57 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. Saturday, March 16, 2002 5:20 PM Now it you viticizing Gays As an American and New Yorker I am disgusted that you plan to limit compensation to the partners of gays and lesbians who were murdered on Sept. 11. It is hard for me to comprehend how you can search your conscience and then defend this action as justice. Your actions bring shame to the department of justice. Sincerely, Individual Comment New York City 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 dojR001135.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. December 14, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 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 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 dojA004438.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 4:13 PM Equal access to crisis relief benefits December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Toms River, NJ 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 dojA003510.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 4:37 PM To whom it may concern, Nobody who discriminates against homosexuals will EVER have my support.  Say it however you want, failing to provide same sex partners with assistance after 9/11 is discrimination, and it's disgusting. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000490.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 11:44 AM fairness 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 Park Falls, WI 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 dojA003132.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. Thursday, March 21, 2002 4:33 PM Fw: Gay/Lesbian Rights Here is the one I tried to send they didn't have a address like that, so here it is Send it &nbsp Subject: Gay/Lesbian Rights Dear Government/Fund Relief Politicians/Law Makers and Breakers and to everyone that could be involved in any way: It is absolutely insane to NOT honor Gay/Lesbian families left behind from the 9/11 tragedy. Why would the funds, the same funds many gays and lesbians donated to, NOT be used to help the families left behind if they are Gay/Lesbian families? We were told that there were no more hyphenated-Americans, which included Gay-Americans but now they are being kept out of the fund? Should then all the money donated by Lesbians/Gays be returned to them? Should all Gay/Lesbian people that donated be asked where they want their money to go in the donations made by the fund? In fact, since everyone donated with the faith and foolishness of believing that the funds would go to every family left behind and now that it is known that certain families are being withheld from the fund shouldn't ALL the money be returned so the donators can decide who they want it to go to? I will send my share to Gay/Lesbian families left behind- as would many, many others if we were given the constitutional right of being asked. I am ashamed of our government, this so-called fund and the treatment of our fellow Americans- look at other countries for help, we are trailing behind in taking care of our own. This is reminiscent of excluding Blacks (African-Americans, but no hyphens anymore, remember?) from drinking fountains, front bus seats, entrances with the whites on buildings, or sharing the same bathrooms. I have not seem signs on the buildings or buses, saying "Gay/Lesbian" entrance or "Gays/Lesbians" to the rear of the bus- do we have separate war memorials for Gay/Lesbians who fought for our country or are they on the same memorials as other fallen Americans? Instead I see our government and politicians passing judgments, laws and decisions that insult, affect, hurt, penalize and dishonor our fellow Americans in withholding the constitutional rights that every other American is entitled to. Either take care of ALL the families left behind by our fallen heroes and fellow Americans lost in the 9/11 disaster or withhold it from them all, send it back to each and every donor so we can pass it out constitutionally. Be sure then to include a list of all people that died and left families behind and after each name you will have to include their race, religion, sexual preference, etc so all small minded bigots can send only to those they want money to go to. I can guarantee there are enough good Americans out here that no Gay/Lesbian family left behind will suffer. I do wonder about the families of unfair law makers- would the country want to support bigots that are begetting bigots? Of course we would, it doesn't seem right since it will enforce unfairness in this country, but we would not intentionally withhold help from anyone, we are Americans. When I forwarded this call for help to my friends, I sent it to everyone, my small minded friends, and my normal minded friends, I included in my message to them the urge for them to write today, plus I asked them if a Gay or Lesbian pulled them from a burning car would they say "no thanks"? Give me a break, Americans are Americans, people are people, quit thinking as bigots and start thinking like Americans- include all our fellow AMERICANS in this fund or send it ALL back to the donors and we will disperse it fairly. I am as thankful to each and every one of the people that helped at the disaster sites, either digging out bodies or passing out washcloths, water and food to the workers, crashed planes to save others, risked their lives to save others, etc and I don't remember anyone asking at the time are you Gay, are you Lesbian? Well then if you are we don't want your help, go away. If we did not turn away their help in the time of our need, then why are we turning them away now? Sincerely, GOD BLESS EVER SINGLE PERSON WHO HAS HELPED IN ANY WAY, OR LOST THEIR LIVE OR A LOVED ONE IN THIS DISASTER. GOD BLESS EVERYONE THAT HAS DONATED TIME, MONEY, PRAYERS, ETC TO HELP THE SURVIVORS. SOMEDAY THE UNITED STATES WILL FIGURE OUT THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US LIVING HERE ARE AMERICANS, PERIOD. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-21 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 dojR002621.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. 