986 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. Tuesday, November 06, 2001 1:07 PM Compassion and Common Sense-Sept.11 Victim Compensation Thank-you for the opportunity to comment on the compensation debate. PLEASE do what you can to keep the money out of trial lawyer's hands! Let's not let this become another lawyer-enrichment program like what the tobacco "settlement" became! If compensation is handled justly there shouldn't be any need for them. I'm hoping that common sense prevails and that the primary victims (those physically injured in the event and the immediate families of those that died) are compensated to a reasonable extent and any money left over goes to rebuilding the city and into a fund comprised of a large chunk of money for future troubles that WILL be surfacing, it's only a matter of time, due to the toxic work environment at the site. I've smelled the air there and it's not good. From what I understand the masks are difficult to wear for any real length of time and are not being utilized as they should be. (I can hear it now "It's your fault-you should have worn the mask provided to you", "No it's your fault for not providing me with a good quality, reasonably comfortable, mask that doesn't make you feel like you're suffocating!"). Also, I feel STRONGLY that the American Red Cross should be handing over ALL monies it has collected on behalf of the victims of the attacks. Again, any "surplus", anything in excess of reasonable handouts, should be given to NYC (as I'm sure the U.S. government will already to paying for repairs to the Pentagon) - and complete accountabilty needs to be required. Anyone in charge of doling out money should be able to account for every penny when all is said and done. I also feel that everyone who claims to be a victim should have a social worker-type person assigned to them-someone with compassion and lots of common sense. The money spent on that would be worth it. Someone who will get to know the families and be able to evaluate their specific situations and recommend fair compensation. Every case will be slightly different. And known victims who have not had family come forward should also have a social worker assigned in case the immediate family is either too traumatized to step forward or just isn't sure how to proceed. Those case workers should quickly ascertain whether or not immediate funds need to be made available to any families. A quick $50,000 pay-out should probably be given to any family who has had to bury someone or has had someone in a hospital. The finer calculations can be done later. That same case-worker would also be valuable in any claim disputes within the families. There is a huge risk of abuse here and if it comes out later that undeserving people and/or businesses were beneficiaries of any of the money, potential future donors will be turned off and all the heart-felt donating will have a long-term negative impact. I feel bad for people laid off and relocated, but such is life. There are no guarantees in life. I've been laid off twice and forced to live on the ridiculously low unemployment benefits for a time and I survived. I was broke and traumatized, but I survived. Should I have sued the executives of the company for the mis-management that led the company to liquidating (in one case)? Government "awards" should not an automatic thing. This isn't some kind of lottery. If the victims are able to get sufficient funds from donation programs then less taxpayer money will be needed to get them back on their feet (as well as possible). If taxpayers pay AND donation programs pay then in reality the taxpayers are getting hit twice, since I imagine that the donations are tax-deductible. Perhaps that's the stance that politicians need to take to avoid looking like scrooges. Heaven knows that taxpayer money will be needed for a few other things going on these days............... Best to all of you, Individual Comment Danbury, CT September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-06 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 dojW000065.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. 2001-11-06 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 14, 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 Las Cruces, NM 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 dojA004849.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. Friday, December 21, 2001 11:21 AM gay 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 Penngrove, CA 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 dojN000415.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. Thursday, November 08, 2001 8:15 PM Comments on proposed regulations Sirs/Madams: My comments for consideration are as follows: 1.) Collateral source deductions: New York State Worker's Compensation Law provides that any party who is receiving Worker's Compensation must report an intention to initiate any third party suit for liabilities attendant to injuries suffered at work. The majority of the persons in the WTC were on the job and hence entitled to Worker's Compensation benefits. However, the general rule is that the Worker's Compensation insurer is allowed to suspend payments for a period of time equal to the benefit derived by the party in the third party lawsuit or claim. If this rule is allowed to apply to benefits provided by the Sept. 11 fund, then there will be a double deduction from benefits. The sum payed by Worker's Compensation will be deducted from the Sept. 11 fund, and additionally the person will forfeit Worker's Compensation benefits to the extent that they receive further benefits from the Sept. 11 fund. In order to avoid this result the regulations should specifically provide that worker's and their estates should receive Worker's Compensation benefits without offset, by a declaration of federal intent to supersede any state, particularly NY to the contrary. 