276 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. Friday, December 21, 2001 6:04 AM Justice help all terrorist victims Dear Mr. Zwick: The very humane Fund for relatives of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks must include all relatives of all the victims. This importantly should include the partners and children of same sex unions. They suffer just as grievously for their deceased loved ones as do other survivors, and their need for assistance is just as great. Please do not give in to the importuning of callous homophobic groups and individuals who would have the Department of Justice limit compensation to survivors of heterosexual unions. They are interested in a political victory, not humane assistance. This Fund is intended for humane purposes; it is not a political statement, Mr. Zwick. Sincerely, Individual Comment Bonny Doon, 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 dojN000237.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. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 10:41 AM Just Distribution of Sept 11 Victim Compensation Fund Dear Members of the Justice Department, As you finalize the details of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, I write to urge you to take all kinds of families into account as you consider who should receive compensation. Please be sure to include among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their same-sex life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. Please consider the example already set by New York Governor Pataki in 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." Thank you for your just and equitable distribution of these funds in this time of terrible tragedy. The pain and loss of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered partners, their parents and children is no less than that of married couples and their families. I give thanks for your serious attention to their needs. With Prayers for Peace, Individual Comment Chicago, IL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000764.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, January 28, 2002 1:27 PM Victim's Fund Comments Gentlemen, I write this strictly as a private citizen and in now way do I represent the opinion of this company. First, my heart goes out to all the victims of the events caused by the Sept 11 Terrorist Attack on this country - and that is roughly 285,000,000 people in these United States, plus or minus a few million given the political vagaries of the last Census. I am one of them. I hurt, too. My faith in the belief of the inherent good of all mankind has been shattered. I cannot sleep well at night, knowing my comrades in arms are in harm's way attempting to deflect that evil from again penetrating our lives. Some are already dead. I am sure that in a few years we will have additional victims step forward whose health has been afflicted by the horrendous dust clouds containing who knows what toxic fumes when the Towers collapsed. In that sense all of America is a victim, and we should all receive a slice of that Victim's Fund. That would make everyone's share about $2.97. For those who feel like their own lives, or the lives of their lost family members were worth more in total than anyone else's, I say NUTS! In no other incident in American History have victims of the event been compensated so mightily. And yet in the first outpouring of federal largesse for a tragedy of evil proportions, the miniscule receiver group has the audacity to define their individual loved one's worth in greater proportion to another in order to increase their payout. What unmitigated gall! The government - e.g., the Taxpayer - e.g. ME - is under no obligation to see that you receive lifetime compensation for what is the result of madmen's terrorism. First I see nothing wrong in the amount and the rules. It has never been done before, so pay everyone the same, regardless of perceived worth. $1,650,000 TAX FREE dollars, even at 5% annual return, provides $82,500 per year, FOREVER! That is a handsome payout under any circumstances. Reducing the individual amount by the insurance and benefits received permits the individual amount to increase. This is a good thing. The money is not a reward to provide for a full life forever; it is designed to permit people to cope, change their direction, heal and move on. The family of the firefighter and policeman who died the day before DOING THEIR JOB AS THE THOSE ON 9-11 will receive no 'Victim's Fund' compensation. Those servicemen and women who died and continue to die in Afghanistan supporting the Al Qeada root out so that America will be safe ALSO WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY VICTIM'S FUND COMPENSATION! Where is the share of the victim's fund that is going to the CIA agent killed in the prison uprising that uncovered the American Al Qaeda? This was a tragedy - no doubt. And it affected America - we all grieve. But if we continue to permit this petty diversity to be the rule, we are doomed as a nation. Who will pay the Victim's Fund then? Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojP000236.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, March 28, 2002 8:25 PM Decision to Exclude Gay Americans Is Shameful The decision to restrict compensation for partners of gay and lesbian victims of 9/11 based on individual state laws is shameful. This decision is offensive to the honor and dignity of the many Americans who lost their lives in this horrific tragedy. I am grateful that there are gay Americans like , a victim who with others courageously fought off terrorists on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania. As for the parties who made this horrible decision, I am embarrassed to know that they are fellow Americans. I would hope that they would examine their consciences, but it is fairly obvious from this decision that they have no conscience. Individual Comment Manchester, CT September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR002805.