979 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 8:40 AM Protect Traditional Marriage Mr. Kenneth Zwick Office of Management Programs Department of Justice Washington. DC Dear Mr. Zwick: I want to express my opposition to any effort by the federal government to provide 9-11 victim compensation funds to "domestic partners" of unmarried survivors of the terrorist attack upon our nation. Funds disbursed through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 should only go to the surviving family members of those who died on 9-11. Funds must go to the widows, widowers, orphans, and other blood-related or adopted members of the family--not to unmarried sexual partners of those who died. To provide funds to "domestic partners" is to undermine the traditional definition of marriage and family to include any number of sexual liaisons between same-sex or opposite-sex unmarried couples. Many homosexuals and swinging heterosexuals, for example, engage in sex with multiple partners. Do we provide funds to each of the sexual partners? Where do we draw the line on how many "domestic partners" a person may have?Homosexual activists are exploiting the 9-11 tragedy by asking the federal government to redefine what constitutes a legitimate "family" under the law. In fact, homosexual activist &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , writing in Out magazine has openly called for the subversion of the concept of marriage between a man and a woman. He has urged homosexuals to fight for the legalization of homosexual marriages and once legalized to "redefine the institution of marriage completely . . . . to debunk a myth and radically alter an archaic institution. . . . The most subversive action lesbians and gays can under take--and one that would perhaps benefit all of society--is to transform the notion of 'family' entirely." If the DOJ provides funds to "domestic partners," it will be helping &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp accomplish his goal: That of redefining marriage and altering what he calls an "archaic institution." We also oppose September 11th Funds going to the estates of the deceased instead of to their surviving family members. No one can know for certain where these funds will end up if they are deposited in the estate of a person who has died. The person may have willed his estate to a terrorist, racial hate group, or even to an organization like the North American Man-Boy Love Association. No one will know unless each person's will is examined by a DOJ lawyer. The money should go to the surviving family members of the deceased, not to the estate or to the surviving "domestic partner." Individual Comment Glenwood, IA 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 dojA001717.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. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 4:52 PM Help All victims of terrorist attacks 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 River Forest IL 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 dojA000972.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. Monday, March 18, 2002 4:47 PM discrimination I've been told that the victim's fund isn't making payments to the life companions'families of gay victims of the September 11th tragedy. I hope you'll reconsider this stance to provide equal treatment to the survivors of all of the victims. Thank you. Individual Comment White Plains, NY 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 dojR002033.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. Friday, December 21, 2001 12:23 PM Greif Turning To Greed / Generosity Turning To Anger $1.65 Million, Taxfree is more than adequate. Plus the resulting insurance payouts and other donations that these families will receive is generous and will substain them. What would have happened or will happen to the rest of our citizens if these attacks had continued or will continue in the future? Would / Will the country be able to be so generous? This was an act of war and was not due to anything done directley by the people of our goverment. What are the families of the soldiers that are maimed or killed in this conflict going to receive? I fear not much. What are the people that serve in the reserves that have been called up for months of duty away from their familes and employment going to receive? Each family should receive the exact same amount regardless of the number of dependents. One lump sum. Maybe we can be generous and help these people get on with their lives, but we don't owe them a lifestyle of unquestioned wealth for the rest of their lives. I really question why should any parents receive any money from a tragedy like this unless the children were contributing directly to their support. Any payments should be for the support of dependents and spouses of the victimns. Most Americans can only dream about Big Jobs With Big Bucks on Wall Street. Most Americans when tragedy strikes only receive the "well wishes of friends," and then have to get on with their lives the best that they can. Further, I hope the goverment does not allow vindictive survivors with unbridled greif, hatred, and greed destroy the Airline Industry. The attack of September 11, 2001 was an act of terrorism and war and should be treated as such. I do feel for the survivors, because I am of an age now where I have lost family members myself and know what a void is created in ones life. But, the American citizens do not owe them a life free from want and work. Thank you. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 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 dojN000441.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. 