2.) Life insurance deductions: Collateral offsets should apply to life insurance proceeds only to the extent that the policy is payable to a dependent of the victim. If the life insurance is payable to a trust for the benefits of the decedent's spouse and children, the proceeds should not be considered collateral sources because the affected persons are not the direct beneficiaries and do not have the ability to control the corpus of the trust. Many persons set up trusts such as these for the purpose of protecting their immediate heirs and paying out money over time. To deduct these sums from recovery unfairly penalizes this fully allowed and recognized tax planning device, more commonly known as a life insurance trust. 3.) Third party suits: The regulations should allow the initiation of third party lawsuits against the terrorists, their countries and those who were directly for intentional acts, as opposed to negligence. To do otherwise is to give them a free pass and makes our country subsidize liabilities attendant to their actions. The frozen assets should be marshalled to pay resulting judgments directly to the victims, without offset from the fund to the extent that the government fund is first reimbursed from the frozen assets for all money paid out to victims. Individual Comment Skaneateles, New York September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-08 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 dojW000266.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. 2001-11-08 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, November 30, 2001 3:36 AM Victim Compensation for Gays and Lesbians Please make sure to compensate the victims of the Sept 11th attacks who are gay or lesbian. Their losses are as painful as any other American's and we much stand togther as a nation and take care of each other. Thank you! Individual Comment Arlee, MT September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-30 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 dojA000213.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. 2001-11-30 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 5:34 AM Crisis Relief 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 Stony Point, NY 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 dojA002514.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. Tuesday, January 29, 2002 3:08 PM 9/11 Compensation I understand why the government giving compensation to the victims families of 9/11. However, it just doesn't seem right. Here we are, paying for high energy and healthcare costs. Higher interest rates, as well as higher taxes for the lower, and middle income people. Just what are *we* supposed to do? Ever our groceries have gone up. I am a victim of nuclear fallout, since I grew up in St. George, Utah. We have not been compensated. Only those that can show they have certain cancers. Anyone that can prove they lived there at the time of the above ground testing, should be compensated, without having to prove anything else, period. Perhaps you should take care of this country's blunders', before you pay for some other tragedy. Things would get better in this country if the government took care of it's own mistakes. Individual Comment Las Vegas, NV September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-29 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 dojR002929.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. 2002-01-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, November 26, 2001 2:25 PM Comments on DOJ notice regarding September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 I am working closely with a family that lost their father on September 11th. He was with in the WTC north tower. The family has great concern as to whether sufficient information will be available about the rules for the compensation fund, and the potential compensation from the fund, to permit an informed decision on whether to participate. My responses to your request for comments are: e) - Effective date for rules. Since the first opportunity to see the actual rules will be when they are issued on December 21, 2001, the ability to have an opportunity for a round of comment and potential amendment is critical. The plan to issue the regulations as "interim final" rules as discussed under b) could be consistent with that need, providing the comment and amendment period is preserved. Topics #1 and 2 - Claim Forms. The claim form information should be clear about the exact information required for the claim. The office of the Special Master should immediately review the claim, and if the claim is complete, it should be accepted and deemed filed as of the submittal date. If the claim is incomplete, the missing information should be identified and the claim returned to the applicant for completion and re-filing. (It would also be useful to define a period for the initial review, e.g. the first 30 days of the 120-day period.) The 120-day period for a re-filed claim should be measured from the time the claim is re-filed. Topic #3. · Regarding dismissal and re-filing of a claim with inadequate supporting information. As discussed under Topics #1 and 2, an incomplete claim should have the missing information identified, and be returned to the applicant for completion and re-filing. · Regarding appeal to the Special Master of "rulings" or "working decisions" of a hearing officer. Since there is no appeal from the decision of the Special Master, the only protection from an improper decision by a hearing officer is to provide a right of appeal directly to the Special Master. Extension of the 120-day period in that situation would be appropriate, and would serve to discourage frivolous appeals. Topic #4 - Assistance to claimants. The most important assistance is having clear instructions, and examples for calculating losses, included