2002-03-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. November 26,2001 SENT VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION & FAX Mr.Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 Re: September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001- Notice of Inquiry and Advance Notice of Rulemaking for Comment Dear Mr. Zwick: Poorman-Douglas Corporation ("PD") appreciates the opportunity to respond to the Request for Comment on proposed regulations and processess for implementing the Victim Compensation Fund, which was published in the November 5, 2001 Federal Register by the Department of Justice. Established in 1968 as a full-service data processing company, Poorman-Douglas is now expert in claims administration for large, complex class actions and bankruptcy cases. Poorman-Douglas has extensive experience in complex case administration and has a history of successful partnerships with special masters and monitors. We also are skilled in effectively yet sympathetically working on sensitive, humanitarian cases. While we are located in Portland, Oregon, our business is national, with strong ties in New York and Washington, D.C. We are ready to assist in this humanitarian effort for the victims of September 11th disaster in any way within our broad scope of capabilities. In reviewing the Notice of Inquiry and the specific issues raised, PD, as an open market vendor of claims administration and mass litigation support services, will generally address the identified issues that fall into PD's areas of expertise. In addition to drawing from our experience and knowledge base, we have performed research on techniques to improve communications with claimants and have cited relevant sources with our comments. First and foremost, any and all contemplated requirements and procedures should be developed and implemented with the claimants' best interests in mind and with consistent compliance with the intent of the Victim Compensation Fund. The claimants making claims against this Fund are involuntary claimants who have already suffered severe emotional, if not physical, circumstances and have been confused by uncoordinated relief efforts. To provide some measure of relief to these distressed claimants, claim procedures should be designed to maximize assistance and minimize the burden on these claimants. Our comments are directed toward this goal. > Timing of Services Several short deadlines impact the amount of time available to develop and implement claims procedures, including: December 21, 2001 deadline for promulgation of implementation regulations; A 120-day deadline for claims processing and award determination; A 20-day deadline for disbursement of funds after an award is made. With these deadlines in mind, two key actions will impact the Fund's ability to provide effective, quality service to victims; efficiently resolve claims in a timely fashion; and control costs: 1. Designation of an experienced administrative service/support organization as soon as possible; and 2. Development of clear, straightforward Fund requirements and production guidelines with participation by all parties, including the administrative services/support organization as soon as possible after one is selected. > Claim Form Design (with specific comments on making the form and its instructions readable and readily available) Based on its wide experience in claims administration, PD recommends that the claim form package include a notice that is clear and descriptive. Special information should be highlighted, using a bolded font or a different color ink. Important information such as claims filing deadlines, toll-free numbers, administrator mailing addresses and Internet information should be well positioned within the instructions. Any special calls to action (e.g. actions required of a claimant) should be boxed or highlighted. PD has reviewed human behavior studies to guide the form and content of the claim forms it designs. The flagship study done by behavioral researchers McClelland and Atkinson indicated that without knowledge of the perceived outcome, people are much less likely to act. A claim form should be designed so that the face of the form is easy to understand, telling claimants what they need to do, how they should do it, and in what timeframe. Effective form design is also predicated on how key information is positioned on the claim form. Primacy-recency literature has established that the most effective positioning of messages or content of critical importance is at the beginning or end. The material placed in the middle is less likely to be remembered. "One research finding can be stated unequivocally: material presented in the middle of a message is relatively poorly remembered and has the least impact."[1] > Claim Form Design for readablity Plain language is the guiding principle in form design for readability. Plain language claim forms provide many benefits, including greater target audience participation; less overall confusion, which will reduce the potential expense of toll-free telephone support and a higher likelihood that the information submitted would be complete. Plain language design is a concept embraced by the Federal Judicial Center.[2] In its discussion of proposed amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (requiring plain language in class action notices) the Federal Judicial Center supports the amendments that would require that "the notice concisely and clearly describe in plain, easily understood language the nature of the action, the claims, and the potential consequences of a litigation." Focus group studies conducted by the Federal Judicial Center found that comprehension of legal notices is significantly improved through deliberate changes in language, organization, structure, formatting and presentation of the notice text. The use of a cover letter, captions, headings, font changes, and color increases reader comprehension and motivation. Additionally the RAND Institute for Civil Justice conducted an extensive review of damage class actions in the United States Court systems. RAND review the texts of several high-profile class action notices