750 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. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 1:58 PM partners of gay or lesbian victims Is it true that you will be denying benefits to partners of gay or lesbian victims and heroes? &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , who helped bring down the plane in Pennsylvania, and NYFD &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , were both openly gay. They courageously risked and lost their lives trying to save the lives of others in this hideous disaster. Just like hundreds of brave people did. But these peoples have partners and families who will receive some benefit from you. If you have decided to exclude life partners of the gay men and lesbians who perished in this attack, I ask you to please reconsider. Thank you. Individual Comment Chicago, IL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000466.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, December 03, 2001 12:18 PM Sept 11 Victim Compensation Fund I wish to express my conviction that the Dept. of Justice should adminster the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund" in a way that includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons and their loved ones. We all suffered on that day, regardless of our gender or sexual orientation. Common decency should not prevent us from recognizing this basic fact. Thank you. Individual Comment Minneapolis, MN September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-03 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 dojA000277.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. 2001-12-03 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, December 28, 2001 8:30 AM With deep concern December 28, 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 Mount Vernon, ME September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN001058.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, March 19, 2002 10:09 AM Gays and Lesbians discriminated against by 9/11 fund To whom it may concern; I, as an American citizen am completely appalled at the Attorney General and 9/11 funds discrimination against American citizens, while allowing those who are in the country illegally to collect benifits. Unfortunately, I am not at all surprised. Although every national poll has shown that a clear majority of American citizens believe that homosexuals deserve the same rights as every other American citizen; the conservative right-wing branch of the Republican party has used the marginalization of gay people as a rallying cry for too many years to stop it now. They even marginalized Barry Goldwater in his later years because he felt that gays as American citizens should have the same rights as eveybody else. I believe that every person who contributed to the 9/11 fund who does not agree with the Feinberg ruling on homosexuals should immediately file suit against the US government to get their contribution back. Sincerely; Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-19 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 dojR002082.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. 2002-03-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, December 18, 2001 3:01 PM Reply to Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg, with regard to your message, do remmember to make this "commitment" you speack of not only "efficient, simple, and fair" but a democratic one, one of liberty and justice for ALL! Sincerely, Individual Comment Miami, FL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA002196.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. 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 Providence, RI 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 dojA002594.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, April 02, 2002 8:38 AM From a taxpayer Hello, I pay taxes and would like to receive the same benefits as other taxpayers in this country. Likewise, I would hope that the taxpayers that lost their partners in the bombing would receive the same consideration. Please don't talk out of both sides of your mouth on this one. You deny us the right to marry, and then say that we cannot receive benefits because our relationship is not as meaningful since we are not married. Please THINK. Individual Comment Louisville, KY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-04-02 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 dojR002869.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. 2002-04-02 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, March 17, 2002 12:39 PM Some American heroes more 'equal' than others To the administrators of the Victim Compensation Fund: I want to take this opportunity as a patriotic American citizen to say that I am outraged that gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11 are not automatically going to receive the same benefits as heterosexual spouses. I have learned that the head of your fund, a fund created by Congress to help the families of those who died on September 11, has made it clear that the partners of gay and lesbian heroes of September 11 will not necessarily receive the same benefits as the spouses of heterosexual victims of the horrible terror attacks. It also appears that illegal aliens will also be receiving benefits under this program, and that federal law will be overlooked with the illegally resident families of illegal aliens who were killed on 9/11 being compensated instead of deported. It also appears that American companies who hired illegal aliens killed on 9/11 will not be punished for being in direct violation of federal labor laws. But when