53 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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 5:44 PM Equality and September 11 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 Johnson City, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA003596.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, March 13, 2002 7:16 AM Payments to Gay and Lesbian Survivors out of the 9/11 fund To whom it may concern, I did not lose anyone and I don't want any money. I don't know anyone who might be elegible for payment out of this fund. That said, let me say that I am appalled at your treatment of gay/lesbian survivors. The legal parsing of honoring state law or not, when you are going against the law in the case of illegal aliens, is worthy of Clinton. Have you no heart? I hope this discriminatory policy on elegibility for payment out of the fund is reconsidered. Individual Comment Chicago, IL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-13 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 dojR000563.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. 2002-03-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, December 14, 2001 9:33 AM Fwd: Urgent! Flash Activist Network Alert 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. You have a reputation for fairness when mediating complex issues, and I am hopeful the people facing these issues will receive justice through public efforts. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Chicago, IL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001733.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. 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 of 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 Nyack, 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 dojA005546.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 7:26 AM Death did not discriminate December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Three Rivers, MI September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA002672.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 12:18 PM Gay and Lesbian partners need 9/11 help too... December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I agree with the below statements... My mother is a lesbian, who has lived with her partner for years. I know firsthand from them about the difficulties of trying to make a gay/lesbian partnership work, in terms of money, health insurance, etc. Please make sure that the living victims of the 9/11 attacks, the loved ones of those who died, can move on with their lives, and get the assistance they need... 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 Somerville, MA 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 dojA003189.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Saturday, March 16, 2002 2:37 PM In Memory of And So Many More FOR THE RECORD: I am a Christian heterosexual woman who has been married to the same man for over twenty years and I am OUTRAGED at the treatment given to the families of the homosexual victims of September 11. I do not want to believe that my fellow Americans can assert that the pain and suffering of these people somehow matters less simply because of their sexual preferences. They are as God made them, just as we heterosexuals are--as beautiful, as loved, and as worthy of being loved as are we. Three of these victims have received special attention in all this-- &nbsp , who helped keep one of the planes from crashing into the U.S. Congress; &nbsp , who died while ministering to one of the World Trade Center victims; and &nbsp , who was the &nbsp of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. We have seen their faces--heard from their families--mourned their loss. How can we now deny them equal dignity? How do we declare the lines of these heroes unworthy of recognition? The fight for civil rights, fur the human rights of our fellow citizens still has a long way to go in this country. A fitting step, and appropriate step, an imperative step in this march should be and can be and--please God--WILL be equal treatment under the law and equal treatment in love for all of US who have been touched by this event. Our response to their carnage was to pull together. No one asked about the color of the victims pulled out of the wreckage. No one refused to be rescued by a Good Samaritan who didn't have matching skin color. No one demanded that his or her donation go only to those who showed the proper church attendance. Let's not start doing identity checks now. Our enemies declare people non-persons on the basis of difference from themselves and use that declaration to justify their actions. They proclaim the bombings justified because we do not share their faith. Their women are treated as property because they do not share the Taliban's physiology. Those of their own people who disagree with them are tortured and killed for sport in the name of their God. Our country, our own president has declared this behavior EVIL. Let us not imitate them. We know better. Our history as a nation of immigrants has taught us how much stronger we get when we accept the unique gifts that every group of people has brought to our shores. Let us not turn our back on who we are. Let's not let the Taliban win. Patriotic American Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000996.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, November 29, 2001 10:22 AM terrorism victims compensation Please provide compensation to all family members of victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. Let real justice and fairness prevail! Sincerely, Individual Comment Boulder, CO September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000184.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. 