1003 20 70359 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. Friday, December 14, 2001 9:34 AM compensation funds To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose theirloved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable,these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Westford, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-14 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 dojA001735.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. 2001-12-14 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. Saturday, March 16, 2002 2:07 PM 9/11 victiims fund I contributed money to the victims fund with the assumption that all victims would be treated in a fair an equal manner with regard to compensation. Please do not discriminate against gay and lesbian victims. The public is being told to expect terrorist attacks in the future. Your handling of this issue is going to effect the publics trust and willingness to contribute funds to organizations who represent that they will distribute the funds to victims. Thank you Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 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 dojR000956.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. 2002-03-16 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 10, 2002 7:16 PM U.S. Gov't. DISGRACE-feinberg Brother was a FDNY Lieut. murdered at WTC. Feinberg hired by gov't. for one reason, to save it and airline industry money.Attempt to intimidate victims into not suing will not work. Since when do pension funds and personal life insurance policies assist in bailing out the airlines? This gov't. and the airlines dropped the ball big time in not preventing this attack from happening. This is not about what the victim families need, it's about what they are owed. Negligence cost thousands of lives on 9/11/01. If this gov't. has millions of dollars to invest in free medical care for illegal aliens, then it sure as hell has the money to compensate the families of legal heroes lost that day. Wake up, and stop decieving and raping these people. They've endured enough. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-10 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 dojN001516.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. 2002-01-10 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. Saturday, March 23, 2002 8:22 PM Distribution of victim compensation funds It has just come to my attention that there is a good chance that gay and lesbian Americans who were killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 may not be given equal rights to survivor benefits with others who suffered such extraordinary losses that day. I find this unbelievable in an age when we are all re-evaluating our attitudes towards those who are different from us. Please re-consider who will be compensated for loss and see that ALL survivors receive equal benefits, regardless of sexual preference. There is no room for prejudice in this distribution of survivor benefits. WE MUST ALL STAND TOGETHER TO SEE THAT EVERYONE WHO DIED THAT DAY ARE HONORED EQUALLY FOR THEIR HEROISM AND THEIR LOVE OF THEIR FELLOW MAN AND FOR OUR COUNTRY. We simply CANNOT dishonor our fallen heroes in any way. Thank you for replying to this email. I look forward to hearing that this has all been a terrible misunderstanding on someone's part, and that all funds will be distributed to survivors without prejudice or exclusions. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-23 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 dojR002702.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. 2002-03-23 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. Saturday, February 09, 2002 1:10 PM New Vote.com votes as of 01:10 PM EST on February 09th, 2002 Dear September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Vote.com is the Internet's most popular voting site. Millions of people regularly express their opinions and - in just one click - automatically send their views to important decision makers like you. Here are the latest votes on the question, SHOULD FAMILIES OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO DIED ON 9-11 GET MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL VICTIMS' FUND?: YES: 7 votes NO: 121 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-09 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 dojP000477.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. 2002-02-09 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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 2:49 AM Ensure Benefits for All December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Cincinnati, OH September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 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 dojA002488.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. 