2001-12-21 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 21, 2001 10:50 AM equal access December 21, 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 Goshen, IN September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 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 dojN000408.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. 2001-12-21 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. November 26, 2001 Via e-mail at victimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov and facsimile at (301) 519 5956 Mr. kenneth L. Zwick Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania NW Washington, DC 20530 Re: Comment Letter on September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Dear Mr. Zwick: This Comment Letter is respectfully submitted on behalf of Euro Brokers Inc., the inter-dealer broker subsidiary of Maxcor Financial Group Inc. (Nasdaq:MAXF). Our New York offices were located on the 84th floor of Two World Trade Center. Prior to September 11th, Euro Brokers had approximately 300 employees in New York. We lost 60 of our employees (and one staff member who was a third-party employee) as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, including one employee who escaped the collapsing towers but died several weeks later from his injuries. Of the Euro Brokers victims, 46 were married and 41 had children. Some of the spouses of our lost employees gave birth to children after September 11th, one spouse gave birth to her first child after September 11th and one spouse is due to give birth in the new year. A total of approximately 85 children were left behind. Some of our lost employees were engaged to be married. Some of our lost employees also provided financial support ot their parents or siblings. Our lost employees ranged in age from 23 to 58. Forty-eight of them were brokers at the firm, with the balance holding a variety of positions, including senior executive, administrator, operations and back office support personnel, facility management and information technology, The victims' annual compensation ranged from the mid-five figures into low seven figures. We have dealt extensively with the families of our lost employees since September 11th and, though those dealings, have witnessed first hand the pain, grief, anger, frustration and confusion many of them have felt-even with our help-in trying to negotiage the various and complex legal and financial issues raised by the loss of their loved ones. Accordingly, we submit this Comment Letter from the perspective that, to avoid compounding the trauma already experienced by these families, simplifying the claims process established by the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (the "Fund") is an essential goal. We also believe that it will best effectuate Congressional policy objectives by encouraging the greatest number of families to elect the Fund process over private tort litigation. Accordingly, we strongly urge the Attorney General and the Department ofJustice to consider establishing a viable and non-binding "fast track" alternative to the 120-day process set forth in the Fund statute. This alternative would be designed to enable employers of large numbers of lost employees to, in essence, initially shoulder the burden of the Fund process collectively on behalf of the families of the lost employees, and arrange for the families to receive a quick proffer from the Fund of economic and non-economic losses-based solely upon documentary submission from the employers, without a written submission by the claimant and without a hearing. The proffer would be non-binding and the families would be free to accept the proffer (less applicable collateral source compensation) and be bound to the waiver and release provisions of the Fund, or reject the proffer and go through the regular 120-day Fund process, or bypass the Fund entirely and reserve their right to bring a conventional tort action. In conjunction with this fast track process, we believe it is essential that the Department of Justice clearly define "collateral source" compensation, so that proffers can be evaluated meaningfully. We also urge the Department to construe as narrowly as possible the definition of collateral sources by, among other things, excluding charitable donations (including voluntary employer donations) from the definition, in order to encourage fullest possible utilization of the Fund. I. Fast track Simplified Claim Process We suggest that in its implementing regulations the Department of Justice create a simplified "fast track" claim process whereby employers of large numbers of lost employees could submit to the Special Master the names, ages and earnings information (for some minimum historical period) of each lost employee, which the Special Master could then input into a matrix, applying assumptions about life expectancy, number of productive working years in a particular industry and reasonable expectations as to compensation changes, etc., to formulate a quick proffer of economic losses. This quick proffer by the Special Master would be calculated using the employer's documentary submission, without any need for a hearing or written submission by the claimant. To make the proffer fair and meaningful, it should be based upon consistent application of the matrix assumptions and, in light of each victim's particular age, vocation and compensation level, offer a level of compensation for economic loss that will be perceived as being within the range of loss that could be expected to be awarded if the regular 120-day Fund process were utilized. In conjunction with this fast track approach for calculating economic losses, we suggest that the Department ofJustice establish a uniform minimum amount for non-economic losses for pain and suffering for every individual lost in connection with the September 11th attacks, regardless