it comes to the heroes of that tragic day who happen to be gay or lesbian such as... who helped bring down the flight in Pennsylvania before it could reach its target, or New York Fire Dept. who died in the line of duty when the first tower fell, or who was of the plane that crashed into the (there are many more)... we are told the law is the law and no exceptions can be made. The truth is that our patriotism and love of country transcend our differences and unite us all. We were told that September 11 was the day that "hyphenated-Americans" were no more, and rather than being Italian-Americans, African-Americans or gay-Americans, we were now simply Americans, all of us together as one American family. When our government wants to use our heroism to inspire others the hyphens conveniently don't exist, but when it comes time to actually aid the families and loved ones of those heroes, the hyphens magically reappear, with some American heroes being more equal than others. In my opinion, this policy is outrageous and un-American. For those readers who are interested in the complete details about how the Fund is discriminating against gay and lesbian partners of the 9/11 heroes, please visit the website: Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001410.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 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 Finland, MN 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 dojA004575.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. Thursday, January 17, 2002 10:25 AM 9/11 Victim Comp. Fund January 17, 2002 Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 Re: Comments to September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2000 Interim Final Rule Dear Mr. Zwick: I am a partner in the Stamford, Connecticut law firm &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp . I was pleased to learn that the Special Master recently opened an office on Atlantic Street in Stamford. As you may know, our community is a mere 25 miles from Manhattan. Many people in the greater-Stamford area commute daily to New York City. As a result, ours is among the many communities that have suffered immensely as result of the attacks of September 11, and our firm represents several victims of these attacks. Each faces a decision concerning whether to take advantage of the Victim's Compensation Fund ("Fund"), and we are attempting to counsel them in connection with this decision. I have reviewed the Interim Final Rule and its enabling legislation, and write to offer the following comments and questions, which I ask that the Special Master consider in promulgating the Final Rule. Let me begin by expressing my admiration and gratitude for the work that your office done to date, under difficult circumstances. In my estimation, the Interim Final Rule resolves many thorny issues fairly and thoughtfully. However, the Interim Final Rule also leaves unanswered many questions of widespread application concerning matters such as the calculation of income and the treatment of potential collateral source reductions. Among them: 1. Determination of Presumed Economic Loss for Decedents. Section 104.43 directs the Special Master to evaluate the victim' s income history and specifically states that "The decedent's salary/income in 1998 - 2000 shall be evaluated in a manner that the Special Master deems appropriate. The Special Master may, if he deems appropriate, take an average of income figures for each of those three years." A great many of the victims were professionals in their mid-thirties who were undoubtedly just hitting their strides, career-wise. At this time of life many individuals make the leap from junior management to more senior management positions. For example, it would be most unfair to look to a three year average income figure in the case of an executive who had in the year of death just received a big promotion and raise. The overwhelming likelihood is that a young person who had achieved such professional success would continue to succeed. To apply a three year average "rule" in such a situation is tantamount to assuming that the victim would not or could not maintain his or her current position. While it is certainly helpful to claimants to know what factors the Special Master might take into account in assessing income, it is critical that the three year averaging "rule" not be woodenly applied. 2. Determination of presumed non-economic losses for decedents. Section 104.44 states that the presumed non-economic loss shall be $250,000 "plus an additional $50,000 for the spouse and each dependent." The $250,000 figure is a fraction of what the victim's family might receive in a civil suit. If a purpose of the Fund is to induce victims' families to forego litigation against the airlines, consideration should be given to increasing the "base" award for non-economic loss to a more realistic number. 