252 20 12614 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 27, 2001 10:28 AM Sept.11, 2001 Dear Attorney General Ashcroft, Te deaths on September 11th were a result of an attack on America. Please do not discriminate against the unmarried partners of September 11th victims All unmarried partners, gay or straight, young and old and their dependents should be eligible for compensation Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-27 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 dojA000011.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. 2001-11-27 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, November 11, 2001 5:50 PM September 11th Victim Compensation Fund November 11, 2001 Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 RE: CIV 104P; AG Order No. RIN: 1105-AA79 September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Dear Mr. Zwick: I am a September 11th widow. As someone who is experiencing first-hand the bureaucratic nightmare generated by variants in private and public aid institutions, I implore you to consider this - that the Victims Compensation Fund as currently written alludes to a series of economic and non-economic criteria (undefined). While commenting on what is not known is difficult at best, I offer these concerns: Collateral subtracted from compensation punishes those families of victims who paid for policies and benefits and Federal programs out of their salaries, who lived within their means and saved and whose surviving family members have already struggled to receive help from an array of charity funds whose donations were intended by the American people to be distributed to those families regardless of circumstance. There is no consideration of the amount of income contribution or benefits (such as health insurance) that have been lost. The relative pain and suffering of the victims cannot and should not be quantified in these circumstances; to attempt to do so is wildly inappropriate. The administrative cost of information gathering, verification, documentation, and evaluation required to implement this process would proportionately reduce the funds available to the families and put them (yet again) through unnecessary bureaucracy. The requirement to accept the offer in lieu of pursuing a lawsuit prior to knowing the dollar amount of the payment is egregious and unfair. The possibility of subjective evaluations raises the potential of inequity and places the burden of proof on those seeking some sort of help. For all these reasons, I urge you to abandon the arbitrary set of criteria set forth in the rules and regulations and simply divide the total into equal cash payments to every applicant. Otherwise, I believe that this Act will spawn the hundreds, perhaps thousands of lawsuits it seeks to avoid. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000309.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, December 04, 2001 6:38 PM RE: "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund" Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. It is unquestionable that the devastating grief and economic losses suffered by the families of gay and lesbian victims are no less than that of other families. Just as the terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. I urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment Medford, OR 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 dojA000466.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. Sunday, January 27, 2002 11:10 PM New Vote.com votes as of 11:10 PM EST on January 27th, 2002 Dear September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Vote.com is the Internet's most popular voting site. Millions of people regularly express their opinions and - in just one click - automatically send their views to important decision makers like you. Here are the latest votes on the question, SHOULD FAMILIES OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO DIED ON 9-11 GET MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL VICTIMS' FUND?: YES: 90 votes NO: 936 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-27 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 dojP000212.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. 2002-01-27 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 15, 2001 9:08 AM fair compensation 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 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 dojA002001.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 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 9:53 AM Equal access to 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 Alexandria, VA 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 dojA002904.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, March 19, 2002 8:34 AM This discrimination makes ma ASHAMED to be American This IS NOT fair, just or moral Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-19 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 dojR002066.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. 