and found that the readability and content varied dramatically. On one end of the spectrum, was a notice that Poortman-Douglas and Huntington Legal Advertising designed: In re: Louisiana-Pacific Inner-Seal Litigation (a copy of which is attached hereto as Attachment 1). The RAND researchers suggest that the plain language text from the Louisiana-Pacific notice was more likely than other notices to attract the attention of class members. > Design for Accessibility The claim package should be readily available via any means reasonable and possible, which should include the Internet, first class mail, and established centers for victims. Although a direct mail program will get the materials in the hands of a number of potential claimants, requests for information will also come from the toll- free support, fax and mail. Documents provided via the Internet should be in a format that is readily viewable, free of charge. We recommend .PDF format (Adobe), which is currently the industry standard. > Claim Form/Instruction Content In order to facilitate the ease and orderly filing of claims for all parties concerned, at a minimum, the claim package should contain the following items: 1. Registration form (w/instructions for filling out and filing); 2. Compensation form (w/instructions for filling out and filing); 3. A claimant information package with details and guidelines for filing, as well as any grids or charts deemed appropriate 4. A "Question and Answer" document or "FAQ" which covers the key issues and procedures in the above-referenced documents, formatted in such a way that a claimant can easily spot information on a particular subject matter that may have been overlooked when the claimant was reviewing the other information. Guidance for the content of an effective claim form and information packet can be found in the Manual for Complex Litigation.[3] In particular, a good notice of settlement (to which the Fund forms would be equivalent) should include: The essential terms of the proposed settlement. Any special benefits provided to any particular group of claimants. Information regarding attorney fees. (If applicable) the time and place of the hearing to consider approval of the settlement, and the method for objecting to (or, if permitted, for opting out of) the settlement. Procedures for allocating and distributing settlement funds, and, if the settlement provides different kinds of relief for different categories of class members, clearly set out those variations. A prominent display of the address and phone number of counsel and the procedure for making inquiries. > Claim Acceptance/"Filing" As mentioned above, consistent with other complex, mass personal injury settlements, the Victim Compensation Fund claim process would benefit from the use of two forms to be filed by each claimant: an initial registration form and a compensation form. At the time of registration, the only documentation that should be required is basic proof of 1) eligibility; and 2) (if the victim is deceased) legal status of contacting party (e.g. legal guardian, personal representative). When proper proof of eligibility and legal status (if necessary) has been received, a claim can be deemed "filed." A compensation form can be submitted concurrently with the registration form, but is not required. The two-step process would allow claimants to file quickly while the details of the full claims package and claims process are defined. Upon submission of the compensation form along with the required proof, the 120- day processing window would begin. Not only would this reduce the burden placed upon claimants to submit enormous amounts of materials to have their claim deemed "filed" but it would also give DOJ a full 120 days to evaluate a substantially complete claims (except for whatever defects may still exist). > Claim Defect/Dismissal In keeping with the goal of maximizing assistance for and minimizing the frustrations of the claimants, a claim should not be dismissed outright if a claim is determined to be defective for some reason or another (e.g. lack of adequate supporting information). Instead, procedures should be implmeneted which allow a claimant to cure the defects (in eligibility and entitlement) in a reasonable timeframe. While a formal notification of the reasons a claim is considered incomplete is required, it is helpful to claimants to have someone call and coach them through what needs to be supplied to make the claim complete and valid. >Presentation of Claim/Evidence In similiar circumstances, having all claims initially filed on paper has been found to be quite effective. If the claim is deemed defective or the claimant is dissatisfied with the result, he or she can appeal the Special Master's decision; the appeals procedures could then allow for oral hearings under limited circumstances. Accordingly, the 120-day statutory claim-processing deadline would be satisfied while allowing for additional procedural safeguards. A second option is a two or more track approach that gives to the claimants the choice of which procedures they would like to follow. For example, in the African American Farmers Discrimination case,[4] the class members could elect to participate under Track A, where the claim was submitted on paper and the class member recieved a fixed payout based upon a pre-determined payment grid, or Track B, where class members filed a claim for the amount they believed due and owing, but were required to present evidence at an arbitration. Although there might be some concern that having an oral hearing option might unreasonably increase the work and cost of administering the Fund, experience shows that this is not typically the case. In the African American Farmers Discrimination case, out of approximately 23,000 claims, only 150 class members opted to pursue Track B. In fact, when the procedural requirements are more demanding, when given the option, class members overwhelmingly choose the option with the more simple procedure, even when choosing the less onerous procedure will give them less compensation in the end. The MDL-926 National Breast Implant Settlement is a good example.