dojA001618.xml

dojA001618.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2001-12-13

Thursday, December 13, 2001 6:03 PM
distribution of Sept 11 funds

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

2001-12-13