2001-12-19 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 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. Saturday, March 16, 2002 2:20 PM Equality I write to you as a demand for equality. The partners of gay and lesbian heroes of September 11 will not receive the same benefits as the spouses of heterosexual victims of the horrible terror attacks. THIS IS A GROSS MISCARRIAGE. Even fetuses and illegal aliens will be receiving benefits Despite the fact that federal law calls for arrest and deportation of illegal aliens, and punishment of American companies that hired illegals in violation of federal labor laws. But when it comes to gay and lesbian heroes of the day - who helped bring down the flight in Pennsylvania, who died in the line of duty when the first tower fell, and who was of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon (there are many more) - we are told the law is the law and no exceptions can be made. [Read this article for complete details about how the Fund is discriminating against gays: http://uspolitics.about.com/library/weekly/aa031102a.htm ] ENOUGH IS ENOUGH If September 11 has taught us anything, it's that our patriotism and love of country transcend our differences and unite us all. We were told that September 11 was the day that "hyphenated-Americans" were no more, and rather than being Italian-Americans, African-Americans or gay-Americans, we were now simply Americans, all of us together as one American family. Apparently, that family just got a divorce. The hyphens seem not to matter when our government wants to use our heroism to inspire others, but when it comes time to actually aid the families of those heroes, the hyphens come back with a vengeance, and it seems that some American heroes are now more equal than others. I am outraged that gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11 are not automatically going to receive the same benefits as heterosexual spouses. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 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 dojR000967.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. 2002-03-16 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, March 14, 2002 1:36 PM 911 Fund If you are going to discriminate against gays & lesbians I want my contribution back. Individual Comment Austin, Texas September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-14 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 dojR000767.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. 2002-03-14 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. Congress of the United States Washington, D.C. 20515 January 28, 2002 Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Re: Interim Regulations Promulgated December 21, 2001 for P.L. 107-42 Dear Mr. Zwick: We are writing today to offer comments and feedback on the Interim Regulations ("Regulations") governing the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund ("Fund"). While we recognize the complexity of this unprecedented undertaking, we believe the Regulations are at odds with the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act ("Act") and, in certain respects, are contrary to the intent of Congress when it established the Fund. As you know, Congress devised the Fund to provide fair economic and non-economic compensation for those persons who suffered direct physical injury or families who lost a loved one in the disaster. Congress placed no caps or limitations on individual awards or the amount of money that would be dedicated to the Fund in order to achieve these goals and offer an alternative to litigation for affected families. The Regulations, particularly the presumptive economic and non-economic awards, may provide little or, in some cases, no benefits to a large number of decedents' families. Indeed, the possibility exist that the small awards would force some families to sell their homes, pull children out of schools and drastically alter their already devastated lives. The following is a list of the primary areas in which the Regulations violate the statute, are unconstitutional or have been left so unclear as to cause most potential claimants to hesitate to file a claim with the Fund: Collateral Source Deductions: Under the Act, certain collateral sources are used as offsets to potential awards. However, the Regulations offer an ambiguous definition of collateral sources and, in some cases, define items as collateral sources above and beyond what was defined by Congress. The Regulations only list things that may constitute a collateral source (e.g., pension), but they do not provide any guidance on which type of pension constitutes a collateral source. Under the Act, a collateral source must directly replace, match or indemnify a particular loss that is compensable under the wrongful death statute before it may be considered an offset. See, e.g., Oden v. Chemung Co. Indus. Dev. Agency, 637 N.Y.S. 2d 670 (1995). Only under that definition of collateral source is the double recovery avoided (over compensation) without incurring under compensation. Without such a definition, the Regulations lead to unfair results, as follows: Employee contributed pensions and Social Security are both largely deferred income for a wage earner deducted form the pay check, lowering his/her yearly income, but repaid in retirement. Neither should be considered collateral source income. The reduction from the wage earner's income, by pension contributions, reduces the earnings at the started point for the Regulations' matrix, resulting in a lower presumptive award. It is unclear if the Regulations will adequately address the loss of pension benefits as a loss of income or reduce an award by declaring it a collateral source. The New York State legal authorities recommended that workers' compensation not be considered a collateral source because of the unpredictability associated with future life events, such as remarriage or children reaching majority, that can cause future workers' compensation to be terminated. The total amount of future compensation is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain because it is subject to termination, reductions and reimbursement, and it should not be considered a collateral source payment. Workers' Compensation is typically a monthly annuity that is generally terminated once any third party compensates the injured party for his/her loss. There is also usually a lien on any amounts