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, November 20, 2001 2:24 PM RE: comments regarding use of charitable contributions to defray public funding Thank you for taking comments on this important issue. I think it unconscionable that government leaders are on record asking that charitable contributions be counted against any federal support for the victims of 9.11. Cost should not be an issue since the same people are the very ones who sent $1.3 trillion mostly to those who don't need it. Shouldn't a fireman's widow be considered at least as deserving of government largesse or ? Charity should not be an issue. It's charity, given to the victim, not a credit given to the government. The recent case in New York, seeking to reduce damages assessed against a firm causing a fire at a temple, brings to mind these same arguments: namely that charity will dry up (except when it is advantageous solely for tax purposes) if it is to be counted against other sources of relief. The government should always be concerned about the effects of its actions when applied retroactively. I still haven't forgiven the government for retroactively changing the tax deductability of student loans (and other debts) incurred under one set of rules and taxed under another. The more often the government changes rules (and this action, if implemented, is unprecedented), the less often the people will have faith in it. Our president is interested in increasing charity as a means of bringing services to the needy. What better way to undermine this than to undermine the very buying power of charity. Among the fears quoted was the potential for doubling dipping. While I share the fears that some may defraud us, it makes me no less interested in accomplishing the goal: to bring relief to the needy. If this type of concern were truly valid, we would bring a halt to all government spending as they seek to rid the system of inefficiency, fraud, duplication among the armed services, farm credits given primarily to only the largest and wealthiest corporations, etc. Finally, I gave 2 $100 checks ($200 total) to 2 of the fire houses in my neighborhood. Each lost about half their men. I was happy to do it (throughout Brooklyn, people were desperate to find ways to contribute). I gave to the firehouses and to the families of those who rushed to their deaths. I did not give to the government. If the government chooses to count this contribution against the money these poor brave people will get, please refund that money (I will be happy to send you cancelled checks). If this contribution is not counted against them, I will be delighted to have contributed to those who gave their lives and left behind families who should expect nothing less from those of us who remain. Respectfully submitted Individual Comment Red Hook, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-20 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 dojW000438.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. 2001-11-20