in the rules. Further support via auxiliary information, answers to frequently asked questions etc. can also assist. Use of a web site for keeping potential claimants up to date would also be helpful. Topic #6 - Nature and amount of compensation. · The guidelines that will be used to evaluate economic losses should be published as part of the rule process, including hypothetical or presumptive awards. These guidelines should be formulated by a panel of experts, who are representative of the best talent that a litigant might employ. This will ensure consistent treatment of all claimants, and will assist in the evaluation as to whether to participate in the process. · Non-economic loss evaluation guidelines should be determined and published in the manner described above for the economic losses. · It would seem that classes of victims for September 11th could be fairly easily established. In litigation for damages, there would be distinctions drawn based on the circumstances of death, and the resulting pain and suffering experienced by both the victim and the victim's family. Where contributory negligence prevented the possibility of a rescue, the pain and suffering are exacerbated. On the upper floors of the WTC north tower, victims were trapped for 1 3/4 hours before the collapse of the building. Downward escape was blocked by fire, and upward escape to the roof blocked by the deliberate decision of the Port Authority to prevent emergency access to the roof (in violation of the fire code). As reported in the Wall Street Journal on October 23, 2001, police helicopters were standing by with hoists to take people off the roof (ten at a time) beginning five minutes after the impact of the first plane. And, in the opinion of the helicopter pilots, the roof was sufficiently clear of smoke to have permitted such rescues. The extent of the trauma experienced by the victims who were in this situation is reflected in the substantial number who chose to jump to certain death. Those victims and their families would certainly seem to represent a special case. · Regarding collateral sources. § Charitable contributions tend to be proportional to need. Considering them as a collateral source would have the effect of making the greatest reduction in the victim compensation award for those who have the greatest need. Nothing in the language of the act appears to prevent the exclusion of charitable contributions from the definition of collateral sources. Also, equitable administration of inclusion would be difficult, if not impossible. The same reasoning applies to "in kind" or material contributions. § It is not clear whether potential future payments would include such items as Social Security and Workman's Compensation benefits. Again it would seem that those most in need would suffer the greatest reduction in compensation if those items were considered to be collateral sources. If they are to be included, the treatment of such items needs to be clearly stated, with identification of included items and the discounting to be applied both for timing and any risks of actual occurrence. § A further issue is potential future educational support for the children of victims. Such support may not materialize, and in many cases a resolution will be well beyond the time frame allotted for this fund. § The above cases reinforce the need for an explicit definition of what items are to be considered collateral sources, and how each of them is to be treated. Also, will there be an opportunity for a future adjustment in the award if a presumed collateral source does not materialize? Thank you for your consideration of these comments. Individual Comment Wilton, CT 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 dojW000594.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. Monday, December 10, 2001 2:24 PM September 11 Fund Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U. S Department of Justice Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Departments 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 acts. 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 September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-10 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 dojA001431.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. 2001-12-10 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. Thursday, December 20, 2001 7:14 AM Discrimination 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 San Antonio, TX 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 dojA004125.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. Tuesday, November 06, 2001 2:07 PM Topic 233 - Should there be a Hearing? Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Mr. Zwick: Your call for comments states: "Among other matters, the Department welcomes comment on whether every claimant should be granted an oral hearing or whether paper hearings may be sufficient, and comments on what types of oral hearing may be practicable, consistent with the statutory deadlines." I am a trial attorney, a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers, its Aviation Section and have spoken around the country more than 20 times on trial lawyer issues. In addition, I handle a limited number of social security claims. I believe it is imperative that an opportunity for an oral hearing be allowed each claimant. First, I believe it would violate the section 405(b)(4)(B) of the Act to deny the right to an oral hearing. Such subsection provides: "(B) the right to present evidence, including the presentation of witnesses and documents; and" I do not see how it will be possible to present witnesses, without the opportunity for a hearing. Second, with the death claims, a human life has been lost, a human life intertwined with other human lives that will be forever changed by that death. This is not about property, or a bond, or a stock that