset Fund awards by the amount of charitable contributions received by a victim or his or her loved ones. I believe the collateral source offset provision of the law is misguided. To the extent the final rules do offset. Fund awards by virtue of certain collateral source payments, I strongly urge that you construe the collateral source offset provision of the law narrowly, consistent with the tenets of proper statutory interpretation. In particular, amounts paid by victims of their loved ones to secure certain types of collateral source compensation- for example, life insurance premium payments -should be deducted from any amount considered to offset a potential Fund award. Likewise, where collateral source payments trigger new income of estate tax liability, that new tax liability should be deducted from any amount considered to offset a potential Fund award. Thank you as always for your consideration and attention to these matters. Sincerely, Marty Meehan Member of Congress September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-14 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 dojN002418.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. 2002-01-14 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, March 12, 2002 12:40 PM Distribution of 9-11 compensation fund Re: The appearance of Kenneth Feinberg, head of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, on NBC's "Meet The Press" Sunday, March 10th, 2002. How shameful! As all Americans are called upon to unite in response to the terrorist attacks of 9-11, our patriotism is being "graded" based upon how we live our personal lives! It is as if another terror has been unleashed upon our great democracy...the premise that some lives are more important than others. Maybe the terrorists did succeed in dividing this great nation? Although monetary compensation will never bring back the souls lost on that fateful day, to deny the loved ones of gay victims of 9-11 is akin to furthering bin Laden's agenda! The idea that one's religious and moral beliefs are better than another's is the reason these terrorists so willingly agreed to be martyrs. The US had its own martyrs that day and they died not for their religious beliefs but for the right to live in a democracy that sees all it is citizens as equally valuable. As a taxpayer, am I not expected as with all other Americans to financially (and patriotically) support my government's efforts in protecting this democracy? Only to have the benefits of democracy denied gay people when they have made the ultimate sacrifice for it. It is the setting aside of differences both in the past, on 9-11, and since then that makes this nation the great leader that it is to the world. As Americans we have always shown a great sense of justice in responding to the historical atrocities visited upon us and other peoples of the world. And have proven to the world what makes this nation the great protector of democracy. However, to become even stronger we must admit our weaknesses. President Bush was a great reflection of American's resolve since the events of 9-11. Yet his administration and both the Republican and Democratic political parties have demonstrated our other weakness...that we are willing to go to great lengths to "bend the law" for undocumented aliens who died on 9-11 but not for some of our own citizens! Please let us once again show the world (and ourselves) why we wake up every day proud to be Americans. And, despite our weaknesses, we will spark a true and everlasting shift in world politics with the democratic ideal that all people are equally deserving of respect regardless of their differences. The much publicized scrutiny that has gone into distributing "9-11 funds" has most certainly identified the direct victims and their loved ones in order to allow a proper and fair compensation of financial loss. We all have it in our power to do the right thing. Individual Comment Oakland Park FL 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 dojR000429.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 1:04 PM Equal protection for all 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. If we start to individualize the beliefs of people as a basis for giving, then is it a gift we're giving or payment for them to act and believe as we do. When Christ fed the multitude, He did not ask who believed in Him , nor did he ask what sins they had. He knew they were hungry and He fed them. 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 Jonesboro, AR 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 dojA002146.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. Monday, January 14, 2002 5:45 PM September 11 Victims Compensation Fund Comment Importance: High I was seriously injured during the attack on the Pentagon on 9-11-01 and spent 7 days in the hospital and another 30 days confined to home health care. I received second and third degree burns on my head and both arms. My concern is that there is no specific information in the interim rule that gives seriously injured personnel a basis of whether to enter the Sep 11 Victims Compensation Fund program. As written, the special master will determine the award of serious injured personnel on a case by case basis. I believe this process is not fair and serious injured personnel must have an idea or a minimum amount of compensation they can expect before they make a decision to enter the program and forego any right to sue a later date or to decide to litigate in court. The formulas for individuals who lost a loved one are clear and would give the families of the victims a basis for a decision to enter the program. No such information or guidance exists