[5] After the original global settlement fell through in 1994 and notwithstanding the fact that the new settlement amounts offered to those who wanted to pursue the less onerous procedures in the 1995 settlement,[6] were substantially smaller than what was 1) offered in the 1994 settlement; and 2) what could be obtained following Option 2 of the new settlement (the option with more demanding procedures), approximately 92% of the class members who registered for the first settlement [7] chose to receive less money under Option 1. In conclusion, the value in additional procedural safeguards for the claimants will far outweigh the potential increase in cost in administering these procedural safeguards. >Claimant Assistance In keeping with the goal of maximizing assistance for and minimizing the frustrations of the claimants, claimant support and assistance needs special and immediate attention. Assistance should be available via toll-free telephone (supporting multiple languages and the hearing impaired), the Internet and first class mail (as requested). During times of peak activity, consideration should be given to opening local assistance office(s). In the Swiss Banks[8] case, for the filing of "Initial Questionnaires" and claim forms, local organizations were called upon to assist in providing local assistances to claimants and, in some areas, specific claimant support offices were opened. Either having local help center(s) in New York and in Washington or educating staff in existing centers on the claims process for the Fund would be helpful to claimants. Regional information/assistance meetings would also be helpful in the early stages of the claims process. If claims processing specialists could be made available at these meetings, claimants could receive personal assistance without having to travel long distances to an established office. Coordination with other Victim Support programs and organizations will further victim support and assistance goals without adding significant cost to the administration of the Victim Compensation Fund. For example, coordination with Trial Lawyers Care, Inc. [9] would give victims access to attorneys who are willing and available to give free legal services and other assistance to claimants who wish to file a claim against the Victim Compensation Fund. In certain circumstances, coordination with other Victim Support programs could reduce Fund administration costs. Compilation of a mailing list of potential claimants is a perfect example. Since a comprehensive address list of victims and next of kin does not currently exist (to our knowledge), data may need to come from a number of sources. Depending on the source of the address data, and the inherent difficulties in identifying the appropriate claimants for those victims who are missing or dead, the level of undeliverable mail could be as high as 20-30%. By getting lists from other support programs that contain current addresses, less mail would be undeliverable, saving the costs of mailing and postage. A number of organizations have collected data in connection with their outreach and victims assistance programs.[10] Coordination with these groups could give the DOJ access to current contact information, which would reduce costs associated with locating potential claimants and increase the effectiveness of the direct mail program. >Eligibility and proof of identity requirements for missing (and presumed deceased) victims and for representative claimants who are filing claims In order to reduce the incidence of fraud, a claimant should be required to submit proof of eligibility and identity at the time of registration. If the eligible victim is missing and presumed deceased, the person filing the claim should be required to provide proof of his or her legal status as the representative claimant. In addition each claimant should be required to sign a certification that the contents of their claim are true and valid. >Proof of death for "missing" victims. Although the rules for obtaining a death certificate have been modified to assist those trying to obtain death certificates for missing and presumed dead victims,[11] many may not yet have obtained a death certificate for their missing family member(s). Accordingly, a death certificate should not be required at the time of registration for the Fund. A copy of the petition for the death certificate and the affidavit filed with the New York Country Supreme Court by the next of kin (attesting to personal information about the missing victim) should be considered sufficient for Fund registration. However, the death certificate may be required before a claim is settled. >Proof of legal status as "Representative Claimant" Typically, the only person who can file is the actual claimant or an individual who legally represents the claimant or the claimant's estate e.g., personal representative, administrator, other legal representative, heir or beneficiary). As with the death certificate, if the representative claimant does not have an official copy of letters of administration or probate or surrogate certificate at the time of registration, following New York City's "next of kin" proof rules should be sufficient to prevent fraud.[12] It is important that a balance be achieved between having sound fraud prevention procedures and not having claims filing requirements that are onerous for the victims or their next of kin. Below is suggested language to be included in the registration form for representative claimants. If you are representing a deceased's estate, please attach 1. An official copy of the death certificate and a copy of any letters of administration or probate or surrogate certificate, 2. A copy of the petition for death certificate and supporting affidavit; or 3. Complete the following: Date of Death: Reason for lack of death certificate: If you are representing any other person as a Representative Claimant, please attach a copy of any order or other document appointing you the person's legal representative. > Use of schedules or statistical methodologies to create an entitlement grid or matrix In a complex mass tort settlement, a combination of settlement options is used. For more frequent, readily definable claims, entitlement grids are often used. In the cases of serious injury or death, where the proofs are more complex, review and calculation of an award on a case-by-case basis is more appropriate. In re Unocal Refinery Litigation is an example of a mass tort personal injury settlement where entitlement was based upon a geocoded exposure grid.