3. Amount of Compensation. Section 104.41 provides, in part, that "In no event shall an award (before collateral source compensation has been deducted) be less than $500,000.". There is still considerable uncertainty as to how the deduction for collateral source payment is going to be applied. That being the case, to alleviate some of the victims' uncertainty -- and also as an inducement to participation in the federal fund rather than a civil suit -- the Rule should be revised to provide for a minimum award size that would be determined without regard to the amount of collateral source compensation. The Special Master has recently been quoted by the media as suggesting that he would exercise his discretion to be sure that each claimant received an award of at least $250,000. I would suggest that the minimum award size must be at least twice that amount to make it economically rational for the families of those victims who were prudent enough to insure their lives to participate in the Fund. 4. Collateral Sources. Section 405(b)(6) of the underlying legislation, Title IV of Public Law 107-42 ("Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act") (the "Act"), mandates a reduction to the award for payments from "collateral sources". Section 104.47 of the Rule tracks the language of the statute and describes collateral sources as including "life insurance, pension funds, death benefit programs and payments by federal, state or local governments." Nowhere are any of these expressions defined for purposes of the Fund. Many of the victims were highly compensated professionals, and it is likely that many had life insurance (which they themselves paid for), and retirement plans such as 401(k) accounts (to which they contributed their own money, rather than investing these funds in some other type of savings vehicle). Virtually all of the victims will have died "on the job" and their survivors may be eligible to receive worker compensation benefits. The underlying legislation was intended to encourage the victims' survivors to participate in the Fund rather than pursue a tort claim against the airlines. If the families of the victims are to be induced to forego suit, the meaning of "collateral sources" should be relatively narrow. A. Workers' Compensation. Will workers' compensation payments be treated as collateral sources? The Summary of Public Comments submitted in response to the November 5, 2001 Notice of Inquiry and Advance Notice of Rule Making indicates that this issue was considered. Yet , the Interim Final Rule does not address the question and one is left to speculate as to whether, and if so to what extent, workers' compensation payments will be treated as collateral sources for purposes of the Fund. In order that potential claimants may evaluate the benefits of participation in the Fund as compared with participation in litigation, the Final Rule should provide unambiguously whether workers' compensation benefits operate to reduce a claimant's award. For example, worker compensation should not be considered a collateral source payment. Although these payments are made by an insurance company, they are not technically "life insurance" nor are they technically payments "by" the government. Moreover, if worker compensation benefits were to be considered collateral sources, these payments would be virtually impossible to value. For instance, the standard death benefit under New York law is $400 per week, which terminates in the event that the surviving spouse remarries. How would one value this benefit? What term would one use, especially in light of the possibility that the surviving spouse will remarry, thereby terminating benefits entirely? If some arbitrary term is selected, what would the term be? What discount rate would be applied to reduce the value to a lump sum present value? In my view, because of these difficulties in valuing the benefit, coupled with the fact that workers' compensation is not an enumerated collateral source, nor is it a payment by Federal, State or local government, the Final Rule should provide that workers' compensation benefits are not collateral sources for purposes of the Fund. B. Pension Funds. The Final Rule should provide a more specific definition of "pension funds." Will the Fund utilize the definition of "pension" utilized for purposes of ERISA, or will a different definition be applied? How will the Special Master calculate the collateral source reduction based upon pension fund payments? Many retirement plans are funded by both employer and employee contribution. One example of this is a 401(k) plan where the employer "matches". It would seem unfair, and contrary to the intent of the collateral source provisions of the statute, to consider the employee's own contributions and growth attributable to these contributions to be collateral sources. They are, in effect, no different than savings on the part of the victim. It would be more appropriate to limit the offset for "pension funds" to that portion of any retirement benefit that is attributable to the employers' contribution and the growth attributable to that contribution. On a related topic, will the Special Master consider employer contributions to pension funds for the years 1998 through 2000 in calculation of income? The Presumed Economic and Noneconomic Loss Tables indicate that pretax earnings will include "base salary and bonuses plus certain employer benefits (such as premiums for medical coverage paid by the employer)." Will employer contributions to pension funds be among those employer benefits that will be included in the calculation of income? C. Executive Defined Contribution Plans. Many claimants are entitled to stock pursuant to executive defined contribution plans. For instance, our firm represents a potential claimant whose husband was killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. At the time of his death, he was the beneficiary of an EDCP consisting of stock in a privately held company. Some of the shares had vested in decedent prior to September 11, 2001; and some of the shares were unvested as of September 11, 2001 but vested subsequently. Will the value of shares that vested in the years 1998 through 2000 be considered as income in these years by the Special Master? If so, how will the value of these shares be calculated? D. Life Insurance. With respect to life insurance, Section 405(b)(6) of