80 20 12614 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, November 06, 2001 9:48 AM Distribution of the Victim Compensation Fund To: Department of Justice Date: November 6, 2001 Re: Distribution of the Victim Compensation Fund to terrorist attack victims I believe that distributions from the Victim Compensation Fund should take into account amounts received from charitable donations. As a small donor, it was not my intent that direct victims should become richer as a result of this tragedy. No amount of money will ever replace a loved one, and efforts to simply give more money to the victims' families as compensation are doomed to failure. Rather I would hope that through a combination of government benefits and charity the victims should be made whole, which may include some compensation for future loss of earnings or services. There are certainly many other needs in the war on terrorism for government funds "saved" by taking into account charitable contributions. It was my intent as a contributor and my hope that the vast amounts of money received through charity would be used to help the City of New York and other victims of the attack, not just those who lost a loved one. Those victims include the families and individuals who lost homes, small businesses who lost their place of business either permanently or temporarily, and individuals who require more extensive mental health services as a result of the attacks. (Those victims do not include businesses such as the greedy Boston bar owner whose tourist business was reduced after September 11. While unfortunate, that is simply one of the risks of being in business. He is on his own in a weakened economy, just like the rest of us.) We must not forget that there are still other people in need as well, both in the U.S. and around the world. It is time for generous Americans to turn their contributions toward meeting some of those needs as an additional stand against terrorism. Contributions to organizations such as the Heifer Project, which helps people around the world improve nutrition and standard of living, can do much to alleviate conditions that may spawn terrorism. Individual Comment Madrid, Iowa September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-06 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000052.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-06 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, January 22, 2002 7:28 AM Victim Compensation Is compensation only available to victims if 9/11? Yes, they are deserving, but no more or less than the victims of Oklahoma City or a member of the armed forces killed in action. How about a member of the armed forces killed in an accident? Or any American who dies through no fault of their own? Are they not also entitled? Their families need financial help. Who will compensate them? Individual Comment Dayton MD September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002205.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 14, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Las Vegas, NM September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA004935.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. 9 January 2002 To our Elected Officials: In the immediate aftermath of the tragic attack of September 11th upon our nation, Congress enacted the Victims' Compensation Fund of 2001 P.L. 107-42, to compensate the relatives of the victims of that brutal attack. As you know, this Fund was enacted as part of a comprehensive package which bailed out the airline industry and imposed restrictions on the rights of the victims' relatives to sue the airlines in court. We implore upon you, as our elected officials, to demand changes to the interim rules issued by Kenneth Feinberg, the Special Master. As it stands, Mr. Feinberg's self-imposed rules fail to satisfy the letter or the spirit of the legislation which was enacted. Specifically, we request that you act on our behalf and demand the following changes to the interim rules: 1. The arbitrary income limits imposed by the Special Master are not only unfair but also inconsistent with the letter and the spirit of the law. Those victims from the financial industry are specifically harmed by this limit. They were targeted and murdered precisely because of the jobs they held, and where they worked-the World Trade Center, the Financial Capital of the world, the embodiment of financial success. Those who achieved such success should see that reflected in their awards. They personified American Business and commerce, democracy and freedom. We ask that you demand that Mr. Feinberg lift the arbitrary income limits so that each family can be treated fairly, commensurate with the support they provided their families before their death. 2. Mr. Feinberg has arbitrarily restricted the non-economic awards for pain and suffering, no matter what the extent of the pain and suffering. This is unacceptable. In the words of Rep. Peter King, "...every death is tragic. A murder is particularly tragic. But to have your loved one murdered in a burning building in full view of the world - in a scene which will be repeated in the media for decades to come-is a horror these families will never escape from... The Special Master cannot take it upon himself to restrict the rights of the families." Therefore, we request that the interim rules be amended to more appropriately compensate the victims' families for the immeasurable pain and suffering endured by our loved ones. As Mayor Giuliani stated in his farewell address: "we have an obligation to the people who did die... Their families need to be protected just as if they had been alive, financially and every other way that we can help and assist their families...There should be no compromise about that ever..."We request that the interim rules be amended and redefined to the extent that income caps be removed when computing economic loss and that compensation for pain and suffering more accurately reflect that horror which was suffered. Justice demands no less. Sincerely, Individual Comment Staten Island, NY Dear Mr. Feinberg: My wife and I would like to take this opportunity to voice our concerns over what appears to be a cruel injustice being played upon us and other families who have suffered a devastating loss on September 11, 2001. Our son fell victim that day in this tragic event. The lives of my family were all horribly changed that day. The hope and dreams that we shared as a family will never come to pass. The future joys of holding my son's children will never be realized. Birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas and the like will never be the same. We, like so many others, were dramatically affected by the cruel and sadistic plans of people who placed very little value on the lives of innocent victims. Which is why it saddens me to believe would now like to see pain by throwing salt into our wounds in the guise of a fund whose purpose it is to help us. What this fund, "September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, actually does is limit, and in my case, excludes compensation from those who the statute designates as eligible. According to sec. 403 of 49 USC 40101, "...the purpose of this title is to provide compensation to any individual (or relatives of a deceased individual) who was physically injured or killed... September 11, 2001." If this is the Act's purpose then why are my wife and I excluded from seeking compensation for the wrongful death of my son. Nowhere in this Act is a clear and concise explanation or definition as to who is considered a relative for the purposes of receiving compensation. The act only points to a spouse or child of the victim. It is ambiguous as to all others. Are the parents of the deceased so unimportant to you as to exclude them from seeking compensation for their loss. Is their loss any less important then that of a spouse. We lost our son. A child that we raised and loved every day of every year of his life. Yet you and the actions of your office seek to eliminate any hope we may have of receiving justice for his death. With all of the pain that we are experiencing it is inconceivable that you would further add to this by an unjust system guaranteed to only compound that grief. We ask that you and your staff re-evaluate your clear violation of the Act's intended purpose. In doing so you should place an emphasis on defining the meaning of "relative" and take into account that a victim's family Pg 3 of 3 also lost something they can never have back. My son will never come back to me. This is my only recourse to obtain some sense of justice and your office is trying to deny me that. We implore you to do what's right and fair. Don't make us suffer more. Sincerely Yours Individual Comment Staten Island, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-31 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 dojN002480.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-31 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 19, 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 Dearborn, MI September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA005452.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. Friday, December 14, 2001 5:15 AM Protect Traditional Marriage Mr. Kenneth Zwick Office of Management Programs Department of Justice Washington, DC Dear Mr. Zwick: I want to express my opposition to any effort by the federal government to provide 9-11 victim compensation funds to "domestic partners" of unmarried survivors of the terrorist attack upon our nation. Funds disbursed through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 should only go to the surviving family members of those who died on 9-11. Funds must go to the widows, widowers, orphans, and other blood-related or adopted members of the family--not to unmarried sexual partners of those who died. To provide funds to "domestic partners" is to undermine the traditional definition of marriage and family to include any number of sexual liaisons between same-sex or opposite-sex unmarried couples. Many homosexuals and swinging heterosexuals, for example, engage in sex with multiple partners. Do we provide funds to each of the sexual partners? Where do we draw the line on how many "domestic partners" a person may have? Homosexual activists are exploiting the 9-11 tragedy by asking the federal government to redefine what constitutes a legitimate "family" under the law. In fact, homosexual activist , writing in Out magazine has openly called for the subversion of the concept of marriage between a man and a woman. He has urged homosexuals to fight for the legalization of homosexual marriages and once legalized to "redefine the institution of marriage completely . . . . to debunk a myth and radically alter an archaic institution. . . . The most subversive action lesbians and gays can under take--and one that would perhaps benefit all of society--is to transform the notion of 'family' entirely." If the DOJ provides funds to "domestic partners," it will be helping accomplish his goal: That of redefining marriage and altering what he calls an "archaic institution." We also oppose September 11th Funds going to the estates of the deceased instead of to their surviving family members. No one can know for certain where these funds will end up if they are deposited in the estate of a person who has died. The person may have willed his estate to a terrorist, racial hate group, or even to an organization like the North American Man-Boy Love Association. No one will know unless each person's will is examined by a DOJ lawyer. The money should go to the surviving family members of the deceased, not to the estate or to the surviving "domestic partner." Individual Comment Mt. Juliet, TN 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 dojA001702.