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, November 07, 2001 4:11 PM We ARE Victims Too There is a population of individuals who do not qualify under the definition of victims. However, we are victims nonetheless. Our lives have been turned upside down since September 11th because we live in the immediate vicinity of Ground Zero. While my apartment sustained no physical damage, it was filled with contaminated dust which had to be cleaned by a company specializing in handling Hazardous Materials. We were banned from our neighborhood, our homes, for a variety of reasons while many disaster and crime related incidents took place. In the hours immediately following the disaster, when I begged to be allowed in just to retrieve my dog, my loyal companion, and was told no, I asked "So you're going to let him die in there?" . One Federal marshal told me point blank "Yes, I guess so". This is a government official that is supposed to SERVE us?! Also, even with emergency and rescue workers, and the press, commandeering buildings and streets, tourists seemed to flock to the area. The sheer volume of tourists made commuting around (for those of us who live here) a nightmare. Not to mention that for a time, the area looked like a war zone-certainly not indicative of a "Free Country". Now, as our buildings reopen, amidst a swirl of controversy (the EPA says the air is safe, yet why do we get headaches, nosebleeds, rashes, etc.?) and concern (is the air really safe? Short-term? Long-term?), we are faced with rebuilding our lives. A hefty task considering that many of us do not have renters insurance and have to absorb thousands of dollars in HazMat cleaning bills, laundry bills, alternate lodging, meal and travel expenses. Even with the help of FEMA and Red Cross, it is still not enough to help us regain the semblance of normalcy every politician in the area is suggesting we do. Our landlord has offered menial concessions, at best, even with a formidable tenants association on our side. Our neighborhood has suffered too. Transportation is limited. Quality of services and amenities will be reduced for a long time. Air quality is questionable, at best. All this loss may be quantifiable, but what about the psychological and emotional toll this tragic event has had on us. What choices do we have? Leave a neighborhood we have come to call home or live near a mass graveyard. Add to this the potential decrease in work performance, strain on personal relationships and necessary therapy or counseling, and you have a serious dilemma. We ARE victims too. Individual Comment New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000250.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. 2001-11-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 17, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, 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 Madison, WI September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA005375.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 3:14 AM september 11th attacks Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly believe that compensation should be available to ALL victims of the terrorist attacks, regardless of sexual orientation. This means that compensation should be available to the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims as well as members of traditional families. 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 Bonita, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000669.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, January 13, 2002 3:32 PM Victim Compensation To adjust the victim compensation by the amount of life insurance and pension benefits the beneficiaries are scheduled to receive penalizes those that planned for the future. Each person should receive the same amount!! Equal treatment under the law; not equivalent treatment under the law. As it currently stands, we believe the plan violates Constitutional guarantees. What will happen to this plan if there is a lawsuit claiming unequal treatment? Also, all persons that have suffered from terrorism should benefit as well. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who die as a result of actions combating terrorism should benefit. Survivors of those who lost their life aboard the USS Cole should participate. Survivors of the two embassy attacks should likewise participate. As I previously stated, all persons that have suffered from terrorism should benefit--equally. That is the American way!! Individual Comment Monroe, LA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN001544.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 06, 2001 10:45 PM What you are proposing is wrong It should not matter whether the people that lost there lives on September 11, 2001 where gay, straight, bi-sexual or anything. It should not matter the persons sexuality, it was a tragic event and it is up to u to help these families move on with their lives and heal from this tragic event. Individual Comment Tamarac, FL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-06 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 dojA001242.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. 