the Act only requires an offset for insurance payable to the "claimant". Section 104.2(a) of the Rule narrowly defines "claimant" as any September 11th victim or the victim's personal representative. Abidingly, the Rule should assign the narrowest possible definition to the collateral source reduction for life insurance, while still adhering to the Congressional mandate, by treating only insurance payable to the victim or his or her estate as a collateral source payment. As it stands now, Section 104.41 of the Rule offsets for all insurance on the victim's life. This interpretation penalizes the families of those victims who prudently invested disposable income in insurance as opposed to other investment vehicles. The potential inequities of this interpretation are exacerbated by the "cap" placed on the economic losses payable to families of victims who were financially successful. By capping awards and subtracting all insurance proceeds, the Rules as presently structured may essentially eliminate the ability of many families to obtain relief from the Fund. Conversely, if EDCP benefits are considered to be potential collateral sources, will the Special Master include all vested and unvested shares (as of 9/11/2001) in the calculation of collateral sources; or only shares that were unvested as of September 11 but vested subsequently? Or, will another analysis be utilized? 5. Review of Presumed Awards. The Interim Rule makes clear that the Special Master may increase a presumed award upon review of claimant-specific information. Does the Special Master anticipate that presumed awards may be reduced in some cases following a review of individual specific information? Or, will the presumed award operate as a floor? 6. Publication of awards. Section 104.34 provides, in part, that the Special Master "reserves the right to publicize the amounts of some or all of the rewards". It seems to me that the interest of the families are best served if the Special Master is required to publish all awards together with some type of summary describing the victim's family and financial circumstances but not identifying any individual by name. This will put family members in the best position to try and assess the likely amount of the award under the Fund and decide whether to participate in the Fund or to pursue a tort claim. Whatever the Special Master's intention with regard to these issues, potential claimants would benefit by the promulgation of a Final Rule that clarifies the Special Master's intentions in regard to these points so that they may make informed decisions as to whether to participate in the Fund. Again, thank you for your consideration of these points, and for the hard work and thoughtfulness that your office has devoted to this matter. Very truly yours, Individual Comment Stamford, CT September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN001929.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Saturday, November 17, 2001 2:02 PM (no subject) my husband is a victim of the wtc tragedy. i have read the proposal, but feel that if my husband and I thought about life insurance and having been paying life insurance for years, why would that penalize us now. there is no reason why that the life insurance should be deducted from the settlement. thank you for all the hard work you are putting into this. 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 dojW000374.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 8:41 AM Equal Access to Crisis Relief benefits December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Campbellsville, TN 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 dojA002766.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 5, 2001 Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. 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 New York, NY 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 dojA001420.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, November 25, 2001 2:36 PM Collateral Sources Gentlemen: Although I live less than 15 miles west of Lower Manhattan, no one in my family or circle of friends was a victim of the 9-11 tragedy. Nevertheless, I felt the need to respond to this direct attack on New York City and, by extension, the entire civilian population of the United States of America. At 6:30 A.M. on September 24, 2001, I mailed the following contributions because I felt that if the federal government did not have a clue as to how to use the $300 that became my 2001 tax relief check, I certainly did: (1) $100: September 11 Fund (2) $100: Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.) Disaster Relief Fund (3) $100: Twin Towers Fund I concluded that the same federal government that was unable to secure our commercial aviation system would certainly be less than the ideal institution to attempt to ameliorate the individual pain, suffering, and grief it was helpless in preventing, despite its millions of politicians, managers, workers, officers, and soldiers. It was not until November 6, 2001, that I found out that the Airline Stabilization Act that the president had signed into law on September 24, 2001, included the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. I felt pleased that the federal government was both following the lead of a compassionate and generous citizenry while recognizing its total failure in substantiating its main reason for existing: the protection of ordinary citizens--not politicians and high-level bureaucrats, but people like us--in our own homes and offices. The language of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 law is clear. If charity were to be treated as a "collateral