for seriously injured personnel that my have long term health concerns subject the injuries they received on 9-11-01. I strongly recommend that the special master include in a revision of the final rules of this program specific amounts for non-economic losses for seriously injured personnel if they decide to enter the program. The definition of seriously injured (being hospitalized for a period of 7 days or more) or those who have developed a temporary or permanent disability can be a start point to what personnel will be eligible for the minimum amount of non-economic loss. BOTTOM LINE: Seriously injured personnel need more specific guidance in the final rule to determine whether to enter the program or not. Individual Comment Springfield, VA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-14 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 dojN001610.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. 2002-01-14 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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 11:19 AM equal access to September 11 relief fund 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 Louis, MO 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 dojA003093.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. Saturday, December 15, 2001 1:14 AM Fair Treatment for Families of 9/11 Victims Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-15 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 dojA001991.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. 2001-12-15 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. Tuesday, November 06, 2001 2:48 PM Victims Fund Comments I recently read the article by the AP inviting comments on the victims compensation fund. Here are my comments 1) Victims should not be compensated for lawyer's fees. This will create a situation for profiteering by lawyers from this event and future events. Victims should seek compensation on their own or have others help, but not paid through the fund. 2) The program should set up local field offices at or near the site. In addition, they should be allowed to apply for compensation at local Welfare or other type offices. 3) Victims should have the right to appeal if they are not satisfied, but not through the courts. An independent mediator should be used. 4) Compensations amounts should not be effected by insurance payments, pensions or gifts from charities. The victims have suffered enough and don't need the strain or complexity. ===== Sincerely, Individual Comment San Diego, California 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 dojW000115.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 2:35 PM 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 Minneapolis, MN 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 dojA003401.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, December 18, 2001 9:08 PM Re: Reply from Special Master thanks and good luck with the process........jm 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 dojA002355.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. Tuesday, November 06, 2001 9:36 PM Compensation to illegal aliens Our country leaks like a sieve. Which makes DOJ's job near impossible. All illegal aliens found on our soil should be imprisoned; not compensated. And they should forfeit the opportunity to ever become citizens. (P.S. National ID system is abhorrent but necessary.) 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 dojW000154.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. I would like to comment on the victims assistance compensation program. This program assistance is unfair to all other victims of crime and tragedies in the United States of America. The government has been over sympathetic to the 9/11 victims. What other victims have received the one million plus dollars of assistance? Do the families of deputies, highway patrolmen, the local fireman, individuals killed in other airplane crashes, and the families of all soldiers killed in other action receive this type compensation? There are BIG problems with the disbursement of our tax funds. Citizens of a Great Country- USA We would like for it to remain a great country. Individual Comment Easley, S.C. 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 dojN002577.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. Friday, December 14, 2001 1:02 AM 9/11 victim compensation fund 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 West Orange, NJ 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 dojA001689.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. Friday, November 23, 2001 3:04 PM WTC relief funds Dear Sirs/Mmes/Whatevers, Please be advised that I have had occassion to note the news reports indicating the astronomical amounts being collected virtually world wide for the above noted victims are being redirected to private individuals and groups elsewhere and that the IRS is thence absconding with them to finance your military adventures in other countries. Rest assured that as most of the victims are dead and gone and cannot possibly benefit from such funds as a result, that I think that this is a despicable practice. Especially when I hear that Congressmen now want to lower taxes because of the funds being derived from sacking such countries as Kuwait, Vietnam, Afghanistan etc. I trust that something will be done about it. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-23 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 dojW000511.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. 2001-11-23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 13, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Long Island, NY 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 dojA005230.