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. Monday, March 25, 2002 3:00 PM 9/11 Fund Please change your minds! The Sept 11 fund cannot discriminate agains heros just becuase of their sexual orientation. If someone has lost thier life partner (equivalent to commonlaw) then they should be compensated with everyone else - even the illegal aliens get it! Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-25 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 dojR002721.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. 2002-03-25 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. Kenneth L. Zeick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington D.C. 20530 January 21, 2002 Re: September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, Interim Final Rule with Request for Comments Dear Director Zwick: I commend the United States Congress and the United States Department of Justice for striving to develop a fair alternative to litigation for families affected by the horrific events of September 11th. Having lost my brother on September 11th in the North Building of the World Trade Center, I have a personal interest in ensuring that my family's rights are protected. My brother, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , was survived by his wife, my parents and myself. Each of us is devastated by his murder. We are struggling to cope with the loss of someone so absolutely special to all of us. Overview of Comments As currently drafted, I am concerned that the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is flawed for the following reasons: 1. The Interim Final Rule (hereinafter"Rule") lacks clarity regarding which family members are included in the allocation scheme. The Rule's reliance on state law confuses the issue, rather than clarifies it, as state law conflicts on this issue. I urge that the Rule be changed to state clearly that parents, children and spouses are all presumed to be eligible for distribution of compensation awards. 2. The Rule's preamble specifically states the need for claimants to be provided enough information so that they may an informed decision whether to enter the program, and thus whether to waive their right to file a civil action. However, to ensure an informed decision can be made by families, the final regulations must include a "Table of Presumed Distributions," similar to the "Presumed Economic and Non-Economic Loss Tables" provided as part of the Interim Final Rule. 3. The Rule runs counter to public policy by deducting life insurance from the ultimate award. Families of the victims should not be penalized because of the sensible financial planning of their lost loved ones. In the absence of a change, the Department of Justice should, at the very least, ensure that the offset be only applied to the portion of the allocation that is provided to the specific beneficiaries of the collateral sources (in contrast to applying the offset equally to all beneficiaries of the Victims Compensation Fund). 4. The Rule does not provide for disclosure and notice to all living, immediate family members, thus creating the real potential of an unknowing waiver of suit. My specific comments are provided below. Comments 1. The Regulations and Guidance Should Clearly State that Parents Whose Children Were Killed on September 11th, in addition to the Spouses and Children of Such Victims, Are Presumed to be Eligible for Distribution of all Compensation Awards The Interim Final Rule does not state clearly whether the intention of the Fund is to provide compensation to the parents whose children were killed on September 11th. My brother was 33 years of age when he was killed. He is survived by his wife of six years, my parents, and myself. We are a very close family. My parents have been devastated by loss of their only son who they nurtured, cared for and loved for 33 years. I still find it hard to believe that my brother is no longer alive. I am suddenly an only child with parents to support. Although on September 11th, my sister-in-law was the only family member financially dependent on my brother, my brother and I agreed years earlier that if my parents ever needed financial support as they aged, he and I would gladly share that cost. Thus, a future economic loss, which is extremely difficult to quantify, was created on September 11th but ignored by the Special Master when drafting the rule. Moreover, the pain suffered by my parents, a non-economic loss, has been extraordinary. Yet the Rule does not consider their pain and suffering and actually intensifies their sense of loss of presumed them minimizing their loss. I urge you to specifically add parents to the list of presumed beneficiaries, especially in those cases where the victim was married but had no children. For the purposes of the distribution of any compensation to be awarded, the interim final Rule states: "The Personal Representative shall distribute the award in a manner consistent with the law of the decedent's domicile or any applicable rulings made by a court of competent jurisdiction." Section 104.52 But which provision within a given state's law applies? Is it the provision of New York estate law that specifies the distribution of assets when a person dies intestate? Or is it the provision of New York estate law that specifies the distribution of awards in a wrongful death action? The answer to these questions will have a profound impact on many families, as results are dramatically