[13] If a claimant could prove that he or she either worked or lived within the defined zones of exposure (determined by geo-coding) and was present during the relevant time periods, the claimant was deemed to be a class member. Once eligibility was determined, three settlement options existed in the Unocal settlement: Cash Out - for those who had no known symptoms or suffered relatively minor injuries, a one-time payment of $3,500 was offered. A claimant only had to submit proof of eligibility (discussed above) to receive this payment. Middle Level Injury Claims - claims were made and adjudicated on paper. Serious Injury Claims - physical injury was substantiated at an oral hearing. These individuals were invariably represented by counsel at the oral hearings. Consideration should also be given to payouts in multiple stages, if part of the claim is straightforward and part requires research, legal ruling, or is dependent on the resolution of other payments, such as insurance. This will provide claimants with complex claims a balance between gaining immediate relief and due consideration of their claim. > Publication of schedules or hypothetical or presumptive awards Although published grids and/or schedules can be helpful to a claimant when deciding whether or not to participate in a settlement, DOJ will want to ensure that claims are not being created or inflated based upon DOJ's published injury categories and compensation numbers. This can be prevented, in part, if the guidelines for eligibility and damage elements are not subjective in nature or are otherwise objectively verifiable. Presumptive awards, like the Unocal cash-out option, should be published. But publishing hypothetical awards can lead to claim creation/inflation. Publishing settlement ranges for each of the settlement options would give potential claimants adequare information to determine whether to file. > Administrative Appeal Procedures With experience supporting adminstrative appeals processes in several cases, including the complex Louisiana-Pacific siding class action, PD has found that certain procedures that can expedite the appeals process. In Louisiana-Pacific, a rejected claim appeals process was developed that separated procedural and substantive appeals. Appeals based on a procedural or calculation error were resolved by the Claims Administrator, while those that required a legal opinon were forwarded to the Special Master.[14] By having this system of administrative appeal, the Special Master's office or a third party arbitration/mediation vendor is only burdened with appeals that require a legal opinion. > FRAUD PREVENTION In PD's experience, although fraud does occur, it occurs infrequently. If it does occur, it usually occurs at the time disbursement is to be made (e.g. request for payee change on check). With proper proof of claimant status and strict adherence to claim change rules, fraud can be prevented. Examples of deterrents include requiring proofs of claim, signing a certification, independent review of claims, having an audit process, adding approval levels based on the size of the claim. Controls for fraud prevention should be considered as the claims and disbursement processes are defined. > Additional Comments >Notice Considerations - greater overall response is achieved through the use of direct mail, paid advertising and public relations programming Central to the design and implementation of a successful legal notice program is a clear understanding of how target audiences learn and understand new messages. Direct mail is only one method of communication important information to target audiences. Although DOJ may have access to mailing lists of potential victims (from e.g., the IRS), these lists will not be complete nor will they always contain information on next of kin and/or the current legal representative for a victim. Accordingly, a successful legal notice program includes not only a direct mail component, but also includes a well designed paid advertising and public relations program. Because Americans are saturated daily with marketing messages (the victims and friends and families of victims of the events of September 11th are no exception), legal notice programs with proper consideration to notice process increasingly need to correctly target audiences by defining them demographically and psychographically. Demography is the study of the characteristics of populations related to size, growth, density, distribution and vital statistics. Although demographic studies are important to the planning process, they are usually considered of secondary importance to psychographic studies that define media usage habits of individuals based on their values and lifestyle habits. With this information, legal noticing experts can develop highly targeted media plans based on media preferences of target groups. This is especially important in relation to the events of September 11th as many of the victims were not legal residents of the United States or were visiting nationals from other countries, which wouldn't allow DOJ to readily come up with a comprehensive list of these individuals. Using a mixture of both paid and earned media creates greater effectiveness in a legal notice program. Here, potential claimants have an increased opportunity to see the message and then take action on the message. Integration helps to: 1) reach people not reached with the first vehicle; 2) create higher overall reach and a greater opportunity to see the message; and 3) provide additional repeat exposure in a less expensive secondary vehicle after a maximum reach is achieved in the first vehicle. Public relations must be used in concert with paid media in order to support reach into a demographic target. Results from