source," Congress would have listed it along with "life insurance, pension funds, death benefit programs, and payments by Federal, State, or local governments related to the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001." I cannot believe that 535 members of Congress, one president, and hundreds of their paid staff members were as unaware of large amounts of money building up in 9-11 charities as they apparently were about the real costs of airline security. A large amount of contributions collected on a national level is not something that would go unnoticed by those who have made a profession out of campaigning for public office. I gave $300 to 9-11 charities because it was the right thing to do, and I gave before the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 became law. By including charity as a collateral source, it will have a chilling effect on private giving. People will say, "Hey, let the Feds do it." Charity should not be treated as a collateral source under Public Law 107-42. If, however, Congress feels strongly enough about making charity a collateral source, let the members pass an amendment or another law that includes specific language to that effect. Congress can have a "do-over," too bad there are thousands from the 9-11 tragedy who can't. Individual Comment Maplewood, NJ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-25 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 dojW000534.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. 2001-11-25 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. Saturday, March 16, 2002 7:59 PM A decidedly Un-American policy To: Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Dear Mr. Zwick, I am writing to express my disgust and outrage at the policy the Dept. of Justice has chosen to pursue in regards to homosexual victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. You, your department, and the Bush administration have chosen not to give the same-sex partners of these victims the same automatic access to the victims' compensation fund that heterosexual partners, illegal aliens and even unborn fetuses are being given. This is quite simply unfair, unjust, un-Christian and decidedly un-American. We are supposed to be living in a land where all citizens are "created equal," but you are selectively denying access to the fund to a specific set of full American citizens while providing such access to illegal aliens (non-citizens) and to fetuses (not technically or legally "created" yet). You claim that you cannot extend such rights, since homosexual partnerships are not legally recognized in most states, and only for state employees in the few states that do recognize them. This argument is specious. There is no federal law granting any rights or recognition of legal status to unborn fetuses, and very few states have any such laws in the area of inheritance or survivor benefits. And there are numerous federal and state laws specifically denying access to all manner of public benefits to illegal aliens, as well as laws that mandate their expulsion from the country upon detection and punishment for companies that employ them. In both of these areas you are choosing to either go beyond state and federal law or ignore and countermand it. In fact, the FBI's investigations post-9/11 have made it abundantly clear that non-citizens, be they legal or illegally immigrated, do not have the same rights as the rest of the us. And tell me, Mohammed Attah was just recently confirmed as having a valid student visa and thus was a *legal* temporary immigrant to this country...will you allow his family to apply for compensation, but still deny the applications of full citizens who just happen to have a different definition of love and family? Your reasons for providing access to the compensation fund for unborn children and the relatives of illegal aliens arise simply from an emotional appeal to fairness and a sense of justice. You rightly conclude that many people would be outraged if the federal government were to use the events of September 11th as a means to increase an illegal immigrant family's woes by deporting them, or to deny a newborn orphan the benefits a child born just a few months earlier was entitled to. I wholeheartedly agree with these policies. They appeal to my inborn, Christian sense of fairness and justice. But I am telling you that, as an American, I am outraged at the exclusion of the surviving partners in homosexual relationships from the victims' compensation fund. You are bending or breaking state and federal laws in the other two cases, why not these? The obvious answer is that you fear a backlash from the cultural conservatives and religious fundamentalists which form a small but powerful element within the Republican party. And you assume that the rest of the American public will simply not care enough to notice or act on any outrage that they have. You fear that if you give surviving same-sex partners access to the fund that these fundamentalist elements will accuse the administration of providing "official endorsement" of the homosexual lifestyle. Again, this is specious. No court of law would allow an illegal alien family to fight their deportation on the grounds that the victims' fund provided evidence of the governments "sponsorship" of their illegal immigrant lifestyle. Nor will any abortion law court cases hinge on this fund's recognition of the unborn. And what is most offensive is that by writing policy to avoid their negative reaction, you are giving these fundamentalist groups the defacto power to legislate their exclusionary, often hate-filled beliefs. Their inability to tolerate