2002-03-19 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, January 16, 2002 11:11 PM Comments on the Interim Final Rule Kenneth L. Zwick Director, Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 RE: Public Comment of on behalf of (victim?s wife) on the Interim Final Rule and Request for Comments, September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, 28 C.F.R. Part 104 [Civ 104P; AG Order No. 2541-2001] RIN 1105-AA79 I. Commenter?s Interest in Commenting I am writing on behalf of myself and my daughter to comment on the Interim Final Rule implementing the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (hereinafter, the "Fund"), which was established by the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (hereinafter, the "Act"). My son-in-law of fourteen years, lost his life in the Pentagon attack. My daughter, who is now left to raise and support two children under the age of five alone due to the attack, is also now struggling with the decision as to whether or not to participate in the Fund. As my daughter and I struggle to understand the full implications of participation in the Fund, it is clear to us that many important issues regarding application of the Interim Final Rule (hereinafter, the ?Rule") to military victims are not adequately addressed by the Rule. I comment in order to identify several of these issues and to urge that these issues be clarified in the final rule. I am sure that many families of military personnel lost at the Pentagon share the concerns that are addressed below. We appreciate your consideration of our comments and we hope that by clarifying these issues in the final rule military families will be better able to make a decision regarding Fund participation. II. The Nature of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund At the outset, I would like to express our family?s gratitude for the Fund. On September 11 our family and our nation suffered a devastating blow. We are comforted by our government?s response and we would like to express our appreciation for the promptness by which the Rule was promulgated. At the same time, however, it must be recognized that the Act is unprecedented in American history. Never before, to my knowledge, has the United States government simultaneously limited a potential wrongdoer?s liability and then made the victims choose between using the United States judicial system -- without knowing the extent of this government-mandated limited liability -- or filing a complaint in the hopes of receiving just compensation from a government agency operating under rules that are somewhat ambiguous and whose decision is not subject to judicial review. I am not an attorney, but I question how such a system can be Constitutional. Nonetheless, this is the system in which we must operate. Against this backdrop, I believe that it is your duty to clarify implementation of the program -- including the items addressed below ? to the maximum extent humanly possible. Accordingly, we respectfully request that you clear up the issues discussed below when promulgating the final rule. III. Specific Comments A. Pre-Filing Presumed Award Determination. The Act requires that each claimant waive the right to sue "upon the submission of a claim." A significant problem with the current Rule is that it lacks any mechanism for the determination of the presumed award applicable to a particular claimant before such claimant has filed an actual claim for compensation under the Fund. A few presumed award tables have been promulgated, but given that the Rule fails to address how many common compensation circumstances will be treated under the collateral source rule, the publication of several presumed award tables does not provide sufficient information upon which claimants can make a reliable determination of the presumed award applicable in a particular case. Thus, the current Rule forces claimants ? i.e., September 11th victims and their families ?to "gamble" with their future by filing a claim (and thereby forever waiving any judicial review of their claim) in the hopes that they will receive a just award determination from the Fund administrators. Such a situation is not required by the Act. Indeed, there is nothing in the Act which would prohibit the Special Master from implementing a procedure by which a particular claimant?s relevant information could be submitted before a claim is filed and then the claimant notified of his or her applicable presumed award. I urge the Special Master to adopt in the final rule a procedure for the determination of the presumed award applicable to a particular claimant before a claim is filed. To be effective, the final rule would have to require that if a claimant utilized the pre-filing presumed award determination mechanism, the actual presumed award used after the claimant filed a claim would be at least as great as the pre-filing determination. B. Veterans Administration Payment to Dependent Children. Dependent children of military members killed in the September 11th attacks are eligible for monthly compensation from the Veterans Administration (until age 18 or 21). One question that should be resolved when promulgating the final rule is whether these payments will be treated as collateral compensation ? to the claimant -- and, if so, exactly how such payments will be valued. The plain language of the Act requires that Veterans Administration payments to dependent children not be counted as collateral source compensation. More specifically, the Act requires the Special Master to reduce compensation from the Fund "by the of the collateral source compensation the claimant has received or is entitled to receive." This concept is echoed in the comments to the current Rule: "Moreover, because the collateral offset only applies to collateral source compensation that the claimant has received or is entitled to receive . . ." Because dependent children who are not the named legal representative of a victim are not claimants under the definitions set forth in the Act (and Rule), the final rule should explicitly provide that Veterans Administration payments to dependent children who are not the named personal representatives will not be counted as collateral source compensation and offset against Fund compensation to claimants. In my opinion, it is only fair that these Veterans Administration payments should be treated the same as payments from charitable organizations, which the Special Master has determined will not count as collateral source compensation, in order not to further penalize victims of the Pentagon disaster more than other victims of September 11 attacks. I do not mean to distinguish between victims, as everybody involved has suffered a tragedy, but it should be recognized that many charities -- and indeed perhaps the best-known television fund raising event -- will provide relief only to the victims of the World Trade Center attack. Thus, exempting charitable contributions from the collateral source rule will, generally speaking, be more advantageous to victims of the World Trade Center attack. Given this, it would seem fair that Veterans Administration payments to dependent children of military victims also not be treated as collateral source compensation, especially when the plain meaning of the Act would exempt such payments from the collateral source rule. C. Unearned Military Retirement Pay. The Act specifies that pension funds are collateral source compensation and thus deductible from any compensation under the Fund. How will unearned military retirement benefits be treated under the program? More specifically, many active duty and reservist victims of the Pentagon attack were not yet eligible for military retirement pay. Thus, those victims were not receiving such pay and their families will never receive such pay now that those victims are deceased. But those payments should be considered as supplemental information with respect to future income of the deceased members, as these members would have become eligible for such payments in time. The final Rule should explicitly provide for the treatment of unearned military retirement pay. D. 401(k) Funds. The Act specifies that pension funds are collateral source compensation and thus deductible from any compensation under the Fund. The Special Master?s FAQs indicate that 401(k) balances will not be treated as collateral source compensation if such balances resulted from the employee?s contribution. How will the Special Master treat 401(k) balances in which both the employee and employer contributed? I believe that the final rule should specify that such balances should also not be treated as collateral source compensation because the employer?s contribution should be treated as part of the employee?s compensation. E. Airline Liability Limitation. The Act limits the liability of airlines to the maximum limit of each airline?s liability insurance limit. But individual claimants have no way of determining what such limits are, short of filing a lawsuit and conducting discovery. I am not sure whether this is within the Department of Justice?s power; however, I believe that, if possible, part of the final rule should require those airlines involved to disclose the limitation of liability that they will assert in court so that victims trying to decide whether to participate in the program will know what limitations will apply for the airlines should the dispute end up in litigation. I believe that this requirement of airline disclosure is only fair; after all, the airlines are getting a tremendous advantage from the Act in that their liability is capped. It would thus seem not at all be unreasonable to require the airlines to disclose their liability limits. F. Salary increases and inflation factor. Referring to the "Calculation of Economic Loss" procedure outlined in Section II of the "Presumed Economic and Non-Economic Loss Tables" publication attached to the Interim Final Rule, in Step 2 of the procedure certain wage growth assumptions are applied to the three-year earnings calculation in Step 1. Individuals between 31 and 50 years of age are assumed to have received wage increases of 5.1% per year, and this figure is described as including a 0.5% above inflation salary increase and a 1.5% merit increase for workers in this age bracket. In Step 4 of the same procedure, an inflation factor of 5.13% is applied to future estimated earnings in order to calculate a present value. As the 5.13% inflation factor is greater than the 5.1% salary increase factor, it appears that a straightforward application of this procedure results in negative constant-dollar salary growth for all individuals in this age bracket. At the open forum in Crystal City on January 16, 2002, Special Master Feinberg, in response to this comment, stated that this interpretation is incorrect. Please correct and/or clarify this procedure to properly indicate what the true salary growth estimates are. G. Worklife Estimates. Referring again to the "Calculation of Economic Loss" procedure outlined in Section II of the "Presumed Economic and Non-Economic Loss Tables" publication attached to the Interim Final Rule, estimates of working lifetime are defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Worklife Estimates" publication. The only available publication entitled "Worklife Estimates" from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is a 1986 document that bases its findings on 1979-1980 labor force data. It may be generally assumed that working lifetimes have increased over the 20 years since this data were taken, and thus the use of such vintage data will underestimate the working lifetimes of persons in 2001 and in turn underestimate their total future earnings. The final rule should accurately cite and make available updated worklife estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and discontinue use of 1979-1980 labor force data. Respectfully submitted, Individual Comment Catonsville, Maryland 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 dojN001915.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. Monday, January 14, 2002 8:39 PM Help all victims of terrorist attack 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 September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-14 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 dojN001703.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. 2002-01-14 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. December 18, 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 Hudson, ME September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-18 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 dojA005399.