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. 9 January 2002 To our Elected Officials: In the immediate aftermath of the tragic attack of September 11th upon our nation, Congress enacted the Victims' Compensation Fund of 2001 P.L. 107-42, to compensate the relatives of the victims of that brutal attack. As you know, this Fund was enacted as part of a comprehensive package which bailed out the airline industry and imposed restrictions on the rights of the victims' relatives to sue the airlines in court. We implore upon you, as our elected officials, to demand changes to the interim rules issued by Kenneth Feinberg, the Special Master. As it stands, Mr. Feinberg's self-imposed rules fail to satisfy the letter or the spirit of the legislation which was enacted. Specifically, we request that you act on our behalf and demand the following changes to the interim rules: 1. The arbitrary income limits imposed by the Special Master are not only unfair but also inconsistent with the letter and the spirit of the law. Those victims from the financial industry are specifically harmed by this limit. They were targeted and murdered precisely because of the jobs they held, and where they worked-the World Trade Center, the Financial Capital of the world, the embodiment of financial success. Those who achieved such success should see that reflected in their awards. They personified American Business and commerce, democracy and freedom. We ask that you demand that Mr. Feinberg lift the arbitrary income limits so that each family can be treated fairly, commensurate with the support they provided their families before their death. 2. Mr. Feinberg has arbitrarily restricted the non-economic awards for pain and suffering, no matter what the extent of the pain and suffering. This is unacceptable. In the words of Rep. Peter King, "...every death is tragic. A murder is particularly tragic. But to have your loved one murdered in a burning building in full view of the world - in a scene which will be repeated in the media for decades to come-is a horror these families will never escape from... The Special Master cannot take it upon himself to restrict the rights of the families." Therefore, we request that the interim rules be amended to more appropriately compensate the victims' families for the immeasurable pain and suffering endured by our loved ones. As Mayor Giuliani stated in his farewell address: "we have an obligation to the people who did die... Their families need to be protected just as if they had been alive, financially and every other way that we can help and assist their families...There should be no compromise about that ever..."We request that the interim rules be amended and redefined to the extent that income caps be removed when computing economic loss and that compensation for pain and suffering more accurately reflect that horror which was suffered. Justice demands no less. Sincerely, Individual Comment Staten Island, NY Dear Mr. Feinberg: My wife and I would like to take this opportunity to voice our concerns over what appears to be a cruel injustice being played upon us and other families who have suffered a devastating loss on September 11, 2001. Our son fell victim that day in this tragic event. The lives of my family were all horribly changed that day. The hope and dreams that we shared as a family will never come to pass. The future joys of holding my son's children will never be realized. Birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas and the like will never be the same. We, like so many others, were dramatically affected by the cruel and sadistic plans of people who placed very little value on the lives of innocent victims. Which is why it saddens me to believe would now like to see pain by throwing salt into our wounds in the guise of a fund whose purpose it is to help us. What this fund, "September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, actually does is limit, and in my case, excludes compensation from those who the statute designates as eligible. According to sec. 403 of 49 USC 40101, "...the purpose of this title is to provide compensation to any individual (or relatives of a deceased individual) who was physically injured or killed... September 11, 2001." If this is the Act's purpose then why are my wife and I excluded from seeking compensation for the wrongful death of my son. Nowhere in this Act is a clear and concise explanation or definition as to who is considered a relative for the purposes of receiving compensation. The act only points to a spouse or child of the victim. It is ambiguous as to all others. Are the parents of the deceased so unimportant to you as to exclude them from seeking compensation for their loss. Is their loss any less important then that of a spouse. We lost our son. A child that we raised and loved every day of every year of his life. Yet you and the actions of your office seek to eliminate any hope we may have of receiving justice for his death. With all of the pain that we are experiencing it is inconceivable that you would further add to this by an unjust system guaranteed to only compound that grief. We ask that you and your staff re-evaluate your clear violation of the Act's intended purpose. In doing so you should place an emphasis on defining the meaning of "relative" and take into account that a victim's family Pg 3 of 3 also lost something they can never have back. My son will never come back to me. This is my only recourse to obtain some sense of justice and your office is trying to deny me that. We implore you to do what's right and fair. Don't make us suffer more. Sincerely Yours Individual Comment Staten Island, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-31 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 dojN002480.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. 2002-01-31