different in these two scenarios. In my family, for instance, under New York state intestacy rules when a married person dies without children, but with living parents, the spouse inherits 100% of the estate. However, under the same scenario, but applying the section of New York State law dealing with wrongful death actions (EPTL Section 5-4.4), parents of children without children of their own are specifically named distributees, even if they are not recognized by the state as beneficiaries of the estate. Thus, under one provision of New York law my parents will benefit from the Fund, but under another provision, they will not. In a meeting with the Bar Association of the City of New York on January 17th, Special Master Kenneth Feinberg stated that there was no need to create new law where settled law already existed. However, no state that I am aware of contains a provision in their estate law that specifically deals with the issue at hand. Before January 17th, I believed that the wrongful death provisions of New York State law were the closest parallel and thus would apply here. I still so believe this is true. However, on January 17th, Special Master Feinberg seemed to indicate otherwise in response to a question. In fact, he stated that perhaps clarity was not a good thing in this area since state laws varied considerably on the issue of distributions. How can a family member make a knowledgeable and educated decision as to whether to apply to the fund, and thus waive their right to sue, if they do not know if they will be a beneficiary of the Fund? Such a basic issue must be resolved before any individual can decide whether to waive their right to sue. The final regulations and guidance to be issued under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 should clearly state who will benefit. To do otherwise will create undo confusion and pain for families who have already suffered for too much. To neglect to provide the clarity requested here will result in needless pain and suffering clearly not envisioned when Congress passed Title IV (Victim Compensation) of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (the "Act"). 2. A "Table of Presumed Distributions," similar to the "Presumed Economic and Non- Economic Loss Tables" Provided as Part of the Interim Final Rule, Should Be Included in the Final Regulations to Ensure That Families Are Able to Make Informed Decisions Regarding Whether to Enter the Program. The preamble to the Interim Final Rule specifically states- "[T]hat claimants be able to enter the program - or choose not to enter the program - with an understanding of how their claims will be treated. This is especially important because... a claimant waives the right to file a civil action for damages sustained as a result of the September 11 attacks. For claimants to make an informed decision regarding this waiver, they should have some understanding of how their award will be calculated and how much they would receive from the Fund should they decide to file a claim." (italics added). Thus, one of the purposes of the regulations is to provide enough information to families so that they can make a knowledgeable decision about whether to file a claim with the Fund. This is the reason why the Presumed Economic and Non-Economic Loss Tables were provided. However, without knowing what percentage of the award will be awarded to specific family members, a knowledgeable decision can not be made. For this reason, a "Presumed Distribution Table," such as the one provided below, should be incorporated into the final regulations. Sample Presumed Distribution Table Surviving Immediate Spouse Parents Children Living Family Members Spouse 100% - - Spouse & Parents 50% 50% - Spouse, Parents, & 40% 40% 20% children 3. To Deduct Life Insurance and Pension Payment From the Compensation Awards is Counter to Public Policy and is Grossly Unfair to Families Whose Loved Ones Took responsible Steps to Plan For Their Families' Futures. To deduct life insurance from the compensation awards is counter to public policy and sends an awful message to families planning for their futures. Simply because some of the victims had the foresight to provide for their families should not be held against them. This is why in most civil litigation, life insurance is not deducted from damage awards. Should it not be possible to modify the regulations due to the language of the Act itself requiring that compensation must be reduced by collateral sources (Section 405(b)(6)), perhaps an alternative would be to reduce the compensation by a percentage of the total amount of the collateral sources. Nothing in the Act specifies that the reduction must be dollar for dollar. Lastly, with regard to collateral sources, the regulations should specify that in the event that there are multiple beneficiaries for the compensation award (as advocated herein), the collateral sources shall only offset the portion of the award allocated to those individuals that received such collateral sources.1 To do otherwise, would unfairly reduce the compensation of those family members who did not benefit from the collateral sources in the first place. 