2001-11-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, January 29, 2002 10:32 PM compensation precedence To Whom It Concerns: Like most Americans, as the events of September 11 unfolded, I held my family close, prayed to my God, lit candles at church and held my head high as a proud American. I also gave blood at the Red Cross and wrote a pretty good sized check, for my budget anyway, to a number of different funds. I pray to God such a tragedy never strikes us again, but if it does, I'll hold my family close, worship God and hold my head high. But I won't open my veins or my checkbook. Why should I when I'll already be paying in taxes? I'm disgusted at our government's decision to spend taxpayers money in this manner. Our nation is a charitable, loving and supportive nation as evidenced by the billions of dollars donated to relief agencies throughout the generations. I'll never give another penny, since the taxes I'm forced to pay will cover it for me. What a mistake and poor precedence. Individual Comment Parkville, MO September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojP000281.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. January 13, 2002 Mr.Kenneth L. Zwick Director, Office of Management Programs Civil Division United States Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 Dear Mr. Zwick, My name is . On September 11, 2001 my father, , was killed in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He was an independent consultant for . I think about my dad everyday and have to live with haunting reality that I will never get to speak or see him again. I wish I did not have to write this letter but I need your help. The attacks of September 11th have left thousands of families crippled both financially as well as emotionally. The outpouring of support from so many charities as well as from fellow Americans has helped ease some thepain. However, it is only short-term assistance. The next, and most difficult step the families have to endure is the long-term aid as well as adequate compensation for the murder of our loved ones. The aid that I speak of is to be distributed from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. I have been working with families of September 11 and all of the families in this group feel completely betrayed by the policies set forth by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Special Master, Mr. Kenneth Feinberg. Families of September 11 is a non-profit organization of injured victims and families of those killed in the recent terrorist attacks from 26 states. The group's mission is to ensure that the victims' and families' interests are protected and to advocate public policies that will improve the prevention of and response to terrorism. More information is available at www.familiesofseptember11.org. Our primary concern with the interim final regulations is that DOJ has ignored the fundamental mandate of the Act to provide full and fair compensation to victims and their families and instead has concocted a bureaucratic response that bases compensation on irrelevant federal programs. The purpose of the regulations appears to be to hold down the amount of the awards, rather than to carry out the intent of Congress so clearly set forth in the law. We ask your help in urging DOJ to abandon its misguided proposal and to issue new regulations that fulfill, rather than flout, the legislative mandate of Congress. Background The Victim Compensation Fund was created by Title IV of the airline bailout bill passed by Congress shortly after the September 11 attacks. The Act gave the airlines $15 billion of taxpayers' money and capped the airlines' liability for the crashes at the limits of their insurance coverage. Thus the airlines face no out-of-pocket expenses for the widespread death and destruction caused by the crashes of their aircraft into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Acknowledging the fact that this airline liability cap severely restricted the victims' right to sue the airlines, Congress created the Compensation Fund to provide victims and their families with full payment for a wide range of specified non-economic damages (e.g., pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium between husband and wife, and more) and full restitution for economic damages (e.g., lost future income), minus collateral payments. In this way, Congress sought to ensure that the airlines' bailout would not be funded by victims' families, who had already suffered the most from the horrible tragedy of September 11. Unfortunately, DOJ was unmoved by Congress' compassionate and reasoned approach and, perhaps goaded by the Office of Management and Budget, determined that it could abandon the statutory framework in favor of a bean-counting mentality that limits awards with no basis in law. Congress' unmistakable intent was not carried out by DOJ, and we need your help to correct these problems by January 22, 2002, the end of DOJ's comment period on the regulations. News media reports that families will receive an average of $1.65 million are inaccurate, because this estimate fails to account for deductions of collateral payments, such as life insurance and pension plans. Actual payments from the Fund would be substantially less, and many families would get nothing under the parsimonious interim final regulations because collateral payment deductions required by the statute would wipe out their entire award. (A recent New York Times article quoting the Special Master suggested that he was considering a minimum payment of $250,000, regardless of collateral deductions. This amount is still far too low to compensate for the damages the victims and their families have suffered.) The three primary defects in the interim regulations concern the valuation of non- economic damages, the calculation of economic damages, and the provisions for hearings. 