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. Monday, November 19, 2001 8:31 AM (no subject) Dear Mr. Zwik: As a close personal friend of more than one family that lost loved ones at the World Trade Center disaster on September 11th, I am writing in the hopes that a fair and equitable solution to this tragedy can be accomplished and include the following in this solution: 1. Do not reduce the award from any collateral source funds collected, including insurance, pension benefits, death benefits, and governmental payments (which we understand are being considered as offsets). Such offsets would penalize those victims who sacrificed and saved for their families' futures. In a nutshell, these assets have nothing to do with the damages that flowed from 9/11 and, therefore, there should be no offset to damages based on the net worth of the victims' families. It would also result in awarding more in damages to those who did not sacrifice and save for their families' futures, which would be an inequitable result. 2. Provide the victims' families with the right to appeal the award, as doing so would undoubtedly increase participation in the Fund. 3. Should the Department of Justice decline to offer victims' families the right to appeal, then at a minimum they should have input regarding the selection of the mediator who would decide the award. The government should provide a list of potential mediators with their background (e.g., educational, work experience, prior award history, etc.), which would allow victims' families to make an informed choice. 4. There should be set parameters for calculating damages (i.e., mathematical formula factoring lost future earnings, pension benefits, number of children, and other pecuniary benefits that would have been earned taking into consideration life expectancy tables), that would provide a floor for calculating damages and provide assurance to victims' families as to what they could expect to receive, at a minimum, if they elected to opt into the Fund. In short, the victims' families should be able to calculate, with some certainty, the minimum amount of money they could expect to be awarded prior to participating in the hearing. That should serve as a powerful inducement to opt into the Fund. 5. Determine pain and suffering at the hearing. 6. If the mediator deviates from the guidelines, the victims' families should be able to appeal the decision. 7. The amount awarded as damages should include all funeral, burial, and estate administration expenses incurred. Importantly, the amount should compensate the victims' family for contributions they would have received between the time of his/her death and the end of this life expectancy, such as future lost wages. His/her gross earnings, including all fringe benefits between the date of his/her death and his/her life expectancy, must be factored in. Additionally, all monies the victim would have spent for or given to his/her family for such items as shelter, food, clothing, medical, car, education, entertainment, gifts and recreation, taking into account his/her salary and age, must also be considered. The amount awarded should also consider the comfort and friendship that he/she would have given to his/her family had he/she lived and such other elements as work around the home and provision of society and comfort. 8. Since the amount awarded would be intended to restore the victim's family's loss, it should not be considered as "income." Therefore, it should not be taxable by the federal or state taxing authorities. In closing, I understand that the DOJ is suggesting that the victims' families surrender their right to sue without advising them what they can anticipate by way of award and without the ability to appeal such award. This is unacceptable. The above suggestions would encourage attorneys and families alike to opt into the Fund, thereby foregoing their right to sue. This would bring closure to an American Tragedy and reassure victims' families that our government has their best interests at heart. Hopefully you can help. Thank you. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-19 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 dojW000383.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. 2001-11-19