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. Thursday, January 17, 2002 11:23 AM Comments on the Interim Rule Mr Kenneth L Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs U.S. Department of Justice Dear Mr Zwick, My name is and I lost a dear friend in the WTC, who worked at . In an effort to assist my friends wife, I have been trying to decipher the interim rule for almost a month and still have many questions. I have contacted the hot-line, that has been provided, and have been able to get some questions answered, but in most cases they have to get back to me. I understand that this is a very sensitive and complex arrangement, and there are a number of people from all income levels and personal situations involved, but I feel if you make certain changes to the plan, it may put a lot of minds at ease and allow people to make clear, intelligent and informed decisions. Below are my comments: 1) Clearly define what is included/excluded from collateral sources 2) Though difficult, and time consuming, it would be helpful if the families had a clear understanding of what their actual award will be and how it was calculated. The 'presumed' award is a ball park but the actual amount can swing by tens of thousands of dollars (even after deducting Life Insurance). For instance, if I look at the presumed award that is closest to my friends category, I come up with X, but his children were not ages newborn and 9, but they were ages 18 and 13 and there was a third child age 20 and all the children are still in school and considered a dependent. Furthermore I know we have to deduct 'payments by federal, state or local governments'. It is stated that Social Security is included, but still unclear whether it includes Workman's Comp. However, we have to present value such amounts and then deduct them from the award but it is unclear what formula you will use to perform this calculation and what that amount will be. There are also deductions for Pension funds and death benefit programs which are also unclear. Is the 25% partnership stake in constitute an collateral source? ( I would think not). Do the premiums on medical benefits constitute a collateral source? (again I would think not). As you can see there are a number of open issues that have not been answered. In order for any family to make a clear, intelligent decision, the Special Master should look at each family and each case individually and come up with the actual award. Lets call this the floor. Before we are asked to sign away any rights, treat us an individuals and not just a group. The algorithms should be run for each family and disseminated accordingly. Once that is complete, offer an actual 'award' to the victims family rather than a presumed award (that is open to interpretation). At that point the families have to make a decision, a) do I accept the award as is, b) do I request a hearing to challenge the award c) I reject the award completely. Without the knowledge of what the award will be, I find it very difficult to make any decision. Again, I would like to see the actual award replace the presumed award before we are requested to accept or reject. The plan is currently structured whereby, other than the presumed award, the family will NOT know the actual award until they pass the eligibility criteria and agree to waive their right to sue. Be open and clear about how and award will be calculated and the only way to do this is on an individual basis. Regards and thank you for your consideration in this matter Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-17 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 dojN001935.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. 2002-01-17