2001-12-06 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. Monday, November 26, 2001 12:54 AM Support of Victims/families of 9/11/01 Dear Ones, I write today to urge you to support the requests below of family members and loved ones of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. There is no monetary compensation that can ever replace those lives lost. There can be a compassionate compensation to allow families to survive and one day hopefully liveagain with some degree of hope and happiness. I pray that you will fully underwrite the requests and conditions asked by the families; andI ask that you not delay, therefore causing more anguish. I am writing on behalf of , who was a friend. He is survived by his wife . They have a son , 2 and an unborn child due in January 2002. He was employed by . With thanks for your quick action on behalf of those who need our support on all levels, Individual Comment Spokane, WA >With heavy hearts we write this letter to you representing not only >ourselves, but the hundreds of other families whose loved ones were either >hurt or killed in the tragic events of September 11, 2001. > >On September 11th our lives spiraled out of control. Writing this letter to >you in response to your request for comments about the Victims Compensation >Fund is one step towards us regaining control over our new lives, and >learning to have hope for tomorrow. > >The Victims Compensation Fund's intent is to attempt to make whole the >families of the victims. While the fund is set up as a convenient, expedient >process, we are concerned and do share some reservations about its ability to >make us whole. > >ELIGIBILITY OF CLAIMANTS > >Although the statute indicates that the purpose of the fund is to make the >victim and his or her family whole and to provide compensation for >replacement services, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium >and non-economic damages of any kind or nature, we believe that the >regulations should clearly delineate that the spouses and family members are >to be compensated for their own independent losses of consortium, society, >mental anguish, etc., in addition to the victim's. > >OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD > >We are concerned that we will not be given a complete and full opportunity to >be heard, should we choose to do so. Each of us rightfully deserves the >opportunity to be fairly heard before a hearing officer. We would like to >have the occasion to present evidence through our own testimony and the >testimony of expert witnesses. We would like for each of our cases to be >considered on a case-by-case basis. > >Currently, most, if not all of us, are in financial distress. We do not have >the economic means to hire the necessary experts for our particular cases. >We do not want to be precluded from retaining the services of these expert >witnesses simply because of our own financial inability to do so. Therefore, >we believe that all expert fees should be paid directly out of the >compensation fund by the Special Master, and that there should be no limit on >garnering such fees. > >For many of us, being given the right to be heard is a crucial and extremely >valuable part of our healing process; it could prove to be a very cathartic >experience. Lack of economic means should not foreclose such an opportunity. >We hope that you can understand this. > > >RIGHT TO APPEAL AND FORM OF PAYMENT > >One of our largest concerns is that the current statutory schemes are >removing our options; essentially, at this point with the passage of the most >recent legislation removing all public entities from fault, we are left with >one viable means of recovery-that of the compensation fund. > >Therefore, we are going to need to have a better sense of what kind of >compensation we might expect as a floor, should we elect to enter the fund. >Please understand, we are forfeiting our right to bring a third-party >lawsuit. We are forfeiting our right to find actual fault against an >entity(the federal government, the Port Authority, the airlines, >etc.)--actual fault that would psychologically provide us with some kind of >answers as to why this horrible event was even able to occur. In exchange >for forfeiting these rights, we need to receive some things in return. One >of the things we would like to receive is some kind of degree of certainty as >to what we would recover should we elect to enter the fund. We will not >enter this fund with blinders on; anyone expecting us to do so, is acting in >an extremely unfair, and wholly unsympathetic posture. > >While we do understand that every case is unique and deserves individual >treatment, we would like to know beforehand exactly how economic damages >would be calculated for loss of earnings. This will, at least, provide us >with a base from which we can begin to make a decision as to whether the fund >will provide us with adequate compensation to survive. > >In addition, we would like to have the right to appeal. > >We would also request for the payment to be made in one lump sum, and to be >paid out to the beneficiary, consistent with what our personal investment >advisors recommend for each of our individual family circumstances. For >example, any payment made to minor children should be in trust. In addition, >the parent of said minor children should determine the date of vesting. The >trust should not automatically vest at the age of 18, unless the parent >determines that it is in the children's own best interests to do so. > >ECONOMIC LOSSES > >Of paramount importance to us, is the computation of economic losses. We are >strongly against any cap being placed upon this portion of recovery. Simply >put, no one should be penalized because their loved one worked long, hard >hours and earned a "good salary". > >We would request an approach similar to what is used in personal injury >actions; however, we