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. 2001-12-18 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 12:18 PM 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 St Paul, MN 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 dojA003187.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, December 04, 2001 5:08 PM September 11 attacks Pleas make sure you don't exclude ANY Americans regardless of who they are from benefits they deserve for loosing their loved ones. Individual Comment Spokane, WA 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 dojA000388.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. Thursday, December 20, 2001 7:25 PM Support ALL Victims and Victims Families 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 Francisco, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN000091.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. 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 taxpayers 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 a 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 New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA002233.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, March 17, 2002 5:09 PM September 11th Compensation Fund The fund dispersement is unfair!! Please tell me how you can "overlook" the fact that survivors of illegal, undocumented aliens working in the United States can receive money from the fund Congress has created, while survivors of Legal residents and dstaxpayers of the United States, who just appen to be Gay or Lesbian, cannot recieve survivors funds?? What message are you trying to send to the World? What message you are sending is that even illegal and undocumented aliens working illegally in the United States are more valuable than Legal United States Citizens who just happen to be Gay or Lesbian, Your policy must change! It is unfair and judgmental! And it is blatantly and cruelly being spread across the world! Individual Comment Minneapolis, MN September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001668.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 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 28, 2001 10:09 AM Human Rigths For All, Regardless of Sexual Orientation December 28, 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 New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN001068.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. 2001-12-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, March 11, 2002 6:02 PM Please treat all 9-11 victims equally. Its only right. Dear 911 Victims Fund: I've recently become aware* of the fact that your fund will not be recognizing same sex partnerships in the same what it will be recognizing heterosexual partnerships. I understand that Mr. Fein berg is willing to overlook federal laws regarding illegal aliens and their unlawful employers. Yet when it comes to recognizing same sex partnerships Mr. Fein berg tries to lay blame on the lack of consistent recognition of same sex partnerships by the states and their laws. The majority of Americans believe in equal treatment for everyone -- even gays and lesbians. Please reconsider your position and provide funds equally to same sex partners as you do for heterosexuals. Just because we can't legally marry doesn't nullify the existence of same sex partners. Please make us proud that we're all part of the human race and TREAT EVERYONE EQUALLY. Sincerely, Individual Comment Indianapolis, IN September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000277.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. 2002-03-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, March 22, 2002 2:16 PM exclusion gay/lesbian partner in Victim Compensation Fund While I am so glad to hear of all that is being done to assist families of Sept. 11 victims, I am outraged to learn that partners of gay and lesbian victims will not be assisted in the same way as family members of heterosexual victims. A victim is a victim, and grief is grief. Though there may be no legal bond between two partners of the same sex who have chosen to love and support one another and spend the rest of their lives together, that is only because current laws do not allow them to create the same legal bond as a man and a woman. Gay couples support one another in every way heterosexual couples support one another, and one of those ways is financially. In fact, as many gay people have been alienated by family members, their partner and other friends, often fuction as their only family. In short, I feel this causes a great sadness, that, in many ways, still America refuses to be "united" and to agreed that "all men [and woman] are created equal." I ask that you please reconsider exclusion of gay and lesbian partners in the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. Otherwise, you are deeply dishonoring these victims' lives, love, and place as Americans lost in a terrible tragedy. Thank you, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-22 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 dojR002638.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. 