recovered requiring the recipient to repay all or a portion of the workers' compensation received prior. Here, however, 104.63 of the Regulations does not allow such a lien in specifying that awards from the Fund do not constitute a tort award to recovery form a third party. This does not, however, solve the problem that future workers' compensation will be terminated and thus should not be a collateral source. The Regulations must be amended to define collateral source as a payment which is a direct replacement or indemnification of an economic loss that is compensated under the Fund. That definition would solve the problem of how to deal with payments made to non-claimants. As the Regulations currently stand, City and State rescue workers are in danger of receiving either no recovery or perhaps only the non-economic loss award. This fails to account for the true definition and treatment of their pension as deferred income and not a collateral source. It also fails to recognize part-time jobs and second careers that most of these rescue workers had or would have had, upon retirement at ages prior to the expiration of their work life expectancy. This must be addressed. Income Loss and Income Growth Rates The Regulations improperly look backward on a 3 year average of income rather than forward. Rather than focus on the yearly income at the time of death, the starting point is reduced and the punishing reduction is repeated forward each and every year through retirement. In most cases, this results in a large understatement of the decedent's true earnings. This unfairly devalues the loss. It is unclear how fringe benefits paid by the employer, such as health care and pension contributions will be considered. Normally economists consider these benefits to be additional income at a rate of approximately 20-25% of the employee's W-2 income. Many families will be without health insurance as a result of the wage earner's death and will be forced to obtain coverage. As far as pensions are concerned, the Regulations currently note that some premiums paid by employers will be considered, but offers little guidance beyond that. Income growth rates of government and military employees are inappropriate to determine growth rates of workers in the private sector. The Regulations do not account for the much higher income growth rates that the decedents would have enjoyed based on promotions, inflation and historical growth in the private sector. This information is publicly available and past income growth rates and industry parallels are also available on a case by case basis. Alternatively, if a uniform growth rate is more desirable, even if skewed, a higher rate is more appropriate than the 4.2% to 6.6% growth range the regulations currently envision, accounting for only an unrealistic .7 to 3% growth after inflation due to merit, performance or promotions. The Regulations deduct taxes form the gross income based on today's tax rates. Tax rates change on a regular basis and courts and economists are reluctant to predict what tax rate would apply 10 or 20 years from now. No one can dispute that tax on gross income is also reduced by deductions, exemptions, deferred income, losses and other non-taxable income. It is not clear if this is being taken into account when reducing the award for taxes. Furthermore, if New York law is the applicable law for economic loss, it appears the regulations violate New York law because New York law prohibits deduction or consideration of income taxes. Coleman v. NYCTA, 37 NY2d 137, 371 NYS2D 663 (1975); NY Pattern Jury Instructions 2:280. The Regulations disregard earnings in the top two percentile of income and thus constitute a cap on damages. New York law on economic loss is clear in prohibiting caps and this is in direct violation of the New York Constitution. New York Const. Art 1, 516 prohibits any limitation on the amount of wrongful death recovery. Section 408 of the Act defines economic loss according to applicable state law. Yet the Regulations violate that law and violate the New York Constitution. Non-Economic Loss While it is difficult to place a value on non-economic loss or compare one family's loss of a loved one to another's, or the suffering of a decedent before death, offering $250,000 plus $50,000 per spouse and child grossly undervalues this category of injuries based on verdicts and settlements throughout the United States. Once again, the Regulations, in placing a cap on this loss, violate New York law. Furthermore, non-economic loss is separate and distinct from economic loss and should not be reduced by collateral source income, taxes or reduced to present value. In an effort to meet the goals established by Congress, we believe the Special Master should review the current cap on non-economic damages with an eye towards raising the limit. A higher amount is not only fair and supported by law, but would encourage, if not ensure, the vast majority of families to opt for the Fund rather than to pursue litigation. The non-economic loss award in the Fund is a creature of the federal law, unaffiliated with any state law for its substance. Accordingly, we would encourage the Special Master to reevaluate and clarify the claimants eligible to receive compensation under the Fund. See Dixon v. Serodino, Inc.,331 F.2d 668 (6th Cir. 1964); Petition of United States, 418 F.2d 264 (1st Cir. 1969); Spiller v. Lowe, 466 F.2d 903 (8th Cir. 1972); Green v. Ross, 338 F. Supp. 365 (S.D. Fla. 1972); Stissi v. Interstate and Ocean Transp. Co. of Phil., 590 F.Supp. 1043 (E.D.N.Y. 1984); Thompson v. Offshore Co, 440 F.Supp. 752 (S.D. Tex. 1977); Boswell v. Bludworth Bond Shipyard, 