4. The Claim Form Should Include a Provision Requiring Disclosure of, and to, all Living Immediate Family Members In Order to Ensure that a Knowing and Effective Waiver of Suit is Made We are all at a significant disadvantage in that no claim form was provided in the Interim Final Rule to review. Thus, in the absence of such a draft form, one can only speculate what will be asked of the personal representative when making a claim. At a minimum, the form should require the personal representative to disclose the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all living immediate family members. For the purposes of this regulation, immediate family members should be defined to include spouses, children, parents, and siblings. In addition, the regulations should also require that effective notice of the filing of a claim (within a reasonable period of time) be given to all such relatives providing them the opportunity to opt in or out. To do otherwise would unfairly affect other relative's right to sue by risking an unknowing waiver of the right to sue. No one should be bound by the actions of others of which they were not made aware. Conclusion Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this Interim Final Rule. I would be happy to provide any further comments or clarification to you office should it be helpful. I can be reached at . Sincerely, Individual Comment Washington, D.C. cc: Attorney General John Ashcroft Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton Senator Charles Schumer September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-21 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 dojN002436.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, November 28, 2001 5:08 PM Victims compensation Please include Victims Compensation to the partners and children of persons in the GBLT community lost on Ssptember 11th. These are loving families who have suffered just a great a loss as in the straight families. Thank you......... ....... Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-28 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 dojA000127.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. 2001-11-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, November 19, 2001 9:54 PM Topic #5 - Claimant Eligibility Regarding your Topic #5 on Claimant Eligibility, I request that you consider those unborn children who were killed along with their pregnant mothers as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks as "eligible victims." Thank you. Individual Comment Watkinsville, GA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-19 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 dojW000417.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. 2001-11-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, March 13, 2002 3:46 PM Policy on not distributing funds to gay survivors I understand that the task of distributing these funds is huge, beyond comprehension and I salute you for taking on such a feat. However, seeing this article: http://uspolitics.about.com/library/weekly/aa031102a.htm has astounded me in it's lack of compassion. A survivor is the person left behind to cover the bills. Gay or straight, the mortgage and rent bills keep coming. How could you not help those people? It's hard enough to lose your partner in life, what a slap in the face it is to deny them public relief money. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000672.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, March 21, 2002 7:51 PM How are we so different? Don't we have red blood? Don't we cry clear tears? Don't we matter? 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 dojR002583.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. Tuesday, December 04, 2001 5:46 PM Compensation for All Children of Victims Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Dear Sir - Please see that ALL children of 9/11 victims are compensated. Children of gays and lesbians should not be further discriminated against. Children are children. Thank you, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-04 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000417.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-04 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 13, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment North Hollywood, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA003922.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, DC 20515-2107 January 18, 2002 The Honorable Kenneth Feinberg Special Master September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Mr. Feinberg: I am writing on the Department of Justice (DOJ) September 11th Victim Compensation Fund interim final rule published in the Federal Register December 21, 2001 (28 CRF part 104). Let me begin by commending you for accepting the challenging position of Special Master I appreciate the work that you and the Department of Justice have accomplished with respect to this interim final rule to compensate the victims of the tragic September 11th attacks. No monetary sum could ever truly approximate full compensation for the loss of life or livelihood, a fact that makes this task ever more difficult. Nonetheless, Congressional action mandates that we come as close as possible to fairly compensating the victims and their loved ones for their damages and sustained losses. As you know, many of the victims of September 11th are concerned about the Victim's Compensation Plan interim final rule. My district was particularly affected because many of the World Trade Center victims were Boston area aircraft passengers. In this letter, I bring some of these concerns to your attention so that you may consider making appropriate adjustments to the published rules. On September 22, 2001 the President signed into law the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act, which constituted a $15 billion bail-out package in cash and loan guarantees for the airlines. In addition, the law capped the airlines' liability for the September 11th attacks with the effect of potentially depriving victims the opportunity to obtain full and fair compensation through litigation. Recognizing that victims' awards could be limited, Congress created the Victims Compensation Fund to provide a litigation alternative. Victims who elect compensation through the Fund relinquish their right to sue. There