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 27, 2002 10:29 AM Comments re: Public Law 107-42 Sirs, I do not concur with the passage of Public Law 107-42 authorizing the disbursement of tax dollars to the families of victims of Sept 11, 2001, and my comments are cited, below. The creation of this fund concurrently creates a separate "class" of Americans who without precedent, derive a federal subsidy for a personal, family tragedy. Clearly, the families of those killed or injured on Sept 11th are suffering their losses yet these families are not isolated either in America or the world when it comes to family tragedy and the subsequent consequences. Millions of people annually including millions of Americans suffer tragedies either as a result of a natural disaster or at the hands of terrorists, be they international or domestic. Yet the US Government does not create a fund to "pay" for life obligations incurred by the families of those who died or were hurt. Individually, all people are responsible for their own lives and by extension, for the welfare of their families. That is why such things as life insurance, disability insurance and countless other existing programs are available. When a police officer dies in the line of duty, the family of this hero is awarded $250,000 based upon federal law. This already exists. An active duty military military member is automatically covered by the Serviceman's Group Life Insurance, in addition to any other personal coverage the member may have. There are numerous other ways in which individuals who are responsible and forward thinking, prepare to care for their families in the event they are killed in an accident or other violent event. In the case of Sept 11th, hundreds of millions of dollars were also donated for those families and numerous employers of deceased victims are also helping family members with long term medical, education and other expenses for children and spouses. Thus, the families of victims of Sept 11th can expect to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assistance without the existence of a federal fund. This fund was created secretly and without the knowledge of the American public at large. Mr. Feinberg has been quoted as stating it is a "gift of the American people." He is mistaken. It is perhaps his gift as well as a gift of the US Congress but not of the public at large. We had no say in this matter. I strongly disagree with the disbursement of these excessive funds and I am particularly chagrined that Mr Feinberg has even gone out of his way to offer these funds to "families of illegal aliens." It is not the US taxpayer's responsibility to subsidize these families. Illegal aliens have no legal right to be in the USA and by extension, their families have no legal right to any US tax dollars for any reason. Low interest loans, grants or other conventional systems should be followed in this case as they are in all other cases. As a matter of fact, my familiy and I were once victims of a natural disaster that took lives. Neither my family nor anyone else received such grandoise handouts as are now being disbursed. We are just one of millions of families who expect everyone be treated fairly and equally......We didn't expect the US Government to give us anything and we didn't ask for any handouts! I too feel empathy for those lost or hurt in NY, DC and PA but I strongly oppose these fund that will be making instant millionaires out of families who are themselves responsible for their lives. Thank you for taking my email. USAF retired (100% disabled veteran) Individual Comment Fairfax, VA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-27 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 dojP000200.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. 2002-01-27