of where they were or the particular circumstances of their death, without imposing on the victims' families the need to endure a painful hearing detailing their loved ones' last moments and attempting to put a price tag on their suffering. This quick proffer of non-economic losses would also be made by the Special Master without any need for a hearing or written submission by the claimant. Again, to encourage as many claimants to utilize this fast track approach instead of proceeding with a full hearing under the Fund statute or a private tort suit, this proffer must be both fair and substantial. Mechanically, the Special Master could then provide the employer with the individual proffers of economic and non-economic losses for each of the employer's lost employees, which the employer would then pass on to the victims' families. As noted above, the proffers would be non-binding so that the families would be free to accept the proffer, less collateral source compensation received by the claimant, and be bound to the full waiver and release provisions of the Fund - or reject the proffer and either participate in the regular 120-day Fund process or bypass the regular Fund process and reserve their right to proceed with a private civil tort suit. Obviously, the decision whether or not to accept the proffer is one that the victims; families would have to make themselves. Accordingly, the employer's submissions on behalf of its lost employees would not be a claim "filed" for purposes of the Fund. The actual claim filing would only occur when and if the family desired to accept the Special Master's proffer. At that time, a claim form more akin to that which will be used in the 120-day process (albeit still simplified) would be needed, both to establish the claimant's eligibility and his or her collateral source compensation, before funds could be released. We do not believe that advance publication of matrix assumptions and uniform base non- economic loss compensation figures would be an adequate alternative to the fast track process we are proposing. We believe that claimants will want to have an individualized concrete calculation of economic and non-economic loss compensation available to them before committing to the Fund process and waiving substantive rights, and that merely publishing the assumptions without providing a specific proffer is likely to cause claimants to take a wait and see approach to see what sums are being awarded to others before deciding whether or not to proceed with the Fund. Although we recognize that there may be some families that will want to litigate, either for emotional reasons or because they think it will maximize their monetary recovery, we believe that there is a much larger group that will take a quick and fair recovery if the process is fair, simple and applied even-handedly, produces substantial results, and permits them to avoid the emotional pain of participation in potentially prolonged hearings and submissions of evidence (including consulting with and retaining a panoply of experts to prove economic loss and pain and suffering of the victim). We believe that this fast track approach will also have ancillary benefits for the Department of Justice, in both time and resources, by likely reducing the number of cases the Special Master will have to hear, and for employers who have sustained large employee losses by avoiding their need to dedicate substantial time and resources in connection with presentation of documentary and testimonial evidence at multiple individual hearings. II. Collateral Source As a further incentive to the victims' families to use the Fund process, we urge the Department of Justice to construe as narrowly as possible the term "collateral source" in calculating the amount to be reduced from compensation awards, and to specifically exclude charitable donations (including voluntarily employer donations, whether in the form of continued compensation payments or otherwise) from the definition of collateral source. Although we recognize the compensatory nature of the Fund, we think that the policy of Congress is best effected by fair and broad use of the Fund. In this regard, we believe that reducing Fund compensation by amounts received in charitable donations will discourge victims' families from using the Fund and encourage private tort suits because, among other reasons, collateral source compensation is not reduced from an award of punitive damages, and punitive damages are available in a private tort suit and not under the Fund. Deducting charitable donations from Fund awards will, in essence, penalize the victims' families for accepting the donations. Deducting charitable donations from Fund awards will have the further undesirable effect of deterring charitable donations. millions were pledged in donations to reach out and help the victims families - not to subsidize the government in awarding compensation to the victims' families. Charitable donations should be excluded from the definition of collateral source as a matter statutory construction as well. While section 402(4) of the Fund statute specifies life insurance and pension benefits as collateral sources, it makes no mention of charitable donations. Moreover, section 405(b)(6) states that the Special Master shall reduce the compensation award by collateral source compensation the claimant "has received or is entitled to receive". Plainly, no one is "entitled to receive" charitable donations from organized charities, employers, friends or family. Nor does it make sense to force the victims' families to delay their receipt of charity until after they have received their Fund award to circumvent the "has received" language in the statute. We further suggest that the Department exclude from the