was destroyed or stolen. If no hearing is allowed, or if the hearing process is sanitized, then compensation may be treated much like the loss of property in this tragedy. But human life is unique, and the individual impact of this tragedy, unique. While the Justice Department has a valid concern with respect to the time issues involved in allowing for hearings, we believe it is a severe violation of the bi-partisan mandate for this Fund, to use those temporal constraints as a basis to deny a claimant the right to be heard about the life that was lost, or the injuries that have disabled. If there is a real world conflict between the temporal constraints of the Act, and the promise to allow for the "presentation of witnesses", I think it a far better choice to modified the temporal issues than the evidentiary. Perhaps the Regulations could allow for the determination to be made within 120 days of a schedule hearing, or some other benchmark, and if legislation is involved to make such technical change, it would seem an easier process to obtain bipartisan support for such change, than to eliminate hearings. The Act clearly calls for evidence of the "individual circumstances". We believe that without a hearing, that there will be no way to fully appreciate those "individual circumstances." We believe that a cost calculation of handling these hearings, should not be considered a factor by the Justice Deparment, as the Act clearly authorizes whatever procedural funds are required to carry out the objectives of this legislation. I will comment on the issue of hearing officers in a separate email. Finally, it is clear to me that compensation will be more complete if a full evidentiary hearing - in front of an adminstrative law judge - is allowed, than if these claims are handled without such hearing. It may be that the Justice Department sees this as a consideration that would militate against allowing for hearings. However, full compensation is clearly a policy of the Fund. This was a bipartisan act, agreed to by Democrats, whose philosophies would clearly be alligned with allowing for full access to justice for all those injured on September 11th. In agreeing to the Fund, the pro-plaintiff advocates agreed to waive their rights to pursue potentially culpable defendants beyond insurance limits. This was a major concesssion, and if the Fund becomes an illusory promise of compensation, the bipartisan trust that went into its creation, will be transformed into bitter conflict. Our whole society has been a victim of the September 11th attacks. Our airline industry, our stock market, our consumer confidence, potentially our insurance industry, our faith in government, have all been injured by these actions. Yet, the truly innocent and most important victims of this tragedy are the nearly 5,000 people who were killed, the thousands more who were injured, and their families. If government bails out the airlines, bails out the financial markets, bails out the insurance industry, yet leaves the true victims with only a fraction of full compensation, the word justice will not long be associated with the Fund. Unlike many other members of the trial bar, I saw in the Fund a promise of full compensation. If the fund is emasculated by eliminating hearings, or artificially restricting economic or non-economic damages, then far more individuals will be left with no meaningful choice but to pursue potential wrongdoers in Court, and perhaps challenging the Constitutionality of liability protection granted hereunder. Ultimately, it will be those like myself, who will be the guiding voice, that determines whether the objective of a Fund where lawsuits would be unnecessary, is obtained. Thus, I believe it is imperative that you listen to the voice of those trial lawyers who make their living representing those in need of justice on a contingent fee basis. TLC does not speak for such trial lawyers. ATLA sadly has stopped speaking for and listening to such trial lawyers. The claimants will gravitate to the lawyers who stand up and are heard on the issues that are important to them. They will gravitate to the lawyers who are solely concerned about their rights and claims, not the PR goals of a national association. And we believe if given the choice, they will pay a reasonable contingent fee so that they can individually choose who they believe to be the best lawyer, not an anonymous lawyer, who promises to work for free. If you want this Fund to achieve the policy goals behind its creation, realize that it exists to compensate human beings, for the loss of human life. Let the human voices be heard, let a human being decide "extent of the harm to the claimant" and assure that any determination of "the compensation to which the claimant is entitled" is just. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-06 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 dojW000240.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. 2001-11-06 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 26, 2002 10:20 PM stop unAmerican practices To: Kenneth L. Zwick I was recently informed that the gay and lesbian partners of those killed on September 11th were not going to recieve the same compensations and rights as the partners of straight victims. This is discrimination, which is against everything America stands for. I am proud to be an American, but things like this make me worry about my country and hang my head when I talk to my friends from other countries. Please, promote justice and equality for all by extending the same rights and considerations to gay and lesbian partners. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-26 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 dojR002741.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. 