1. Proposed Non-Economic Awards Are One-Tenth Those Made in Comparable Cases The DOJ's proposed awards for non-economic damages ($250.000 per victim plus $50,000 for a spouse and each dependent) are only one-tenth the level paid in comparable cases. In other cases of airline crashes and terrorism, non-economic damage awards of $2 million to $5 million are typical, and much higher awards have been made in some cases. Moreover, Congress explicitly enumerated a broad range of non-economic damages for which victims and their families shall be compensated: physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature. Sec. 402(7). In the case of a victim killed in the attack, all of the above except physical impairment, disfigurement, and injury to reputation are applicable and payable to the victim's estate or (as in the case of loss of consortium and loss of society and companionship) to members of a surviving family. Thus there at least eight relevant elements cited in the statute: (1) physical pain, (2) emotional pain, (3) suffering, (4) inconvenience, (5) mental anguish, (6) loss of enjoyment of life, (6) loss of society and companionship, (7) loss of consortium, and (8) hedonic damages, in addition to the catch-all "all other non- pecuniary losses of any kind or nature." In fact, Congress enumerated more kinds of non-economic damages than are normally paid in any single state jurisdiction. Thus, it would be reasonable to expect that payments made under the Victim Compensation Fund would be at least as high, if not higher, than previous awards for non-economic damages. As one example, in the case of the Pan Am 103 bombing, a spouse was awarded $5 million in non-economic damages. Under DOJ's plan for the September 11th Fund, a widow and two surviving dependent children would receive only $400,000, subject to reduction by the collateral offset provision. Shockingly, DOJ tacitly admits that it did not even look at the elements of non- economic damages that Congress required to be compensated. Rather, in the only justification for the presumed award, DOJ's notice states that "the $250,000 figure is roughly equivalent to the amounts received under existing federal programs by public safety officers who are killed while on duty, or members of our military who are killed in the line of duty while serving our nation." The regulation then cites to the statutory provision for a group life insurance program under which service members can elect to purchase policies with death benefit up to a maximum of $250,000, commonly known as the Service members' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program, and a newly amended federal statute under which the government pays to the families of fallen public safety officers $250,000 -on top of any other amounts they may receive from other sources. Neither of these programs was intended to, nor does, compensate a victim's family for the full range of non-economic damages identified by Congress in the statute establishing the Fund. DOJ flouted Congress' specific mandate and instead replicated existing, inapposite, and limited federal death-benefit programs. The absurdity of DOJ's approach is illustrated by its reliance on SGLI as the basis for the amount awarded. If a serviceman killed at the Pentagon had elected the SGLI at $250,000, the offset of life insurance proceeds required by the Act would wipe out the non-economic damages entirely (unless there were a spouse or other dependents, at $50,000 each under the DOJ scheme). DOJ's approach therefore assumes that Congress intended the non-economic damages to be merely illusory - to be given with one hand and then taken away with the other. Not only is this clearly incorrect -it flies in the face of basic principles of statutory construction. In short, it is the epitome of an arbitrary and capricious approach to implementing the Act. Presentations made at a recent meeting of the National Association of Forensic Economists support our contention that DOJ's presumed non-economic damage awards are unreasonably low. Another problem with respect to non-economic damages is the Special Master's insistence on using the probate laws of the various states to determine the distribution of the entire award among family members and other claimants. While appropriate for some damages (e.g., pain and suffering of the victim), this approach fails to recognize that other non-economic losses are incurred by specific claimants, not by the estate. For example, the surviving spouse suffers loss of consortium. Under the DOJ plan, payments for loss of consortium could be divided among the heirs and, where there is a will, might be awarded entirely to a claimant other than the spouse. While the Special Master reserves the right to overrule the probate courts, it is unreasonable to force a claimant to plead extraordinary circumstances and appeal to the Special Master to prevent such an inappropriate distribution of funds. 2. DOJ's Plan Significantly Undervalues Economic Damages DOJ's proposed awards for economic damages significantly underestimate actual economic losses. We have asked DOJ and the Special Master for all of the assumptions and methodology used in calculating the "presumptive awards," in order to better understand and analyze them, because DOJ has provided only general guidance on how it determined these award levels. Even before we receive this detailed information, however, it is clear that there are major problems with DOJ's approach. The National Association of Forensic Economists recently participated in a conference at which experienced economists pointed out significant flaws in DOJ's methodology. For example, DOJ unnecessarily relied almost exclusively on federal government data that was out of date and inapplicable to the groups to which DOJ applied it. One forensic economist with experience in air crash cases (for both plaintiffs and defendants) indicates that actual life-cycle earnings for firefighters are 27% higher tha n the DOJ estimate, the actual life-cycle earnings growth of college- educated Securities and Financial Services workers is more than 100% higher than the DOJ estimate. Moreover, DOJ also seriously underestimates "real" (beyond inflation) increases in earnings by administrative support and clerical workers. Rather than utilizing aggregated national data, this experienced economist stated that the Special Master could use readily available data to create 8-12 prototype earning patterns, based on occupation and education, that would much more closely match the expected earnings patterns of the victims. In the case of high-income victims, the under valuation of increases in compensation is exacerbated because the regulations arbitrarily cap a victim's income at $250,000 a year. Thus, DOJ starts off with an artificially depressed earnings level, and then uses unrealistically low models for projecting increases from that level. This cap, for which there is no justification in the statute, would result in some families receiving severely reduced compensation for their actual economic losses. The only justification DOJ has offered for capping incomes is that not doing so would result in awards greater than what the families "need." But DOJ has provided to explanation of how it determined these needs. The human cost of the income cap is that many widows and some widowers will have to sell their homes, deplete their children's college funds, give up their plans of being full-time parents while their children are young, and make other wrenching adjustments at a time when they already have more than enough burdens to bear. In general, there is a significant underestimation of promotions and other increases in earnings for victims. DOJ apparently relied on the Board of Actuaries of the federal civil service and military retirement systems, which track federal worker incomes and pension requirements, not the higher-paying private sector career paths. Experts at the NAFE conference pointed out that data on federal workers is irrelevant for assessing private sector earnings projections. DOJ's error, coupled with its emphasis on past 3 years of income (which the Special Master "may average"), makes it appear that DOJ used a federal pension approach to ascertaining economic damages, rather than considering the likely income-earning potential of the decedent, as is routinely done in wrongful death cases. Sadly, this DOJ/OMB approach appears to be an attempt to distort the tort-based provisions of the Act into just another bureaucratic, formulaic, federal program based on concepts the agencies are already familiar with, rather than what the law requires. One economist dubbed the failure of DOJ to tailor its economic loss model to the actual circumstances of the victims the "Reverse Cinderella Effect" -- where DOJ is trying to make one shoe fit all of the feet. Other problems pointed out by the economists are the fact that the work life estimate used by DOJ are seriously outdated, particularly for women. DOJ's aggregation of this outdated data means that its work life estimate are low for both men and women, thus underestimating awards for both genders. There is also a serious underestimation of the economic value of household services performed by victims, particularly women. These, along with the use of pre-tax discount rate, further widen the gap between DOJ's flawed approach and a proper valuation of economic loss. 3. DOJ Makes a Mockery of the Right to a Hearing A particularly insidious notion inherent in the interim final regulations is that a family's award may be increased above the "presumptive" award only by a showing of "extraordinary circumstances" - beyond those suffered by other victims or victims' families. This makes the hearing or appeal to the Special Master a mere charade. DOJ has constructed a scheme that provides extremely low awards to those who lost loved ones due to the extraordinary events of September 11, and then declares that only in cases that are extraordinary, beyond those already extraordinary events, will awards be increased. This is virtually an impossible standard to meet, especially in light of the Special Master's statements that he cannot and will not make "Solomon-like" distinctions between the suffering of individuals or families. The problem is that the presumptive award levels are so low, they do not compensate the families adequately for the extraordinary suffering they and their loved ones endured and continue to endure. Absent a change in the regulations, these award levels will not be increased to reflect the compensation contemplated by the Act for the actual damages suffered by each victim and family. What is extraordinary is the suffering inflicted on all of the victims and their families on September 11-not differences in degrees of suffering among them. Victims aboard airplanes suffered through a kidnapping/high jacking and horrific plane crashes. Victims at the World Trade Center suffered through the trauma of the plane crash and a raging fire (so intense and unbearable that some victims thought it better to jump 100 stories to their certain death than to endure the fire), and others suffered from the unthinkable collapse of the massive towers upon them. Victims at the Pentagon suffered a horrible death from the impact of the plane into their "secure" offices or burning in the raging inferno of jet fuel. Family members themselves have had to endure the inescapable coverage and regurgitation of these events on TV, in the newspapers, and even in ordinary discourse with neighbors, acquaintances, and others. It is fundamentally unfair for DOJ to trivialize the extraordinary suffering of each victim and family (for example, by valuing non-economic damages at 10% of the level of compensation in comparable cases and valuing economic damages at less than 50% in some cases) and then to state that only upon