definition of collateral source any vested interests in life insurance, pension funds, IRA funds, 401(k) plans and other benefit plans. First, as a matter of statutory construction, section 402 of the Fund statute defines the term "collateral source" to mean life insurance, pension funds and other payments "related to the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001." Similarly, section 405(b)(6) states that the Special Master's compensation award shall be reduced by the amount of collateral source compensation the claimant has received or is entitled to receive "as a result of the terrorist- related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001." Vested interests in life insurance (e.g., current cash value of a whole life policy, as opposed to the death benefit payable theron), pension funds, 401 (k) plans and the like are akin to regular savings accounts which generally are available to the account holder at any time and are not dependent upon or related to the September 11th terrorist attacks. Moreover, as a matter of policy, to reduce such sums from a compensation award would unfairly penalize those victims who assiduously worked to save and build their assets. In any event, the term collateral source needs to be defined as specifically as possible so that the victims' families know full well what amounts will be reduced from the proffer of economic and non-economic losses that we contemplate with the fast track process described herein. We thank you for the opportunity to provide these comments to you. We would be happy to meet again in person with officials of the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master to discuss this fast track proposal and other ways which we, as an employer of a substantial number of victims from the September 11th attacks, can help the families of the victims. Respectfully submitted Euro Brokers Inc. New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-26 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 dojW000753.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. 2001-11-26 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 21, 2001 6:54 AM Justice help all terrorist victims Dear Mr. Zwick: The very humane Fund for relatives of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks must include all relatives of all the victims. This importantly should include the partners and children of same sex unions. They suffer just as grievously for their deceased loved ones as do other survivors, and their need for assistance is just as great. Please do not give in to the importuning of callous homophobic groups and individuals who would have the Department of Justice limit compensation to survivors of heterosexual unions. They are interested in a political victory, not humane assistance. This Fund is intended for humane purposes; it is not a political statement, Mr. Zwick. Sincerely, Individual Comment Phoenix, AZ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 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 dojN000323.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. 2001-12-21 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 Sabillasville, MD 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 dojA004145.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. Monday, March 18, 2002 1:59 AM Discriminating against gays is WRONG. As an American i feel that gay and lesbian partners of the world trade center victims deserve to be compensated equally. We pay taxes too you know. And with the rage i often feel, being gay in this country, i am wondering why there are no gay terrorist groups out there, speaking in the only language the government seems to understand. but, wait a minute, i almost forgot. We are better than that. And YOU ARE VERY FORTUNATE THAT WE ARE. (or at least I AM) Individual Comment 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 dojR001598.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. Sunday, January 13, 2002 6:41 PM My comment on the Victims Compensation Fund Dear Mr. Feinberg: Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is , I am the wife of , one of the 17 employees of killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11. worked in the WTC for 20 years. I am also the mother and surviving parent of , 11, and , 7. Let me tell you a little about our life. My husband did not make alot of money. The majority of the time we lived paycheck to paycheck. When my son was born, I stayed home from work to raise him, and we took out 's life insurance policy. We paid $140.00 a month for this policy. I had to return to work because we could not live on the money made. Raising children is very expensive. Then, was born. Because was responsible, he wanted to make sure both his children could survive and get educated if something happened to him,so we added to his insurance. Being the person in charge of paying the bills, I can asure you , sir, there were many months that there was not enough money to go around. Some months a bill or two did not gett paid until more money came in. Every bill got bumped , except for the life insurance. He made them take it directly form our checking account. Despite our many debates and my insistence that we could use the $140.00 to pay other bills ( after all did we really need life insurance so young?) insisted we keep the insurance and make other sacrifices. Now the worst has happened, and I am wondering why we made so many sacrifices over the years and will now be penalized for that. Your decision to deduct life insurance form the Victims Compensation Benefit baffles me. We paid the premiums of these insurances with the money worked hard for. We made sacrifices and struggled to pay those premiums. Now it will cost us for being responsible. What kind of message