would fully expect that neither age nor marital status >would be a discriminatory factor. Retirement should be set at age 68. The >decedent's income should be averaged over the past 3 working years. The >decedent's age should be subtracted from 68. Those two numbers should be >multiplied together, thereby gleaning a starting point for computation. From >this base point, other factors such as inflation, wage-increases, merit, >likely bonuses and advancement, and any other benefits should be considered. > >For many, the lost income streams may be contingent, variable, or >unpredictable. We do not believe that our families should be penalized >because of this. The hearing officers should be permitted to consider the >testimony of experts concerning such things as the likelihood of advancement, >the bonus scheme unique to each company and each department in each company, >economic cycles, performance reviews, as well as, how the compensation of >other co-workers progressed during the course of their working lives. In >those cases where the compensation is extremely variable and dependant upon >commissions, as a base, we believe that the hearing officer should consider >the average of the best three out of five years of employment. > >NON-ECONOMIC LOSSES > >With regard to the non-economic losses of the fund, there should be >absolutely no cap on this amount. Each person's circumstances must be >evaluated individually. Each case should take into account the age of the >decedent, the marital status of the decedent, and the amount and age of the >decedent's children. Moreover, the severity of pain and suffering (both >mental and physical) of not only the decedent, but also the spouse, children, >parents, and next of kin of the decedent should also be evaluated. > >Non-economic losses should be calculated similar to that in personal injury >actions. But, again, neither age, marital status, nor dependency status >should be a detriment. Special consideration must be given to the fact that >eyewitness testimony concerning the horrific pain and suffering endured by >our loved ones may be impossible to elicit. Thus, the hearing officer should >consider the reports and/or testimony of expert witnesses who may describe >based upon their training and experiences what the decedent went through both >mentally and physically prior to his or her own death. Hearsay testimony >should be permitted. > >Moreover, we do not believe that there should be a limitation on the types of >injuries to be compensated. We are concerned that we may suffer from real >and devastating emotional harm not immediately apparent after the attack; >harm for which we should be compensated. In addition to personal injury, we >may suffer the loss of the ability to earn an income, we may incur large >medical bills, etc. All of these things should be compensated for by the >fund. > >Compensation for non-economic losses is a crucial to the survival of some >families like the firemen and policemen's. Many of those families are >economically better off at this point in time. Those families will need a >substantial amount of money to be offered in this section to entice them to >enter the fund. Likewise, any family who has a considerable amount of >coverage in life insurance will need some incentive to enter the fund, since >life insurance proceeds are currently scheduled to be deducted from any >recovery. > >Certainly, we would expect any non-economic recovery from this fund to be >generous in light of the terrible circumstances of September 11th. > >COLLATERAL SOURCES > >Finally, with regard to collateral sources, we are very concerned about their >use to offset any amount recovered from the fund. Life insurance should not >be deducted from fund payments. Simply put, life insurance is not taxed by >the IRS for one reason-it encourages people to plan for their heirs. To >deduct any life insurance from fund payments would penalize those who were >merely responsible estate planners. The decedents sacrificed and saved >hard-earned money to pay for such plans; they are already victims once, do >not make them victim's twice. > >Moreover, pension funds, IRAs, and 401k plans should not be deducted from the >fund's recovery amount. These plans were responsibly sacrificed and saved >for by our loved ones. Essentially, they are savings accounts, and they >should not be deducted from the fund. > >There should be no deductions from any fund recovery for any "in kind" >contributions made to our families. In addition, all potential future >collateral source payments should similarly be excluded from consideration as >deductions from any compensation recovery. > >With regard to charity, Americans across this country donated their >hard-earned money as a symbol of their patriotism, and our brotherhood as a >nation. To deduct this charity money from any final payment would, in our >opinion, be wrong. Donations made to families like us were generously and >selflessly given to us as a form of healing for both donor and recipient. >Every single dollar donated and received gives each one of us a hope for >tomorrow and a belief in our country as a united whole. Please do not >denigrate this beautiful symbol of our nation standing together as one. > >In closing, we would like to sincerely thank you for asking us for our >comments. We are all struggling through extremely difficult times. Your >asking for our input about the Victims Compensation Fund--something that will >have an enormous and tremendous bearing on the rest of our lives-truly and >honestly gives us a small bit of peace in our restless minds. We can only ask >you to please keep our children and ourselves in your hearts during the weeks >ahead. > > >Sincerely, > Individual Comment Spokane, WA 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 dojW000556.