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, November 18, 2001 3:17 PM Victims Compensation Fund Submitted to: Kenneth L. Zwik, Director Office of Management Programs U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division Email: victimcom.comments@usdoj.gov Submitted by: November 18, 2001 Dear Mr. Zwik: As a relative of one of the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks, I trust that the regulations for the Victims Compensation Fund ("the Fund") can be fashioned in such a manner to bring equity and closure this most awful chapter in American history. Towards that end, the Fund must be structured to encourage victims' families to surrender their rights to sue because they believe they will be treated fairly and promptly. To send such a compelling message I respectfully submit that the regulations must contain following elements: 1. Do not reduce the award from any collateral source funds collected, including insurance, pension benefits, death benefits, and governmental payments (which we understand are being considered as offsets). Such offsets should be disallowed for, among other reasons, the same reason the IRS exempts life insurance proceeds from taxation (i.e., to encourage citizens to plan for their heirs). Such offsets would penalize those victims who sacrificed and saved for their families' futures and unjustly transfer these assets, thereby representing a lifetime of work, to insurance companies and other corporate entities that may share the blame for the consequences that resulted from the tragic events of 9/11. In a nutshell, these assets have nothing to do with the damages that flowed from 9/11, and therefore there should be no offset to damages based on the net worth of the victims' families. It would also result in awarding more in damages to those who did not sacrifice and save for their families' futures, which would be an inequitable result. 2. Provide the victims' families with the right to appeal the award, as doing so would undoubtedly increase participation in the Fund. 3. Should the Department of Justice decline to offer victims' families the right to appeal, then at a minimum they should have input regarding the selection of the mediator who would decide the award. The government should provide a list of potential mediators with their background (e.g., educational, work experience, prior award history, etc.), which would allow victims' families to make an informed choice. 4. There should be set parameters for calculating damages (i.e., mathematical formula factoring lost future earnings, pension benefits, number of children, and other pecuniary benefits that would have been earned taking into consideration life expectancy tables), that would provide a floor for calculating damages and provide assurance to victims' families as to what they could expect to receive, at a minimum, if they elected to opt into the Fund. I believe this has been referred to in the press as the development of a "grid." In short, the victims' families should be able to calculate, with some certainty, the minimum amount of money they could expect to be awarded prior to participating in the hearing. That should serve as a powerful inducement to opt into the Fund. 5. Determine pain and suffering at the hearing. 6. If the mediator deviates for the guidelines the victims' families should be able to appeal the decision. 7. The regulations should include a scheme that would afford the victims' families one that is similar to the one they would enjoy in a wrongful death case. The amount awarded as damages should include all funeral, burial, and estate administration expenses incurred. Importantly, the amount should compensate the victims' family for contributions they would have received between the time of his death and the end of this life expectancy, such as future lost wages. His gross earnings, including all fringe benefits between the date of his death and his life expectancy, must be factored in. Additionally, all monies the victim would have spent for or given to his family for such items as shelter, food, clothing, medical car, education, entertainment, gifts and recreation, taking into account his salary and age, must also be considered. The amount awarded should also consider the comfort and friendship that he would have given to his family had he lived and such other elements as work around the home and provision of society and comfort. 8. Since the amount awarded would be intended to restore the victim's family's loss, it should not be considered as "income." Therefore, it should not be taxable by the federal or state taxing authorities. In closing, I understand that the DOJ is suggesting that the victims' families surrender their right to sue without advising them what they can anticipate by way of award and without the ability to appeal such award. This is, to be kind, unacceptable. The above suggestions would encourage attorneys and families alike to opt into the Fund, thereby forgoing their right to sue. This would bring closure to an American Tragedy and reassure victims' families that our government has their best interests at heart. We only want to place them in the financial position they would have been in had their loved ones not been taken away in the worst terrorist attacks in American history?which may have been avoided. But that is another story. Thank you. Respectfully, Individual Comment Family of one of the victims killed in the WTC attacks Bellmore, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-18 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 dojW000377.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. 2001-11-18