a public relations campaign are indirect and should not be used to supplant advertising. Public Relations are dependent on a host of factors that are difficult to control; ultimately an editor, reporter or special interest group will process the message and interpret it. However, in spite of its limitations, public relations work is an essential component in any effort to achieve effective public outreach. Studies show that information conveyed through editorials is generally more believable and acted upon more readily than conventional advertising. Both advertising and public relations must work hand-in-glove in order to achieve the goals of this plan. > Disbursement Considerations Either before a claim is adjudicated, after it is adjudicated or in tandern with the adjudication process, any other payment sources (insurance, other funds, etc.) that qualify to be considered as a deduction from payment by Victim Compensation Fund will need to be identified and researched. Since these payments may be made before, during or even after the Fund's payment is calculated, this could be a lengthy process. If other payments must be deducted from the Fund's payment and it is likely that it will be some time before the other payments are made, then the Fund may want to consider a two-stage settlement. The first stage will give a base amount to claimants to provide near term relief. Then the final amount of the Fund settlement will be determined as the other payments are made. > Technology Considerations The DOJ should endeavor to utilize current computer technology, which will increase speed and efficiency while decreasing processing costs and choose an administrator that is technologically advanced and able to use technology innovatively to reduce cost, without incurrig risk. Services to be considered by JOJ should include: Multi-lingual website, where any language can be loaded into one website.[15] Imaging services, bringing imaging and OCR technology in for use on complex cases. Software that integrates document images with database technology to form a comprehensive information base. Secure, On-Line Document Depository which permits 24-hour access to authorized users to case critical information, including claim forms, supporting documentation and images of physical proofs. Color laser printing of claimant specific documents and other notice, so that important passages, dates and other key information on the notices can be seen at a glance by color type. Address correction and standardization can be applied to improve the quality of mailings and reduce total costs. Computerized mail inserting equipment to insert multiple pieces into one envelope, including multiple page, personalized claim forms. Enhanced staff productivity through automation based on a backbone of the latest LAN/PC technology for rapid response and flexibility. Poorman-Douglas appreciates the opportunity to participate in the Department of Justice's comment process. If you have any questions regarding our comments, please contact me at . Sincerely, Comments by Poorman-Douglas Corporation ___________________ [1] Mowen and Minor, CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 334 (Prentice-Hall, 5th ed., 1998). [2] Http://www.fjc.gov. [3] MANUAL FOR COMPLEX LITIGATION THIRD 227 (3RD Ed., 1995). [4] A summary of the African American Farmers Discrimination case administration procedures and PD's work with the case Special Masters is attached hereto as Attachment 2. [5] The history of this litigation can be traced on the MDL-926 court's website, located at http://www.fjc.gov/BREIMLIT/mdl926.htm. [6] MDL-926 Order No. 27, et. seq. [7] Excluding the Dow Corning class members who were ineligible for the second settlement after Dow Corning filed for bankruptcy mid-1995. [8] A summary of the Swiss Banks case notice procedures is attached hereto as Attachment 3. [9] Trial Lawyers Care, Inc. is the non-profit corporation set up by volunteer trial lawyers across the nation to provide access to free legal services to the September 11th terrorist attack victims who are eligible and choose to make claims under the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. [10] Groups that have been collecting victim information include the Family Assistance Center, located at Pier 94 in New York City, and Trial Lawyers Care, Inc. [11] Procedures can be found on the official New York City website at http:/www.nyc.gov/html/cm/dth_cert.html. [12] From Appendix B to the Procedure for Issuance of Death Certifications for Individuals Currently Missing at the World Trade Center: In order to prevent fraud, next of kin making an application for a declaration of death should provide the following: photo identification (driver's license, passport, other government issued ID) of the next of kin signing the affidavit (the affiant), and a document or documents establishing the relationship between the affiant and the missing person; this proof may take a variety of forms, depending on the relationship between the next of kin and the missing person, but examples include: 1. for spouse, a marriage certificate. 2. for registered domestic partner, the domestic partnership registration. 3. for a child 18 years of age or older, or a parent, a birth certificate showing the missing person's relationship to such child or parent. 4. for a brother or sister, birth certificates of the missing person and such sibling showing common parents. [13] Class members were exposed to allegedly toxic or hazardous substances that were released from a Unocal refinery incident to several tank fire incidents. [14] Additional information on Louisiana-Pacific procedures can be obtained from the case Special Master and former Oregon State Supreme Court Judge, the Honorable Richard L. Unis, (503) 669-7286. [15] See the Swiss Bank website as an example, located at http://www.swissbankclaims.com/. 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 dojW000738.