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. Tuesday, December 04, 2001 3:02 PM Just compensation Efforts by certain religious/cultural fanatics to exclude gay persons and offstring should NOT be a part of the decisions regarding elegibiity for compensation. The bigotry of the Far Right should NOT be reflected in the judgments of US government. Individual Comment Seattle, 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 dojA000308.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-04 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, January 23, 2002 9:20 PM January 22, 2002 Dear Mr. Feinberg, This letter is to convey to you my concerns over the current format of the Victim Compensation Fund I lost my husband and my two young daughters lost their father on September 11th while he was at work in the World Trade Center. While I am grateful for our government's immediate response to this horrific event, upon closer scrutiny I am troubled by the current rules of the compensation proposal. Essentially, certain aspects of this proposal cause one to wonder if it was created to truly compensate victims' families or to protect the airline industry and the federal government. The conflict between these two very divergent goals is causing the families of victims considerable anguish in addition to the enormous grief which has taken up residence in every minute of our lives. This is due to the appearance that the government is trying to "buy off" families such as mine without giving fair and equitable compensation that respects our birthright as Americans to exercise our lawful prerogative to pursue our tremendous grievance in a court of law. For example, the fund's compensation offset for life insurance, pensions, and government benefits (social security) is patently unfair. It is perhaps the main element in this fund that appears to illustrate how this fund was created to protect the liability of the airline industry and the government rather than to genuinely compensate for the murder of innocent people in this national tragedy. I especially object to the reduction of compensation for life insurance and pensions. To suggest that families of victims should be penalized because their lost loved one exercised wise planning and financial responsibly is profoundly unjust. Also, to offset the compensation by any survivor's social security benefits is unfair. My husband paid into the social security system for many years and it is a benefit that I am counting on for income. In bold stark terms, the purpose of the fund is to compensate people who are victims of a tragedy that has its origins in the failure of both private industry (the airlines and their private security firms) and various agencies of our federal government to protect us from terrorist treats that could well have been predicted and avoided. Perhaps our government realized that, if tried in a court of law, these shortcomings, which ultimately resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent and law-abiding citizens, would be revealed. What you are proposing is that we accept your compensation package in replacement of the normal lawful method of compensation by filing a civil suit in a court of law. The current proposal doesn't equitably replace one form of compensation with another. In reality, this proposal, which is designed with the interests of the airline industry and government in mind, proposes to the families of victims an option that denies us the right under law to reasonable compensation and punishes the heirs of my husband and many others who made financial and insurance decisions wisely, thoughtfully, and responsibly to protect their families. Therefore, I respectfully request that these offset provisions in the legislation be eliminated, which are inequitable and unfairly penalize some families and not others. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-23 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 dojP000037.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. 2002-01-23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, March 17, 2002 10:29 AM The world is watching us! The entire globe is watching the United States to see how we pull together in the wake of September 11, 2001. While they will see many shining examples of heroism, they will also see that the US government deems 25 million of its own taxpaying citizens as less worthy of aid than illegal aliens. If people here illegally are to be given humanitarian aid, so be it. But, do not grant such assistance then turn around and deny it to gay and lesbian American citizens who simply seek to nurture and support their families! Our European allies especially must be watching us with quizzical faces, wondering at our line of reasoning. Give money to illegal aliens but not to American citizens in the same need? It is no wonder they shake their heads. In the sight of the world, do the right thing. Provide needed aid to ALL American citizens. Individual Comment Alpine, NY 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 dojR001372.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. 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 Redondo Beach, CA 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 dojA002251.