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, January 22, 2002 9:41 PM September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 January 22, 2002 To Whom It May Concern, Since September 11th my family and I are faced with dealing with grief we have never known before. My sister's husband worked for &nbsp, &nbsp and &nbsp. He loved his job and looked forward to going to work daily. Sadly he lost his life in World Trade Tower One. My sister, her children and our extended family are all trying to accept and cope with the reality of this situation. Last Wednesday evening, January 18th, I attended one of &nbsp meetings, in order to help my sister better understand the guidelines of the September 11th Victim's Compensation Fund of 2001. Ken Feinberg, Special Master of the bureau, was there to speak. Together with my sister we learned the following: · The formula that will be used to determine awards does not allow an "across the board" evaluation of each claim. · Workmen's Compensation, Social Security, and life insurance awards will offset the amount given to each family by the fund. · There is no minimum guaranteed amount yet a cap has been set regarding maximum amount. · If families who lost loved ones were not feeling their award was fair then they have the option to put together a brief as to why they feel their award should be changed. The burden of proof becomes the responsibility of each individual family, requiring documentation and legal assistance, in order to prove their case. Clearly the plan presents inconsistencies and flaws. Why should these families, who are going through so much pain and suffering, be expected to prove the worth of their lost loved one? It is my feeling that this is an inappropriate challenge. How dare the government increase the pain and suffering of these families. Families should not be penalized because of careful future planning which may have included the purchase of life insurance. When members of the audience raised concerns and questions, the "special master" did not always have answers. At times Mr. Feinberg seemed vague. Some questions he could not answer. He expected grieving families to entertain his responses by "reading between the lines" and simply trusting him. How are they to trust a man who exhibited little compassion to their circumstances? My greatest concern after hearing the "special master" speak, is that the federal government is forcing him to keep within the established rules that have been in place for more "common" disasters. I do not think that you will find anyone who would disagree that this unique tragedy calls for unique guidelines. Another presumptive award, that is more typical of the circumstances, needs to be established. How do you expect families directly affected by this tragedy, to participate in this program the way it is presently set up? I support Cantor's recommendation that has been presented regarding this situation. I encourage you to find a fair method of compensation for these families. Due to the actions of these terrorists, we are all suffering. Please do not make us feel further terrorized by our own government. On behalf of my sister and all the families who are without loved ones forever because of this attack, I implore you to look into and take action on this matter. BR> I thank you in advance and look forward to a speedy response and sensible remedy. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-22 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 dojN002366.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. 2002-01-22