2002-03-22 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. Tuesday, January 15, 2002 4:23 PM Victims Compensation Fund January 15, 2002 Re: Comments on the Interim Rule of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Dear Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to ask for your help to adjust the inequities portrayed in the interim rule/regulation of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. The pain my family has experienced in this tragedy is difficult to communicate. The interim rule/regulation increases that pain to an intense level. Please help bring some fairness and balance to our lives. Please give me a reason to participate in the Fund. Please adjust the interim rule/regulation to provide economic and noneconomic amounts at fair, balanced and acceptable levels. Please do not require worker's compensation payments be given to the government while being taken away as collateral offsets. Finally, please include the specific calculation formulas, statistics and assumptions within the rule/regulation. The Fund, if administered under the interim rule/regulation, is structured in a way to provide a disincentive to the victims of September 11, 2001. The Interim Rule/Regulation provides little incentive for participation because it provides little compensation for our losses. Consequently, the Interim Rule/Regulation will defeat the intent of Public Law 107-42 because it understates our losses and therefore discourages participation. When Congress passed the Air Transportation Safety And System Stabilization Bill on September 21, 2001, it severely restricted our right to sue the airlines, which were responsible for our loved one's deaths because of lax security procedures. In exchange for denying Family Members this right, they provided the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. The Fund is supposed to compensate the victims' families for the types of losses that would have been recoverable in a lawsuit. This includes economic losses such as lost income and non-economic losses. Non economic losses described in the law are very broad and inclusive. They are described as losses for: physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature. The statute says that "collateral payments," such as life insurance and pension plans, must be deducted from the awards. The Interim Rule/Regulation also describes the intention of the law: "The Fund is designed to provide a no-fault alternative to tort litigation for individuals who were physically injured or killed as a result of the aircraft hijackings and crashes on September 11, 2001" {Interim Rule/Regulation, Summary Paragraph A.1.}. "The attached regulations have two objectives: (1) To provide fair, predictable and consistent compensation to the victims of September 11 and their families throughout the life of the program; and (2) to do so in an expedited, efficient manner without unnecessary bureaucracy and needless demands on the victims." {Interim Rule/Regulation, Supplementary Information.}. The Interim Rule/Regulation issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) does not comply with the statute passed by Congress because it grossly understates our losses and therefore discourage participation: a) Under the Interim Rule/Regulation, my daughter-in-law and granddaughter would receive only one-tenth the amount of non-economic losses recovered in other air crash and terrorism cases, which commonly result in awards of between $2 million and $5 million. b) The Interim Rule/Regulation understates economic losses in two ways: It caps the salaries of high-income victims and underestimates the lifetime earning potential of victims at all income levels. Noted economists at a meeting of the National Association of Forensic Economists showed on Friday January 4, 2002 that the interim rule/regulation uses outdated statistics and inappropriate methods to arrive at low estimates of our loved one's future earning. An analysis done by one of these economists showed that the actual earnings growth for firefighters is 27% higher than the DOJ estimate and actual earnings growth for financial professionals is more than 100% higher than the DOJ estimate. Because the initial award amounts are so low, many families will receive little compensation from the Fund after the collateral payment deductions have been subtracted. There will be little reason to participate. In addition the proposed compensation to the spouses, children and other innocent victims of the attacks is out of balance when compared to the generous compensation to the airlines. The airlines will be generously compensated from the same governmental appropriations as the victims. They will be paid far more than the innocent victims - up to $10 Billion Dollars as described in the law below: From Public Law 107-42 SEC. 101. AVIATION DISASTER RELIEF. (a) IN GENERAL.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President shall take the following actions to compensate air carriers for losses incurred by the air carriers as a result of the terrorist attacks on the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001: (1) Subject to such terms and conditions as the President deems necessary, issue Federal credit instruments to air carriers that do not, in the aggregate, exceed $10,000,000,000 and provide the subsidy amounts necessary for such instruments in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.). The underpayments to the spouses, children and other loved ones suffering from this attack will shift the cost of subsidizing airline payments to the innocent victims of the attacks. Please correct the inequity. Please give me a reason to participate in the Fund. Please adjust the interim rule/regulation to provide economic and noneconomic amounts at fair, balanced and acceptable levels. Please do not require worker's compensation payments be given to the government while being taken away as collateral offsets. Finally, please include the specific calculation formulas, statistics and assumptions within the rule/regulation. Sincerely, Father of Killed Sept 11, 2001 Tower I WTC Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-15 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 dojN001799.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. 2002-01-15 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 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, December 23, 2001 12:55 PM Subject: Support Equal Access to Crisis Relief Benefits December 23, 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 Richland Hills, TX September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN000728.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. 2001-12-23