677 20 70359 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, December 16, 2001 12:35 PM Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice December 16, 2001 Dear Director Zwick: I have friends in New York City that are two women who have been together for 15 years. They are as married as I am in a heterosexual relationship. Six years ago they adopted a child that was abandoned by a drug-addicted white middle class young woman. This child has been raised in love, with two hard working parents. One of her parents conducted tours at the World Trade Center and for some amazing reason was off on September 10th. If she had died, restrictions to your program would have kept the child from receiving compensation for the loss of her parent. I urge you work for regulations governing the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund" which will ensure that compensation is available to all surviving families of those killed, INCLUDING the committed partners and non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. They are all hardworking Americans. They deserve to be treated as such. Thank you. Sincerely, Individual Comment Athens, GA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA002066.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 06, 2001 11:42 AM Include gay and lesbian families as fund beneficiaries December 6, 2001 Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice victimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov 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 Chicago, IL 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 dojA001151.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. Advbenefits, Victimcomp Subject: 911 Fund I just read a commentary , by , entitled "9/11 Fund to Discrimiate Against Gays" with horror. This country of ours has institutionalized bigotry and discrimination. I don't understand why you have to play in the politics instead of doing what's right. Partners of Gay Americans, that died in 9/11, deserve to participate in the fund as much as any American does. Shame on you for furthering the American way of discrimination. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-14 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 dojR000330.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. 2002-03-14 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. Friday, March 29, 2002 12:54 PM compensation for gay victims of Sept.11 It has come to my attention that the surviving partners of gay victims of Sept.11 may not be eligible for compensation. I certainly hope that I have been misinformed, because if the fund is really discriminating against the Americans simply because they are gay, then one is forced to wonder whether the struggle against tyranny and illiberalism should not include the Sept.11 fund itself. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR002853.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. 2002-03-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. 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 theoption 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 Sacaramento, 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 dojA005035.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. Friday, November 30, 2001 4:48 PM September 11th Victim's Fund Please take into consideration those very real "families" that do not fit into the "traditional" molds. I lost my life partner when she went to work September 11, 2001 in the WTC buildings. I have been crying and grieving everyday since then, the SAME as hundreds and thousands of other "spouses" who have lost their loved ones. We shared our home, shared bills, shared love and many happy times together. We had made a commitment to each other and were indeed "family" to each other. We were first & foremost to each other. I firmly believe domestic partners whether same-sex or not, absolutely MUST be acknowledged and afforded the SAME rights, privileges and priority as would any other 'legal' spouse. Why should a brother or sister who did NOT provide for any type of support either financially or emotionally in addition to those who disapproved of their lost sibling's life-style now find themselves with a potential "windfall" simply because they are "next of kin". I am taking medication just to function normally, my work has suffered due to days missed because its difficult to know that she's gone and now I'm alone so subsequently I am docked pay. There is no amount of money that can give me back the person that I have loved. She was taken from me because of the ignorance and hatred of others. To provide financial compensation without consideration as to how and with whom a victim shared their life would be wrong. Please DO NOT DISHONOR HER - Please DO THE RIGHT THING. Do not insult or dishonor the many others who are in my very same situation. Thank you. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-30 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 dojA000231.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. 2001-11-30 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, November 07, 2001 5:34 PM rules for victim's fund To be fair, there should be a limit on total aid received. I say this as both a taxpayer and a charitable contributer. Financial resources are finite and the victims eligible for aid are not the only people to suffer from the WTC disaster; unemployment is climbing and the economy is stalling. My opinion is that victims should receive the monies donated to charities first, including the Red Cross, and the government should fill in the gaps. The loved ones lost in the disaster cannot be replaced by dollars. While their families deserve financial assistance, they should not unreasonably profit at the expense of others. Individual Comment Fayetteville, AR September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000205.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 20, 2001 1:07 PM 9/11 relief fund December 20, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment New York City, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA004493.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, January 13, 2002 2:31 PM Comments to Interim Rules Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20530 Ref: Presumed Economic and Non-Economic Loss Tables After reading the above reference explanation and tables, I hereby submit my comments for your consideration and hopefully incorporation into any changes that you are considering: a.) The matrix does not appear to be correct in determining the total compensation due a decedent?s family, example: Category Age Income Matrix Value Non-Economic Net After Non-Economic Loss Loss Single / No Dependents 25 $35,000 $673,043 $250,000 $423,043 Married / No Dependents 25 $35,000 $1,296,190 $300,000 $996,190 The calculation is saying that two individuals making the same amount of money and the same age, one?s family will receive more than twice as much money as the single person's family, yet there is no reason given as to why. What is the logic? What about the single person being engaged, therefore wouldn?t that mean that the single person?s amount would increase. The disparity is far too great without a reasonable explanation. It would appear that the single person is being discriminated against. b.) Other