are four areas of concern where modifications should be considered prior to the final rule's publication in early February in order to adequately compensate victims and loved ones. These include increasing non-economic compensatory damages, adjusting the formula for economic damages, clarifying the collateral offset rule, and refining the burden of proof required by beneficiaries who request a hearing to receive increased compensation. As you know, the Fund provides for damages limited to $250,000 per victim and $50,000 for a spouse and each dependent. These awards are extremely low when compared to what most victims of airlines crashes or terrorism have won through the courts. It is common for juries to award sums to The Honorable Kenneth Feinberg Special Master September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Page 2 victims of such tragedies in excess of $1 million. I ask that you reconsider the damages caps to ensure that they reflect the broad array of non-economic losses clearly outlined in the statute. With respect to the formula used for calculating presumed economic damages numerous experts have expressed the view that the methodology is flawed based on the use of outdated federal government data. If this criticism is accurate, I would ask that you reconsider this formula, or at a minimum, update the baseline data to more accurately reflect current incomes and pension requirements for claimants of the Fund. Regarding collateral source payments, I am very pleased that charitable contributions are not a required offset for claimants of the Fund award. However, the required offsets for collateral source payments should take into account any tax liability incurred by a collateral source payment or any fee required to secure a collateral source payment. Finally, I ask that you reconsider the high standard required by claimants to increase their presumed award. The Fund's hearings require that claimants demonstrate "extraordinary circumstances" in order to increase their award. This threshold appears to unjustifiably limit claimants from securing appropriate compensation. I ask that a more reasonable requirement be considered for adjustments in Fund awards. The victims of this horrific tragedy from my district and from throughout the country were the first casualties in our nation's war against terrorism. The families of the victims now bear the enormous burden of healing and moving on with their lives. They are being promised full and fair compensation in exchange for waiving their right to sue for damages. The federal government had an obligation to keep its promise so that these remarkable Americans are not victimized again. I urge you to weigh carefully their legitimate concerns regarding the interim final rule. I thank you for your consideration of these important issues. Sincerely, Comment by: Edward J. Markey Member of Congress September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002446.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, November 13, 2001 5:48 PM Comments from the Pentagon Families If the fund distribution is going to be made on an equal basis, then why does it look as if there will be deductions for some families that may have the good fortune or better planning to have insurance coverages. After all, we paid the premiums out of our pocket or paycheck so it is not as if someone or some agency gave us something. I do not object to insuring every family is provided for and in some cases, perhaps a little more for those that are just starting out or in economic hardship over losing their primary income. I do object to applying some social scale or degree of need. Therefore, I hope this fund is distributed with economic justice and not try to make it another social justice program. That only hurts everyone in the long run. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000339.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. 2001-11-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Saturday, November 17, 2001 6:55 PM (no subject) the victims of the wtc are different from any other of the stories. these people went to work and there country didnt protect them.the working people who paid their taxes did not deserve the gov. to sit on their assses an let the terrorirts kill our families and not be compensated for it,let the FBI give up their pay checks because they didnt earn it. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000375.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. 2001-11-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 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 Brooklyn, NY 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 dojA005193.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. Tuesday, December 11, 2001 8:09 PM Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. It is unquestionable that the devastating grief and economic losses suffered by the families of gay and lesbian victims are no less than that of other families. Just as the terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. I urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001492.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. 2001-12-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, March 24, 2002 11:02 AM Discrimanation Come on, discrimination against gay couples? That's what I've been hearing and reading. Hasn't 911 day taught all American's that we are much more 'same' than 'different?' You even include in your compensation "illegal aliens." Let us NOT go back to our old partisan ways. Gay couples deserve compensation too. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-24 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 dojR002674.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. 2002-03-24