854 F.Supp. 461 (S.D. Tex 1994) In addition, when Congress passed the Act establishing this Fund, up to 10,000 Americans were presumed to have lost their lives due to the events of September 11th. Today, thankfully, that number has been reduced to under 3,000. In light of this and all of the above, it is obvious that increasing the current cap on non-economic loss will not have a financial impact beyond what was anticipated or intended when we created this Fund in September of last year. We want to thank you in advance for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to hearing form you soon. Sincerely, Comments by: Vito J. Fossella Peter King Carolyn McCarthy Frank Pallone Jr. Chris Smith Nita Lowey Steve Israel Felix Grucci Jose Serrano Major Owens Frank Wolf Nydia Velazquez Edolphus Town Carolyn Maloney Gary Ackerman James Maloney Rosa DeLauro Benjamin Gilman Tom Reynolds cc: Kenneth Feinberg September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-28 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 dojP000324.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. 2002-01-28 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. Friday, December 07, 2001 8:03 AM September 11 Victim Compensation Fund Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. It is unquestionable that the devastating grief and economic losses suffered by the families of gay and lesbian victims are no less than that of other families. Just as the terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. I urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. I lost a dear class mate and am sure that her family has experienced a great loss. I myself am heterosexual and for me it is not a gay vs straight issue. I am American and this is an American issue for ALL Americans. Thank you for your time and needed support. Sincerely, Individual Comment Ann Arbor MI September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-07 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 dojA001259.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. 2001-12-07 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, January 22, 2002 7:16 PM comments I do NOT believe that any September 11 victim or victim's family is "entitled" to any compensation from taxpayers. Anything that the government chooses to give them must be looked upon as a "gift" from the citizens of the USA. There are a lot of people within our country who have had loved ones to die because of an accident, a crime, or for our country such as our military people. Does the government want to also compensate those families? While my heart goes out to the families of the victims of the terrorist act on our country, they must understand that the American tax dollars of millions cannot be given out to everyone who suffers from life's tragedies. The people of the United States gave over a billion dollar to charities and I think what the government is offering is more than enough to monetarily compensate them. We all suffer tragedies in our lives. If they have complaints about what is being offered and they aren't being allowed to sue the airlines, then please ask them to take it up with their congressmen. I will be glad to tell my congressmen what I feel they should do with my tax dollars. Thanks for asking for our opinions! Individual Comment Pelham, AL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-22 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 dojN002352.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. 2002-01-22 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. Wednesday, March 20, 2002 10:56 PM Sept. 11th Heroes! I am writing to let you know that I feel a hero is a hero no matter what his or her sexual preference may be! Surely this cannot be true that you are not going to give the same benefits to the partners of those victims killed on September 11th just because they happen to be gay or lesbian! I think the time has come to stop living in the dark ages! A hero is a hero and a grieving spouse is just that, a grieving spouse, no matter if the "powers to be" approve or not. I think this would be discrimination and should be examined more closely. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-20 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 dojR002449.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. 2002-03-20 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 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, December 20, 2001 1:51 AM Human rights December 20, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Long Beach, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-20 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 dojA004087.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. 2001-12-20 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 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, November 11, 2001 8:32 PM lack of public knowledge of federal fund. I first read of the Federal fund for victims' families on Oct. 1 in the NY Times web page.Since that time I have carefully watched T.V. and the news media for more information. It has bothered me to see the media continuing to solicit donations for the victims families, since I knew that there was a question whether the donations received by the families would be deducted from the amount they would receive from the federal fund. I have asked dozens of people about the fund, they never heard of it. I have Emailed and phoned T.V. stations, no mention of the fund. My local newspaper thought I was mistaken. Why would the government give each family $1 million ? They asked. As part of the bailout of the airlines I tried to