does that send? This Christmas, we opened presents with a HUGE vacancy, one that will be there forever. My kids will live the majority of their lives without their father for guidance and support. I am a widow at 39, left with the huge responsibility of raising our two babies alone-and having to deal with having my husband brutally murdered and whatever scars that will leave us with. Sending him of to work one day, and never seeing him again. Never having a chance to say goodbye. A monstrous task. I ask to put yourself in my shoes for just a moment and see if you consider you decision to deduct life insurances is a fair one. I think you are forcing victims to decline your offer and to pursue a lawsuit, when it is really the last thing they want to do. I ask you sir, to reconsider. Individual Comment Staten Island, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-13 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 dojN001531.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. 2002-01-13 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. Friday, December 21, 2001 8:30 PM Equal Benefits December 21, 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 Carol Stream, IL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 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 dojN000664.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. 2001-12-21 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 21, 2001 2:29 AM same sex 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 Anchorage, AK September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 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 dojN000204.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. 2001-12-21 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 31, 2002 2:09 PM VCF: Including Domestic Partner Benefits Dear Mr. Feinberg, I have just reviewed your Victim Compensation Fund plan and I am disgusted that you would exclude domestic partners to your compensation plan. Domestic partners have the same level of commitment to and love for their partners as heterosexual couples do and to deny them compensation for their painful loss is to deny this reality. I appreciate that you are trying to follow state and federal guidelines regarding same-sex relationships, however these laws are antiquated and do not truthfully reflect the diverse families of Americans. Please reconsider excluding domestic partnership funding for families that can prove their commitment to each other (ie: joint accounts, shared mortgage, auto loans, etc). All American families have been hugely affected by the September 11th attacks - don't exclude some families because they don't look like straight middle/upper class, white families... Show compassion for ALL American families. Thank you for your consideration. Please contact me if you would like to discuss this further. Sincerely, Individual Comment Denver CO September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-31 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 dojR002837.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. 2002-03-31 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 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, December 04, 2001 4:17 PM Equal benefits for all victims 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 economiclosses 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 whomleft 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 Miami Beach, FL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-04 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 dojA000354.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. 2001-12-04 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 12:56 PM Equal Benefits 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 Brighton, MI 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 dojA003281.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 3:34 PM equal 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. Individual Comment Ridgway, PA 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 dojA003471.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. December 17, 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, ncluding 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 San Jose,CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-17 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 dojA005123.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. 2001-12-17 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 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. January 18, 2002 Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Clinton: I am an attorney in New York City and I have been asked by a friend, &nbsp, a resident of &nbsp, Massachusetts, for advice with respect to the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (the "Fund"). &nbsp's husband, &nbsp, was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11 and died in the attack on the World Trade Center. &nbsp was seven months pregnant at the time, and has two other small children. &nbsp, who was 33 years old when he died, was a partner at a venture capitalist firm in Boston. I write to express my serious concerns about the "Interim Final Regulations Governing Payments Under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund" issued by the Department of Justice (the DOJ). My concerns and objections pertain specifically to 's situation, although in most respects they apply to all families. In short, post-September 11 legislation gave the airlines $15 billion in cash and loan guarantees while capping the airlines' liability for the September 11 crashes at the limits of their insurance coverage (which I understand is $1.5 billion per airplane). This cap for all intents and purposes, eliminates