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, January 20, 2002 4:31 PM September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, Interim Final Rule To: Attorney General Ashcroft Kenneth R. Feinberg, Special Master Kenneth L. Zwick, Director, Office of Management Progrom RE: September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, Interim Final Rule Dear Sirs: The primary stated objective of the Interim Final Ruling is ?to provide fair, predictable, and consistent compensation to the victims of September 11 and their families throughout the life of the program?? The Interim Final Ruling fails to meet the ?fair? and ?predictable? components of its objective. The determination of award levels is nowhere near fair. I have been unable to find past examples in our American legal system where limitations on federal compensation awards included life insurance and pensions. The regulations set a ?presumed award for noneconomic losses sustained.? The figure of this amount is set such that it is consistent with existing federal programs for public officials and military who are killed in the line of duty. It is my understanding that these federal programs are not subject to collateral offsets. The Sept. 11 victims federal program is subject to collateral offsets. Thus, the presumed award for noneconomic loss is inconsistent with existing federal programs for public officials and military. Furthermore, it is unacceptable that victims are offered no recourse should the system, under Kenneth Feinberg, treat them unfairly. Why must families make a leap of faith and place all of their trust in Mr. Feinberg? This is a man who recently described himself to attendants at a January 16 New Jersey meeting for family members of victims of September 11 as their ?only game in town? for compensation. Not only is the award level determination unfair, it is also unpredictable. Mr. Feinberg, at the previously mentioned January 16 meeting, assured Sept 11 widows that they will all receive some level of compensation. However, due to collateral offsets, it is theoretically possible for many families to get nothing. When pressed about this, Mr. Feinberg was evasive and refused to elaborate on his assurances. Families cannot reasonably be expected to forfeit their right to participate in litigation if they cannot first determine the amounts set forth in the federal alternative. Moreover, if the presumed award amount is minimal victims are given no alternative but to pursue a course of litigation to be reasonably compensated for their loss. Creating a situation where the victims must litigate is the antithesis of the legislative intent. Recommendations:  Families need to be told exactly what they will receive prior to agreeing to accept the settlement.  If there is indeed a minimum settlement after offsets it must be specified in writing.  Various scenarios should be developed, and put into writing, which illustrate what participants can rely on should they accept the settlement. As my family and I struggled with the loss of my uncle, , we found comfort in the appropriate and compassionate response of the White House, Congress, and other elected officials in the days following the September 11 attacks. The implementation of the Victims Compensation Fund proposed in the Interim Final Rule is starkly at odds with the initial, comforting reaction of our leaders. The deductions of many benefits (life insurance, pensions,?etc) effectively penalizes many families who planned in advance for the tragic loss of a loved one. The end result is families receive compensation that is below their level of economic loss, while airlines are sheltered from civil liability. Respectfully submitted, Individual Comment New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-20 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 dojN002132.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. 2002-01-20