distinguishing a claim from all of the other claims that are also undervalued by DOJ will an award be increased. Instead, the standard should be that DOJ compensate each victim and family for the types of damages enumerated by Congress at levels comparable to those recoverable in the tort system the Fund was designed to replace. Conclusion During the 30-day comment period, Families of September 11 will work with DOJ and the Special Master to try to improve the payment levels to reflect the provisions of the Act. Your assistance will be most helpful in persuading DOJ and the Special Master to follow the Act. If the interim final regulations are not substantially changed by DOJ, the victims' families may have to challenge the regulations in court in order to ensure compliance with the law. And many families, seeing no adequate remedy from the Fund, may decide to sue the airlines and others, despite the handicap of the liability limits. DOJ can and should avoid such unfortunate confrontations by recognizing the need to make significant revisions to conform the regulations to the statutory requirements. Please urge DOJ to do so, and eliminate the need for the families to go to court in order to implement the clear congressional intent for fair, compassionate compensation. Specifically, we want DOJ to (1)increase its non-economic loss award by an order of magnitude (from 10% to 100%), to properly reflect the damages that Congress has determined are compensable, (2) correct the methodological flaws in its calculation of economic damages and use accurate, up-to-date data in making these calculations, and (3) recognize that a claimant should not have to show "extraordinary circumstances" to increase the "presumed award," but rather, should only have to show that the"presumed award" does not accurately reflect the damages incurred by the victim and his or her family. We strongly believe that if the nation can find $15 billion to bail out the airlines, which may have been responsible for the attacks because of lax security, it can provide the full amount necessary to fairly compensate the families of the innocent victims of the attacks. Thank you in advance for your assistance on this pressing matter. Sincerely Yours, Individual Comment Park Ridge, NJ 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 dojN002593.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, December 28, 2001 11:12 AM Victim Compensation Fun - Offsets Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg, Mr Kenneth Zwick 28 December 2001 Dear Sir, Comments as to Victims Compensation Fund My daughter, who was born and lived in England, UK, was attending a conference at the WTC on behalf of her UK employers. She is was single, aged 30 in the prime of her life with no dependants. She died on the 106th floor of the North Tower. I can only agree that the prime function of the Victims compensation fund is to provide financial support to the dependents of those victims who died and in particular to those who actually need that financial support However, on reading your comments at the News Conference carried out on the 20th December a number of factors appear to have been either completely ignored or glossed over. Before making these comments, I should point out that I myself do not need financial support because of the death of my daughter and we as a family have already agreed that the bulk monies regrettably gained through her death should go to my daughter's brother and sister, nephew and niece. That is the way my daughter would have wanted it. But nevertheless those responsible do have to pay for this atrocity and the extreme grief we as a family have had to endure 1. The Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act was established by congress for a number of reasons some of which included:- A. To protect the Airlines from overwhelming litigation B. To provide compensation to the dependants or personal representative of individual who was killed as a result of the September 11th atrocity. C. To provide a fast track method to those obtaining compensation. 2. Any court of law would provide substantial damages (albeit in relation to income age etc) but also included in these damages would be an a very high element to cover any factor where the court considered that the deaths of these poor people was caused by any negligence carried out by the defendant that could have contributed to that death. Any award given would most certainly not be offset by any insurance cover etc that those who died might have had in place at the time. 3. It would appear therefore, judging by the nature of the work place (WTC) that a very high percentage of those killed would be what we here in England call the professional classes and I think in America - White Collar Workers. Most of these will be covered by their own employers and personal insurance policies. Because of Offsets therefore, I would suspect that a large percentage of claimants would not be able to make a claim. Certainly in my daughters's case, who was on a fairly average salary the offsets amount to 85% of the estimated total award before offset. Who gains ? Certainly not those who have no insurances - they do not get any more. THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT GAINS BY NOT HAVING TO PAY. 4. Because of this alone, I would suspect a large number of us will have no alternative but to sue - which is what your government was trying to prevent ! 