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, December 20, 2001 12:15 AM Alternate 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 New York, NY 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 dojA004049.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, February 05, 2002 11:09 PM (no subject) February 4, 2001 Special Master Feinberg Department of Justice Fax 301-519-5956 Dear Sir or Madame: This letter is to discuss the Victims?? Compensation Fundenacted by Congress on September 21 and the impact its unfairness is having onmy family. I believe that the problemstems from the haste in which it was written . . . in just 48 hours byCongress. Under this program a largeportion of the families like mine will receive nothing beyond what they werealready entitled to. While we dowholeheartedly support necessary compensation to the wives, husbands andchildren, I cannot understand the governments position that the parents ofunmarried victims are not included. We are the victims of the September 11th attack,and we urge you to change the federal regulations to provide greatercompensation for the pain and suffering of our loved ones. Thissystem was created to reduce the liability of the airlines and others, severelylimiting the ability of our families to recover damages in court. In return, wehave an unjust, limited compensation scheme with inadequacies. The regulations allow non-economic damagesthat are approximately one-tenth the level normally paid in other plan crash andterrorism cases. The non-economical award of $250,000 is an insult when oneconsiders the economic support given to the airlines industry. Because the law requires deduction of collateral sources including life insurance and pension plans, theawards allowed under these regulations will be unconscionably low. With awards for members of the military, there are nodeductions for social security, workers compensation, life insurance and othersuch factors as there would be for our families. Why did Congress decide differently in theSeptember 11th tragedy? Whenyou deduct social security and workers compensation (social security andworkers comp death benefits are paid to everyone gainfully employed)then deduct life insurance and pensions that had, we are left withbasically nothing. The loss of our son , a New York City fireman, hasdevastated our family. He was always anintegral part of our lives bringing joy, help and support to us and life willnever be the same again. My wife and Ihave been disabled for years, a condition made tolerable because of anticipatedgolden years enjoyed with the love and pride in our children. Our happiness is gone forever. . . our livesdestroyed with the events of September 11th. Now, with the unimaginable heartache fromthe loss of our beloved son, the government has added an inexplicable hurt toour overwhelming sadness in stating that families such as ours, are notentitled to fair compensation for our loss. was off duty, ready to return home,when the alarms came in, and without question, he again put on his gear, randown the street and jumped on the fire engine to join his fellow firefightersin this emergency. This unselfishdecision, as you know, cost him his life and cost us our beloved son. was an American who loved his country, paid histaxes, and was killed by a terrorist organization that killed before. He was a taxpayer for 20 years and willcontinue to be a taxpayer because his social security and death benefitsare taxed. His taxdollars, will go toward rebuilding Afghanistan, bailing out the airlineindustry ($15 billion), and paying the high cost of justice for JohnWalker Lindh. His sacrifice has been lost in the arguments over deathbenefits for his family. The airline bailout created a compensation fund forpeople who waive their right to sue. Awards are to be based partly on economic loss suffered by each familyand partly on pain and suffering the victim endured. there will never beenough money minted to compensate for our loss. The entire nation was attacked on September 11th, butthe victims in the trade center and their families suffered the direct hit!! It would be the ultimate irony if tax dollars thatfailed to protect him and destroyed his family were to go everywhere else buttoward rebuilding his familys life. Icannot live with that. Can you? Sincerely, Individual Comment Deer Park, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-05 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 dojP000413.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. 2002-02-05 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 17, 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 San Francisco, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-17 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 dojA005012.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. 2001-12-17 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. Monday, February 25, 2002 11:50 AM Comments on FAA liability 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 Dear Mr. Zwick: I believe the DOJ Comments site can be used to record facts and opinions relating to the circumstances surrounding the Victim Fund. Please keep it open until the fund has been closed down. Please find below some facts relating to the culpability of the FAA. Attachment 1: Agent: FAA buried lapses Checkpoint flaws alleged By Blake Morrison USA TODAY 2-25-2002 Thank you for this forum Individual Comment Newtonville, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-25 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 dojP000568.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. 2002-02-25