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. Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Mr. Zwick: As a daughter of who was killed on United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, I am deeply saddened by the rules and regulations as set by Mr. Feinberg as to the distribution of the monies in the Compensation Fund of 2001. What disturbs me most is that under these circumstances and within the current guidelines set forth in the Compensation Fund, my family would receive $0; in fact, under the $300,000 limit for single, not dependent children, we could conceivably owe the government money. The way I view the situation, there are two ways to fairly handle the monetary issue that would benefit everyone concerned: 1. A portion of the fund money (amount to be set by the Special Master) should be used to compensate the people who were injured or displaced as a result of the World Trade Center collapsing. The balance of the fund plus the insurance monies carried by the airlines, security companies, and any other companies that would be constructed as liable in a lawsuit, would then be pooled and equally divided among the families who lost loved ones as a result of the attack. In this way, Mr. Feinberg will not have to decide who is more economically in need because everyone would receive the same amount of monetary compensation. Pension funds and insurance policies should also be excluded as a criteria because each family's situation is radically different and there is no way fairness can be applied without it seeming one gets more than another. By adding the insurance monies from the airlines and security companies, a message can still be sent that there is some responsibility on their part to do their share in compensating the victim's families without litigation, or 2. Each incident is handled separately. For example, United Flight 93 is handled by the insurance of United Airlines, the insured plane that crashed, security companies' insurance and a portion of the fund set aside for those families. Similarly, the Pentagon crash would be handled separately and the World Trade Center crashes as one event. In a recent newspaper article, Mr. Feinberg was quoted as saying that he could not play Solomon and decide different degrees of pain and suffering; nor should he be expected to do so. However, since he cannot play Solomon to decide who suffered more pain than someone else, he also cannot and should not play Solomon to decide who economically is more in need than someone else. If the handling of the fund does not change dramatically, it will become a discussion of "class" rather than equality. A discussion of "class" is a no-win situation for everyone involved. Under the current system, those who had the foresight to purchase insurance and contribute to a pension are left with nothing. Those who did not plan for their future are left with something. How does that seem fair and just? Everyone who died on September 11 did so equally; whether they were retired, working, or unemployed. They have been touted by our Government as American Heroes. Let's treat them and their families with the dignity, respect and honor they deserve. Sincerely, Individual Comment Danville, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-21 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 dojN002604.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. 2002-02-21