2002-03-26 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. Thursday, December 20, 2001 6:52 PM Subject: equal access to crisis relief 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 Chicago, IL 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 dojN000080.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 3:53 PM Victims Relief Fund: Don't discriminate 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 Salt Lake City, UT 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 dojA003484.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 14, 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 Suquamish, WA 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 dojA004833.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. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 8:26 PM Gay and lesbian exclusion in 911 Fund distribution I am appalled by the recent information I received regarding the distribution of 911 Funds. Having contributed significantly myself through various sources, I now come to find out that resources that I helped make available will not be made available to the partners and families of gay and lesbian men and women victimized by the events of September 11th. It is equally unfathomable that the families of illegal aliens may receive benefits, but that this gay discrimination remains in place. If the concern, as stated, really is going contrary to state laws that already discriminate, it seems odd that federal and state immigration laws could be ignored for the sake of the families of these victims. I am ashamed to think that my country would draw lines so contrary to the basic human kindness and fairness. I am also angry that a fund that I supported is now restricting access of those same funds to families that have an equal right to share in the support offered by this country's citizen's. The states did not give this money and therefore it is inappropriate to follow state imposed restrictions and discrimination in its distribution. This policy must change. Human decency dictates nothing less. I expect a response regarding this matter. Individual Comment St. Louis, MO 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 dojR000520.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. 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 Salem,MA 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 dojA005148.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. Wednesday, January 16, 2002 8:00 AM Victims Fund Monday, January 14, 2002 Dear Mr. Zwick: The purpose of this email is to provide you with my concerns relating to the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund. My brother was murdered in the September 11th WTC disaster. He was a very special person to our family in many ways. The loss of my brother has deeply affected me, as well as my brother and sister. The loss to my mother is devastation. This loss will be with us until the end of our days. I have reviewed the rules of the fund and have a number of issues with it. I believe the rules fall far short of the clear intent of what Congress expressed. I believe you merely accepted a statue that was handed down in creating a process or a program that would be accepted by those touched by this terrible act. This fund was created for only one reason...to create a compensation program that would replace what otherwise would be overwhelming litigation against a variety of businesses, industries, etc. The guidelines, as provided in the Victims Fund, in the "simplest terms" are unfair, unrealistic, flawed and are insulting. The method that was applied to derive the base tables to compute the awards are not valid and do not reflect the actual costs and future earnings. How can YOU measure the worth of an individual life based upon his economic loss? It is a very "slippery slope"" one travels down when determining which life counts more than another life. I believe a base amount should be given to each family---that amount as indicated in the document submitted to you by the Family Committee---is $2,000,000. Provide this amount across the board. Equally. The deduction of insurance and pensions should be removed from the award computation!!! When was the last time you heard of a jury making an award settlement subject to subtraction of insurance and pension??????? The Victims Compensation fund was established for the correct reasons. Please return to the original purpose of creating this fund. Fairness and Equality for the Victims Families. Change the current guidelines NOW. Sincerely, Individual Comment Scituate, Ma September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-16 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 dojN001629.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. 2002-01-16 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. Saturday, December 22, 2001 5:49 PM Compensation To whom it may concern, My heart goes out to the families of the 9-11 tradegy, but I think our government and it's people are losing site of reality. Thousands of husbamds, wives and children lose the wage earner due to death. Let it be disease, accident or some unforseeable tragedy. No one is there to help these people. I lost my husband in 1996 to cancer. He lost his benefits from work life and medical. Whem the burial and bills came due no one helped me or the thousands of other widows/widowers get on their feet. I am sorry But I think it has come to the point of sheer greed. Thank You Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-22 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 dojN000837.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. 2001-12-22 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. December 15, 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 Kansas City,MO September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-15 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 dojA004998.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. 2001-12-15