5. Why should I sue when the last thing I want is money, it will never replace the loss of my daughter, all the money in the world would never do that. The reasons are quite simple. A) Punitive damages need to be awarded against the airlines, those airport authorities concerned and it would now possibly appear in the case of my daughter , the landlords of the North Tower, in order to try and prevent this happening again. B) Nineteen terrorists hijacked four planes and caused the death of thousands. C) This can be put down to an almost total lack of security at the airports concerned, one terrorist getting through security you could call a percentage risk, two bad luck, three doubtful, but nineteen commandeering four separate planes all on the same day in this country would be called criminal negligence and commercial manslaughter. In Europe we have lived with terrorism for many years, the best security in the world will not prevent some getting through. Here, however, we have managed to control this evil and keep it to acceptable levels. But, no or inadequate security is an open invitation to any one. D) It would now also appear that because my daughter died above where the plane hit the north tower, she could not even make an escape to the roof, in spite of the fact that there were helicopters available and in the air at the time. Why not - because reports printed in your press, now indicate the roof doors were locked on the directions of the landlords and city authorities. E) So why did we not have this security - why were the doors locked. The answer is simple - LOSS OF PROFIT. Your government would not pass an act of congress forcing the airlines and airports to increase security - maybe something to do with votes. The airlines would not insist that the airport authorities increase security because that in turn would increase their charges. The airport authorities would not act by themselves because they would loose business to other airports. The doors were shut because it would have meant employing more security guards. One way or the other it is all to do with profit. Why am I unhappy with the compilation of the awards therefore ? Perhaps I might have kept quiet if it had not been for the offset rule. But I believe those who have allowed this atrocity to happen are getting off almost scot free with the nett result that in the future it will be allowed to happen again. Punitive awards, will make those concerned sit up and take note. It will make their insurers insist that security is increased albeit at the expense of profit, in order that claims of this size will not happen again. It will make governments act in the interests of their citozens rather than their corporate voters and lobyists. It will prevent other fathers losing their daughters in the way that I have lost mine. A normally very private individual Individual Comment 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 dojN001080.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. December 16, 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 Gardiner,NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-16 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 dojA005274.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. 2001-12-16 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. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 11:03 PM (no subject) Please don't discriminate against gay and lesbian families affected by this horrid tragedy. Let's not make this an issue with all that's been going on. Have we not learned or grown as people? We should have learned from this that discrimination gets us nowhere. We need to be UNITED. That's what I've been seeing everywhere. One Nation UNITED. Unity is the key, as is equality. Please, don't make people who have suffered enough already go through any more. Thank you. Sincerely, Individual Comment 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 dojA001076.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 11:54 AM Equal humna rights for all people 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 Golden Valley, 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 dojA003145.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Saturday, March 16, 2002 7:32 PM OUTRAGED.... We are outraged that gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11 are not automatically going to receive the same benefits as heterosexual spouses. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001197.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 12:37 AM 9/11 Victims Relief Fund 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 Athens, OH September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA002578.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 15, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Madison, TN 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 dojA005286.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. January 18, 2002 VIA FACSIMILE AND REGULAR MAIL 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 Kenneth Feinberg, Esq. 780 Third Avenue New York, New York 10022 Re: September 11th Victims Compensation Fund 2001 P.L. 107-42 Dear Sirs/Mesdames: In the aftermath of the attack on our nation on September 11th, Congress enacted the above- referenced legislation to compensate the families of the victims. It is my belief that the interim rules issued by the Special Master on December 20th (the "interim rules") fail to satisfy both the spirit and intent of Congress in enacting the aforementioned legislation. The legislation authorized payment for both economic and non-economic loss. The sole offsets to such payments were the "collateral sources" specified in §402(4), which included "life insurance, pension funds and payments made by the Federal, State and local governments". These were the only offsets contemplated by the legislation. In the interim rules, however, the Special Master has imposed offsets and caps, which were never contemplated by the statute. Specifically, the interim rules arbitrarily restrict pain and suffering awards to $250,000 as well as impose artificial limitations on income. Such self-imposed restrictions and limitations, which drastically reduce the award, are not only contrary to the intent and actual language of the statute but are entirely