explain. They were unconvinced. Because of this lack of knowledge on the part of the public, and the refusal of the T.V. news and CNN people to give any details at all about this fund, I have been appalled to see widows almost in tears on T.V. One widow said that the United Way had said that they would pay three months bills for her up to $9,000. Upon hearing that, I felt that was fair enough. I always felt that it was my responsibility to see that my family would be provided for if I did not return home alive that night. I therefore feel that a $10,000 cap for charities above the federal payment would be fair. I receive a Pension of $220 a YEAR above our social security income. I know that if a person receives $1 million and is entitled to social security survivors benefits, they can be considered to have been "made whole". Individual Comment Homhsassa, FL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-11 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 dojW000311.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. 2001-11-11 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. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 1:13 AM Emergency Fund Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. It is unquestionable that the devastating grief and economic losses suffered by the families of gay and lesbian victims are no less than that of other families. Just as the terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. I urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment Tulsa, OK September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-05 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 dojA000656.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. 2001-12-05 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, March 28, 2002 10:05 PM GLBT People = People Hello, I suggest that whomever is responsible for deciding the validity of a person's existence based solely on their sexuality, re-examine their idea of fairness and humanitarian outreach. All people who lost partners in 9-11 should be compensated equally, regardless of sexual orientation, creed, nationality, handicap, etcetera. How dare you deny American citizens compensation. Either compensate all those who lost or don't compensate any at all. If you compensate only those that are heterosexual you are doing a great disservice to the homosexual Americans that have already been through enough pain and suffering of losing a loved one. Think about it. Remember, you are the ones who will have to live with an unfair decision....and karma has a terrible way of showing up when you least expect it for a payback. Individual Comment An American Citizen September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-28 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 dojR002808.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. 2002-03-28 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, March 12, 2002 4:45 PM The Terrorists Did Not Discriminate, Why Are You? To: George W. Bush, President United States of America Kennith Feinberg, Victim Compensation Fund So many Americans came forward to help other Americans in their hour of need on September 11. Many lost their own lives in doing so. Please, continue to show the same selfless courage to humanity by imitating their LEADERSHIP. Discrimination of 9/11 Funds to all the gay men and women who gave their lives to help other Americans on 9/11 must be avoided. The death of one American hero, , should not become another political pawn in the disbursement of 9/11 Funds. Nelson Mandela had the courage and vision to realize local laws of discrimination never reflected 'justice' . He also had the personal courage, like , to stand up for his fellow countrymen when justice called his name. Please, help America and ALL Americans lead the world By showing America does not discriminate, America cares equally for all our Heroes. Individual Comment Seattle, WA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-12 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 dojR000493.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. 2002-03-12 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, March 18, 2002 11:49 AM Stop discrimination Gay, Lesbian, Bisexial, and Transgendered persons will no longer accept or permit your blatant discrimination. The same benefits should be given to gay survivors as to heterosexual survivors. WE ARE WATCHING YOU Individual Comment Tulsa OK September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-18 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 dojR001870.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. 2002-03-18 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. December 13, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Buffalo, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 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 dojA004133.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. 2001-12-13 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, March 17, 2002 10:26 PM 9/11 Fund Please do not discriminate against the gay and lesbian partners and families of those who died on September 11. These families have experienced the same pain and suffering as have the partners and families of heterosexuals. Please do not compound their pain by withholding benefits from them. We need to honor the deaths of everyone who died in this tragedy by reaching out to the partners and families of all of them. Thank you, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 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 dojR001568.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. 2002-03-17