the right that &nbsp would otherwise have to sue the airlines because, in simple economic terms, the monetary damages for death and property loss at the WTC will greatly exceed the available insurance coverage. (This may not be true, or as true, for victims of the flights that crashed in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon, since $1.5 billion would likely sufficiently cover those victims.) Since &nbsp is effectively losing her right to sue, she should be given fair compensation in return. Congress, in setting up the Fund, sought to ensure that the bail out of the airlines would not come at the expense of victims, and the Act mandates full and fair compensation to victims and their families. However, the regulations, as currently drafted, do not appear to achieve that purpose in &nbsp's situation for at least the following three specific reasons. First, the DOJ's formula allows for non-economic awards of $250,000 for the person killed and $50,000 for the spouse and each dependent. This is only one-tenth the level paid in comparable cases. And this is so even though Congress explicitly enumerated a broader range of non-economic damages than could be recovered in Massachusetts, New York or any other single jurisdiction. Second, the DOJ's method of calculating economic damages appears to seriously underestimate bonuses, promotions and real increases in a victim's earnings. I attended a discussion last night with Special Master Kenneth Feinberg at the New York City Bar Association at which Mr. Feinberg attempted to address this issue. It is still not clear to me how someone such as &nbsp's husband, who was making well over $200,00 at the time of his death at age 33, and whose income was steadily increasing, will be treated. If David's income and earning potential are not realistically assessed, including the major bonuses be stood to receive in his particular line of work. &nbsp's family will receive only a small percentage of their actual economic loss. &nbsp was extremely successful and that should be part of any fair analysis with respect to actually and fairly compensating his family for their loss. Third, the deduction of "collateral source payments" from any award presents perhaps the greatest unfairness and threatens to get any award &nbsp might otherwise receive. The fact that &nbsp and &nbsp had the foresight to take out high insurance policies, for which they of course paid the high premiums, should not be held against them in a dollar-for-dollar sense with respect to recovery under the Fund. This issue is not, of course, unique to . At the discussion with Special Master Feinberg last night, a representative of a group of firefighters strongly asserted that the "collateral source" rule, if strictly applied, could very well leave moderate wage earners with high pensions with nothing from the Fund. The following are suggestions as to how the problems identified above can be remedied: (1) All families should be given a non-economic award at levels comparable to those provided in the tort system the Fund was designed to replace. The current amounts are simply too low and not consistent with the mandate of Congress. (2) The earning potential of victims should reflect their real earning potential, including a realistic assessment of a victim's bonuses and promotions, and it should be made clear in the regulations that no "extraordinary" showing is necessary for those who earned over certain high amounts. (3) The "collateral source" offset provision, while I understand it cannot be completely eliminated since it is part of the Act, should be construed extremely narrowly. Certainly the amounts paid to secure collateral source compensation--e.g., life insurance premium payments, social security payments--should be deducted from any amount considered to offset a potential Fund award. In addition, if collateral source payments trigger new income or estate tax liability, that new tax liability should be deducted from any amount considered to offset a potential Fund award. Finally, the "collateral source" reductions should be capped at a certain amount or a certain percentage relative to earnings. Without these sorts of changes to the proposed regulations, &nbsp and those like her could be seriously under-compensated. Please contact Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg and tell them of your concerns that the Interim Final Regulations fail to conform to the language and intent of the Act, with respect to 's particular case and with respect to all victims. With the regulations soon to become final, I believe that swift efforts by Congress can guarantee that the Fund is regulated and administered in a way that is fair and consistent with the intentions of Congress. Thank you for giving this matter your immediate attention. Very truly your, Individual Comment New York, NY cc: (Via Email) President George W. Bush September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-18 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 dojN002548.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. 2002-01-18 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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 12:20 AM Equal Access for Gay and Lesbian Partners 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 East Lansing, MI 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 dojA002575.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. Friday, December 21, 2001 8:50 AM September 11th Relief Fund Distribution December 21, 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 Anderson, IN September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 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 dojN000374.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. 2001-12-21