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. Thursday, December 06, 2001 3:01 AM To: Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs U.S. Department of Justice Mr. Zwick, I am a student at a nationally accredited Lutheran post-secondary institution. I am also a member of the UFMCC, a Christian denomination formed to welcome members of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender community. I am writing to you to request that you include 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. ; I am asking you, in the U.S. Government, to follow 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." I thank you for your time. And on behalf of the GLBT community, I wish you a blessed holiday season! Cordially, Individual Comment Seward, NE 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 dojA001099.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. Saturday, March 16, 2002 2:31 PM (no subject) Must our Government continue to separate and discriminate against our own people? I am 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. I'm carefully watching and waiting for the election of each of our Government officials. United we stand! 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 dojR000982.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. March 18, 2002 Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Sir; I am deeply troubled by your decision to discriminate against the families of gay and lesbian Americans. You have decided to pay the law breaking, non-tax paying illegal alien's families, but our families, again do not count. We knew things like this would happen with John Ashcroft at the helm of the Justice Department. We are people. We pay our taxes, we have children and partners that depend on us. Some of the heroes of the 9/11 attacks were gay. You insult their memory by further victimizing their families. We will not forget the shame you have brought on yourself on election day. You should resign, and allow someone who can be fair to ALL to take your place. If Mr. Ashcroft can't put his religion aside and treat us like human beings, he too, should resign. We are people, and we indeed are citizens of this country. You've placed us below the status of illegal aliens in our own country. I once thought we were second class citizens, but is is clear the Justice Department regards us and as less than that, we are not even citizens. Shame on you sir. I hope you can live with yourself after you further victimize the partners and the children who have lost their gay family members in this tragedy. You are not any better than the terrorists who killed them. In my opinion you are worse. You claim the reason you'll discriminate is because gay people are not legally married, yet it is people like you who lobby to keep us from marriage. I am incredibly ashamed of you and the Justice Department. Sincerely, Individual Comment Dunbar, Wi 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 dojR002717.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. 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 Denver, CO 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 dojA004970.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. Monday, November 26, 2001 5:46 PM comments I appreciate this opportunity to express my thoughts. My younger brother was killed in the Sept 11 attacks at the WTC. He was 37 yrs old, married for 1 year and did not yet have children. He was a trader at a firm in the North tower. He was very successful in his field, earning close to 1M per year. He was the kind of guy that makes America great. Competitive, athletic, generous, tenacious and trusting. My brother's generosity, his thoughtfulness, his capacity to bring about connection and understanding, his ability to lead and inspire are qualities that are lost forever. I've read through a few of the comments posted by others. Many make sense to me. A few of the clear sighted comments seem to be about not allowing any type of offset, and providing some idea of the potential min benefit if the Government requires that beneficiaries sign off on not filing suit. Many of those contributing comments will never know the type of loss our family has suffered. In reading their comments I feel distanced by their emphasis on a particular formula or an analogy to be used as a model. Very few reflect an awareness of the monumental tragedy that has transpired. My theme in writing this message is to express the symbolic significance of how the Victims Compensation is handled. Valuating life is usually God's task. Thousands of beautiful Americans, many the best and brightest, were murdered that day. Many more thousands were directly affected. The management of the victims compensation will say it all about how America responds to the unparalleled grief of its own. It will be a reflection of our national character, it should show generosity and dignity, it should realistically seek to compensate for the profound sacrifice that the victims and their families suffered. It should be the deeply compassionate response of a morally responsible world superpower. The message sent should seek to balance with the loss suffered. I am optimistic that the fund will be handled this way. Very truly yours. Individual Comment Philadelphia, PA 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 dojW000675.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. December 14, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Columbus, OH 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 dojA004431.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 11:49 AM 9/11 benefits To whom it may concern: please forward this message to Kenneth Feinberg I have recently learned that the 9/11 fund will not compensate families of gay and lesbian victims of the September 11 attacks. I am deeply outraged by this. Horrified would perhaps be a better word. My partner and I are as married as we can possibly be: we have been together for eight years and travelled to Vermont for a civil union, the only legal union permitted to us in the U.S. We provide each other with daily emotional, financial, and practical support. As a couple we have outlasted the "legal" marriages of some of our straight friends. Why in the world should the destruction of such a family through terrorism be viewed as any less tragic? Please do not hide behind the excuse that state law may not recognize our marriages. At one time interracial marriage was illegal in some states but not others; if that were still the case, would you have ordered compensation only to same-race spouses of the victims? Believe me, the decision to exclude same-sex partners is exactly the moral equivalent of such hateful discrimination. It is the sort of policy I would expect of Al-Qaida, not of my own supposedly democratic and compassionate government. PLEASE DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO ENSURE FAIRNESS IN THIS MATTER. Very sincerely yours,Individual Comment Northampton, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000412.