unfair. For example, the limitation of the pain and suffering is far too low, especially in light of the fact that many victims trapped at the top of One World Trade Center had more than 90 minutes to contemplate the hopelessness of their situation while enduring horrific conditions. Such fact is evident from the "911" transcripts which have been released by the various media outlets over the last few months. The "911" calls paint too vivid a picture of the unbearable conditions atop Tower One while the caller begged the "911" operator to send help. More horrifying is that the victims placed such calls after 10:15 a.m.. This is particularly disturbing to the victims' families for two reasons: (1) it is entirely likely that the victims in Tower One were fully aware that Tower Two had collapsed and all they could do was await their terrifying fate; and (2) the victims trapped at the top of One World Trade suffered for at least 90 minutes in a hopeless situation. To arbitrarily limit pain and suffering awards, as the interim rules do, is an injustice that should not countenanced. It cannot be emphasized enough that the World Trade Center was targeted simply because it and the people who worked there personified America and everything it stands for. Long recognized and, in fact, trumpeted as the world's financial epicenter, it was the most likely target of Americas enemies. The financial service victims were murdered because of the careers they had chosen. To artificially limit the amount of compensation, as the interim rules propose, is a grave injustice to those who gave their lives for the very symbol of America-capitalism. Based on these facts, when computing economic loss, it seems logical to use the most recent year's income, in this case, the victim's income for 2001 on an annualized basis. By using the prior years' income (1998, 1999, and 2000), as the interim rule proposes, the economic loss is arbitrarily decreased. Clearly, such was not the intention of Congress. The Victims Compensation Fund was created as part of a comprehensive legislative package, the purpose of which is to ensure the very survival of the American airline industry while at the same time compensating the victims' families for the loss of their loved ones. While protecting the airline industry is important to the continued economic growth of America, the cost of such protections should not be borne by the families of the victims. Protecting the airline industry in the way contemplated by the interim rules trivializes the lives that were lost on September 11th. Based on the foregoing, it is clear that the interim rules need to be modified to effect the spirit and intent of the statute-specifically, there should be no artificial limitation on income, the most recent year's salary should be utilized in calculating economic loss and the pain and suffering award should be increased, if for no other reasons than, to acknowledge the suffering the victims had to endure while awaiting a certain death. God bless you and America, Individual Comment Brooklyn, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002644.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, February 11, 2002 1:23 PM Comments IMO, the US Government has no place compensating victims using US Taxpayer dollars. The citizens of the US have already donated significant sums of money to help the people affected by this disaster via the Red Cross, and many other organizations. I think this compensation sets a dangerous precedent concerning future events. I also feel that too many people expect to be compensated one way or another when tragedy strikes, outside of the normal support structures already available (Social Security, Insurance, etc.). This is a fairly new phenomenon, at least in the last 40 years as litigation has become the norm. Citizens are responsible for ensuring their futures via financial planning. Failing to do so, the government still has support tools in place to manage needs at some predefined level. If there is a problem with these support services, then those problems need to be addressed. Tragedy occurs to people every day, but the government doesn't step up to the plate for everyone. This is a land where everyone is treated as equals, and so any financial support dispensed by the government must be dealt with at a common level for all Americans, not at the level of a specific event. As I started, I think the citizens of the US have stepped up to the plate for these victims, and that should suffice, along with the common support tools available to all citizens. Thanks, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-11 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 dojP000489.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. 2002-02-11 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 10:50 AM An American Family To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to voice my deep disappointment in the government's inclination to deny benefits to the life partners of the gays and lesbians who were victims of the September 11 attacks. I had believed that, if nothing else, the events of last fall taught us all that our patriotism and faith in one United States of America transcended all those boundaries that formerly divided us. The government apparently agrees -- at least enough to grant benefits to illegal aliens and fetuses who lost loved ones in the attacks. The fact that the government will not grant these same benefits to survivors of committed same-gender partnerships, even if demonstrated by domestic partnership registration, joint real estate or other legal documents, is unconscionable. As a tax-paying, voting citizen of the greatest country in the history of the world, I am ashamed. Individual Comment Key West, FL 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 dojR002630.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