source compensation ? Based upon the explanation given in the above reference and what has been stated in the newspaper, employer-provided benefits would be deducted from the tables. What about employer provided 401(k) plans and profit sharing plans. These plans are in fact assets of the decedent not the employer. Although provided by the employer, if the employee was to have terminated the funds would have followed the employee. Is it the intent of the government to take away assets of the employee? c.) Present value calculation ? The factor given is 5.13% over a risk free interest rate. I am under the assumption that investments of this type do not allow for principal reductions, annuity payments. In fact current annuity rates are nearer 4.5%. If this is correct you are deducting a significant amount from the families. d.) It has been stated that the average family will receive 1.6 million dollars. That is the GROSS amount, not the net amount. Assume that your estimate is correct at a GROSS amount of 1.6 million dollars, then you subtract out social security benefits, benefits for spouses and children under the age of 18 (government programs), pension benefits (including employer and employee contributions to a 401(k) retirement plan, IRAs, Roth accounts, SEP etc.), life insurance employer and employee paid for including term and cash value, (assets of the decedent), my estimate would put the net actual compensation paid to a family from the government to be nearer 400,000 to 600,000 or based upon the 3,000 decedents only 1,2 billion to 1.8 billion dollars a far cry to the amount being stated in the newspapers. It would appear that your calculation maybe very conservative, f.) The consumption factor appears to be incorrect. If one reviews the matrix for a single person no dependents and compares it to a single person with one dependent, the table indicates that for the same age and income a single person with a dependent receives a large amount of money, yet based upon the ?consumption factor? the cost to support the dependent should be deducted leaving less money for that family, not more money for the dependent. g.) Did the government compare what similar airline accident insurance suits are worth? The law, in which the settlements are determined, does NOT state that the government should reduce for consumption factor, use present value factors, use inflation factors for wages and clearly does not limit the income at the top two percent. It only addresses the issue of collateral source recovery. The public should be made aware of the differences and why you are selecting the current method. The law was NOT enacted for the victims, but rather for the airline industry and a way to limit the costly legal and financial exposure that the airline industry and others would be exposed too. Clearly the government would rather be looked as the great hand of giving to the widow and orphans of this very tragic event in our nation?s history, but instead, the government is appearing to be a defender of big business and giving ?short-shrift? to those in tears and sorrow. Clearly, the government need not give away the store, for a bird in hand is in fact greater than two in the bush. The government is not paying the legal expenses for the decedent?s family. The trial lawyers? organization has agreed not to charge the families. So the settlements can be 1/3rd lower. Yes the law must be adhere to, unless of course, you wish to make take a stand and tell of the unfairness in the law and what changes should be made and why. Even if you do not want to change the law, at least you can increase the compensation stated in the tables. Hopefully you are looking to be fair and reasonable with those who are in emotional and physical pain. Ask yourself one very important question. ?If you were the one who perished, would you want your wife and children to accept the offer being made? I appreciate the opportunity to submit these comments and look forward in reading your final rules. Regards Individual Comment Avon, CT September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN001548.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, March 13, 2002 7:09 PM 9/11 Fund Discriminating Against Gays Dear Mr. Feinberg, SHAME ON YOU! What kind of motivations do you have to allow ILLEGAL ALIENS and their spouses to collect funds from your organization BUT NOT AMERICAN BORN GAYS AND LESBIANS. EVERYONE THAT WAS AFFECTED should be allowed to receive funds, regardless of race, origin, SEXUAL PREFERENCE, OR ANY OTHER REASON. With your logic in place, THERE IS NO JUSTICE, in any DEPARTMENT that you're a part of. I AM A STRAIGHT but educated AMERICAN CITIZEN that VOTES like other responsible people in this country, INCLUDING GAYS AND LESBIANS and your shallow prejudice WILL NOT BE TOLERATED without recourse. Most sincerely and totally disgusted, Individual Comment Culver City, CA 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 dojR000686.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. Saturday, November 24, 2001 10:36 AM Comments To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to provide my comments on the current proposal for the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. I would like to first express my appreciation that such efforts have been initiated and that public comment has been requested. Unfortunately, these issues are very dear to me, because I lost my husband, who was working at One World Trade Center on September 11th. I read the proposed regulations quite closely and feel that much of the plan for the Victims' Compensation Fund is fair to the victims and their families. I am quite concerned, however, with one of the specific clauses in the proposal: I believe that families' compensation should not be reduced by the amount of supplemental life insurance received. Such a reduction would punish those victims who sacrificed some of their earlier earnings to offer their family some extra security. Certainly, we do not want these earlier sacrifices by the victims to result in less funds being obtained by their family members. In addition, we do not want to discourage others from planning in the future for their heirs. I hope you consider my suggestion when you develop the final rules for the Fund. Thank you once again for seeking the input of the public. Sincerely, Individual Comment Green Brook, NJ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-24 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 dojW000520.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. 2001-11-24 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 Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, January 21, 2002 11:14 PM Submission of Comments Attachment 1: 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 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 familys rights are protected. My brother, , 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 Rules 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 Rules preamble specifically states the need for claimants to be provided enough information so that they may make 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 the 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 by neglecting them and 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 decedents domicile or any applicable rulings made by a court of competent jurisdiction." Section 104.52 But which provision within a given states 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 do 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 far 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 Spouse Parents Children Immediate Living Family Members _________________________________________________________________ Spouse 100% -- -- Spouse & Parents 50% 50% -- Spouse, Parents, & 40% 40% 20% children 3. To Deduct Life Insurance and Pension Payments 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. 