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. Thursday, January 17, 2002 3:34 PM Comments of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance January 4, 2002 Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Mr. Zwick: With this letter, I would like to submit to you comments on the Interim Final Rules for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, published on December 21, 2001. My comments concern the definition in the Rules of the term "collateral source compensation." Awards from the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund ("Relief Fund") should be excluded from that definition, based on their similarity to payments from private charitable organizations. I urge you to clarify the Rules in this regard. Governor Pataki set up the Relief Fund within several days of the September 11th terrorist attacks to assist the families and dependents of the victims of the attacks. The Fund, when viewed literally, is a fund of the State of New York, created pursuant to authority in the New York State Finance Law (§11). The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance is the custodian of the Relief Fund. However, the Relief Fund is not supported by tax revenues or fees collected by the State. The Relief Fund consists solely of monetary gifts from individuals, businesses and even foreign governments. The monies in the Relief Fund are being used to pay awards to the families of the victims of the attacks and will not be paid out for any other purpose. The Relief Fund thus has a purpose which closely resembles that of the private charitable organizations soliciting donations and providing financial assistance to victims. The same is true as to its income, which comes strictly from donations. As with private charities, the Internal Revenue Code allows donors to claim a deduction in computing their federal income tax for the contributions they are making to the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund. Yet, because the Relief Fund is a fund of the State of New York and not a private charitable entity, the awards made by the Relief Fund do not fall within the express terms of the specific exception in section 104.47 of the Interim Final Rules which excludes from collateral source compensation "charitable donations distributed to the beneficiaries of the decedent, to the injured claimant, or to the beneficiaries of the injured claimant by private charitable entities" (emphasis added). An award from the Relief Fund is not like other payments being made by the State to the families or beneficiaries of victims of the attacks. An individual injured in one of the attacks or the survivor of a victim killed in one of the attacks does not have a legally enforceable and vested right to compel the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund to pay a benefit. In contrast, the estate of a state employee killed at the World Trade Center has the legal right to compel the payment of a death benefit by the State because the right or entitlement to that death benefit existed prior to the victim's death. While the latter clearly should be considered to be a collateral source for purposes of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, awards from the Relief Fund should not. Thus, as you further examine the issue of "collateral source compensation," I urge you to treat payments from the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund not as payments from the State of New York, but rather as payments from a charitable organization. I appreciate your consideration of this issue. Very truly yours, Comment By: New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Albany, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-17 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 dojN002557.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. 2002-01-17 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. Monday, March 18, 2002 10:22 AM stop discrimination against gay victims many gay people died 9/11--firemen, airplane heroes, and others--but you are discriminating against gays with your new policies. you cannot base compensation on state laws--state laws are anti-gay. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001730.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 1:31 PM Help All Victims of Sept. 11 Wed., Dec. 5, 2001 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 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 and any other family members severely impacted. 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. And many of these persons do not have some of the support networks our non-gay community takes for granted. 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. Please do not let this terrible tragedy be an intended occasion to discriminate nor exclude any of our fellow citizens. Sincerely, Individual Comment Centreville, VA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000876.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, February 26, 2002 6:08 PM New Vote.com votes as of 06:08 PM EST on February 26th, 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, DOES THE GOVERNMENT'S AID PROGRAM FOR FAMILIES OF SEPT. 11 VICTIMS GO FAR ENOUGH?: YES: 8 votes NO: 0 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-26 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 dojP000563.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-02-26 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 12:56 AM victims' relief and sexual orientation 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 Greensboro, NC 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 dojA004066.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. Friday, February 15, 2002 1:10 PM New Vote.com votes as of 01:10 PM EST on February 15th, 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: 5 votes NO: 71 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-15 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 dojP000515.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-02-15