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, March 18, 2002 5:02 PM RE: September 11th Fund Payments I have just received a very interesting email from a friend of mine who happens to be gay. I am NOT gay and yet I am outraged at what I have just read. Since when do we ignore laws for some people but not for others?? I regards to the payments being met out but the September 11th Fund, I have been informed that members of Gay and Lesbian Families are not receiving equal consideration for payments, that families of heterosexual, illegal alien and foreign families are getting. Why is this? We are a country made up of people from all walks of life and to continue to set certain people aside based on what they are rather than who they are, goes against the very fabric that this country was founded on and what was mended by the events of September 11th. Take the time to put yourself in the position of the families that have been touched by this tragedy. Now imagine that you are a gay family. How would you feel if someone was ignoring you pain your anger your hurt and your loss merely because of who your partner is or was. If this does not change your mind then you are not the kind of American that you claim to be. Please put equality back where it belongs, in your hearts, in your minds, in your words, and in you actions. 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 dojR001767.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. Thursday, March 28, 2002 11:10 AM Domestic partner compensation PLEASE provide compensation to domestic partners of gay and lesbian victims of the September 11 tragedy as you would to spouses of married victims. They are Americans too and deserve equal treatment. Please do the right thing and take care of all of our citizens. Individual Comment Redmond, WA 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 dojR002790.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, December 19, 2001 2:32 PM Request for public comment 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 gays and lesbians. 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. I urge the Department to treat the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment Boston, 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 dojA003400.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. Monday, November 26, 2001 8:40 AM Notice of Rulemaking As an advisor to one of the families victimized by the events of September 11, I write to provide you with comments on three points that are (I believe) fundamental to the efficacy of the victim compensation program you are creating: 1. Collateral Proceeds: You must take care not to exclude too many collateral sources of recovery from mediation awards by the fund or else you will end up dissuading many victims from participating in the fund. In this regard, it makes sense to exclude collateral sources of recovery provided by the government from any mediation awards, but it makes no sense to exclude collateral sources from private third-parties. Life insurance proceeds are perhaps the best example of collateral source recoveries that fall into this latter category. 2. Pain and Suffering:. The mediation process must be designed to ensure a fair recovery for the "pain and suffering" of victim families. The biggest fear I have heard discussed to date about the mediation program centers around this point. There is a perception that professional mediators will tend to be more grudging than jurors in their evaluation of the financial awards necessary to redress such suffering. That perception needs to be eliminated to encourage maximum victim participation in this program. 3. Economists:. While I think that the general approach of not requiring testimony by economists is a sound one, you must also protect the ability of particular victims to present such evidence from economists if they desire to do so. Obviously, not all victims' cases will fit nicely within the parameters of generalized economic assumptions and guidelines. Those that do not should be able to amplify their presentations with their own economic evidence. Thank you for your consideration of these points. Individual Comment Washington, DC 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 dojW000560.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. December 18, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Olema, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA005027.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, March 20, 2002 6:01 PM Benefits for Gay partners To whom it may concern: I am among the vast numbers of American Citizens who are totally outraged at the discrimination against the partners of gay and lesbian HUMAN BEINGS who lost loved ones in the horror of 9/11. Are we to have learned nothing at all by this national tragedy? Isn't it time for those of you who do not understand the nature of gay partnerships and gay families to get yourself some education and stop the blatant cruelty against these families who depended on their gay partner or parents for support? These families lost just as much as did heterosexual ones. Help them, too! They are in the same war that this nation is fighting. They merely lost their loved ones on the first attack. Come on, America. Lets get CIVILIZED. SENT PROUDLY BY Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-20 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 dojR002412.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. 2002-03-20