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 relatives 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 your office should it be helpful. I can be reached at or via email at . Sincerely, Individual Comment Washington, DC ________________________________________________________________ 1 For example, assume a potential award before offsets of $1,500,000 and a life insurance policy worth $600,000 where the decedents spouse was the named beneficiary. Further, assume the Special Master determines the fund beneficiaries to be the parents of the decedent and the spouse, to be split evenly. As currently drafted, the Rule indicates that the $1,500,000 award will be reduced by the life insurance of $600,000, resulting in a $900,000 award split evenly between the parents and the spouse (i.e., $450,000 each). In this scenario, the parents portion of the award is reduced by 50% of the life insurance payment even though they received nothing from the policy. However, the alternative, which is more equitable, would be to split the award of $1,500,000 between the parents and the spouse before the offset is made (i.e., $750,000 each). After the split is made, the amount of the life insurance ($600,000) is then deducted from the fund beneficiary (or beneficiaries) who received the life insurance payment (i.e., the spouse in this case). Thus a more equitable solution overall results where only those who received collateral source payments actually are credited as such. 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 dojN002201.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. 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 Chicago, IL 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 dojA002614.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, March 14, 2002 10:51 AM To Kenneth Feinberg, The Attorney General, and President Bush I am appalled that you are willing to compromise the integrity of our nation's proudly proclaimed desire to take care of its own by openly discriminating against the gays and lesbians directly affected by the 9/11 tragedy. What makes you, the Attorney General or anyone else think it is acceptable to single out homosexual American citizens as less deserving of benefit than others in this horrible circumstance? Their sexual orientation has no bearing on anything whatsoever. Claiming to "follow the states' lead" in the matter of not officially recognizing homosexual relationships as valid in this instance is a thin mask for blatant, corrupt homophobia. I am fed up with our country claiming to be moral, righteous and One Nation Under God while at the same time doing things like this: playing God, and determining that some of God's blessed American citizens are innately much less worthy than others. It is not for you to decide. It is up to you to protect and honor all American Citizens affected by 9/11, even the homosexual ones. Shame on you. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-14 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 dojR000740.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. 2002-03-14 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 18, 2002 1:21 PM Enough is Enough I have just read an article that stated that the spouses and partners of Homosexuals killed in the September 11th attack. This is a bunch of crap. I am in love with a man, where if he died, I would be profoundly outraged if the US Govenment did not not give the same benifits as to a breeding couple. We are still Americans. We have lived in this country our whole lives. There is no exceuse for homophobic to deny us our certain unalianable rights. Enough is enough. This War of Sexuality must come to a hault. We will not stand by through much more. 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 dojR001929.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 7:39 AM Equal Rights for Victims of 9-11 December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Seattle, WA 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 dojA002687.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 5:33 PM September 11 Victim Compensation to Unmarried Couples As President Bush is finalizing his decision regarding the rules for distributing the September 11th victims' fund, I would like to add my voice to those who believe that all dependent survivors should be compensated, not just those with a marriage certificate. While some argue that the sanctity of marriage can only be protected by providing relief money to the partners and children of victims who have a marriage license, obviously the true spirit of giving financial relief to those in need due to the September 11th tragedy can only be achieved by examining ALL documentation and providing compensation to ALL persons and/or children who had financial dependence upon the September 11th victims. The ability of a man and a woman to obtain holy, matrimonial union will in no way be diminished by the government acknowledging and providing for all partners and children of all of the September 11th victims, despite the inflammatory, rhetorical arguments of some religious leaders. Thank you for listening and doing the right thing. Sincerely, Individual Comment Pacifica, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000990.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. 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 Cummington, MA 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 dojA002331.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. Tuesday, November 06, 2001 7:50 AM no double dipping The purpose of a government fund to compensate victims is just that: compensating victims. It should function as a government insurance fund, compensating those who were not covered elsewhere. Enriching victims (or vicitm families) should not be the fund's goal. Charity money should offset fund payments. Moreover, it is unquestionable that access to charity moneys is not equal for all (so many victims were low-paid immigrants), and we are risking making the well-connected (or at least the well-informed and well-versed in English) become the better-off yet again. Individual Comment 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 dojW000008.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. 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 diswasher in one of the restaraunts destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayers money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian famillies are especially vulerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in a traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunaely, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001913.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