and co-exist with different views of the world and their strident attempts to legislate their beliefs make them dangerously close cousins to the religious fundamentalists that form the Taliban and Al-Quaeda. I most strongly urge you to reconsider your policy. It would be quite easy to include same-sex surviving partners in the victims' compensation fund, and to model the requirements of their inclusion after the policies of those states that have already drawn up requirements for domestic partnerships. The fact that so few states provide any legal recognition for this type of committed relationship places a whole level of new and unique hardships on these families that heterosexual families never even have to consider. Issues of inheritance, mortgages, property rights, custody of your deceased partner's children...these are things that a legally-recognized widow or widower can take for granted. By denying a same-sex surviving partner access to the victims' compensation fund you are only heaping further unfair tragedy and hardship into their lives, much as you would if you were to deport the survivors of an illegal immigrant victim. And these people are full American citizens. Contrary to what extreme conservatives might believe, their sexual orientation doesn't make them any less so. The best thing that we as Americans can do in memory of those lost in the tragic events of Sept. 11th is to set an example to the rest of the world that America is a land of acceptance and tolerance, not hatred and exclusion. Be fair. Be just. Open the fund to ALL Americans. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001213.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Saturday, January 19, 2002 5:31 PM Help all victims of terrorist attack Dear Mr. Zwick: The very humane Fund for relatives of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks must include all relatives of all the victims. This importantly should include the partners and children of same sex unions. They suffer just as grievously for their deceased loved ones as do other survivors, and their need for assistance is just as great. Please do not give in to the importuning of callous homophobic groups and individuals who would have the Department of Justice limit compensation to survivors of heterosexual unions. They are interested in a political victory, not humane assistance. This Fund is intended for humane purposes; it is not a political statement, Mr. Zwick. Sincerely, Individual Comment Ware, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-19 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 dojN002103.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. 2002-01-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, March 18, 2002 9:33 AM 9/11 FUND UNFAIR TO GAYS I am outraged that gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11 are not automatically going to receive the same benefits as heterosexual spouses. If exceptions to the law can be found for fetuses and illegal aliens, then exceptions can also be found for gays as well. I'm extremely disappointed over this news. Along with other Americans I wept over this tragedy. This is just more of the same as before. I thought things would change in this country after 9/11. DISCRIMINATION IS UN-AMERICAN!! 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 dojR001701.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. Sunday, March 17, 2002 7:15 PM Anti-gay Bigotry must end To the 9-11 Fund Administrators: I just learned that you folks are refusing 9-11 Fund benefits to the partners of gays killed in the Sept 11 tragedies; yet at the same time you folks are making exceptions to the law of the land when it comes to compensating the families of illegal aliens and fetuses. While I am not gay, nor an ardent activist for gay causes, I was appalled and disgusted when I learned of such gross bigotry and hypocrisy being practiced in this regard. What happened to the "We are all Americans" regardless of our race, religion, national origins or sexual orientation. Fercrissakes, and and others have been hailed as Great American Heroes in the aftermath of the national nightmare, known as 9-11. How can you people even consider such discrimination in this (or any other) context.?? How can you call yourselves American patriots when you shut out other law abiding tax paying citizens simply because they are gay or lesbian??? Shame on you. Please reconsider your outrageously bigoted decision. A very concerned citizen, Individual Comment Los Gatos, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001534.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, January 15, 2002 10:55 AM victim compensation fund Dear Mr. Zwick: My name, Mr. Zwick, is . My fiancé and I worked at ,One World Trade Center. Floor. One World Trade is gone, as is my . I am here able to write you simply because we were leaving for Bermuda on Sept 12th,to wed on Saturday Sept 15th. I decided to stay home that fateful day to take care of last minute wedding plans. Unfortunately went to work that day and perished with my friends and co-workers of 13 years and all the others who are lost. I understand the Victims Comp Fund is only recognizing next of kin in the fund distribution. Had it been four days later I would indeed be next of kin as would my 5 year old daughter, . lived with us since 1999, and contributed to our home. We had a beautiful life and future planned together, that was suddenly ripped from us. His life and heart were here with and I; as were his bills and expenses. His future income would have come here to his family as he knew it; as he chose it. There are many in similar situations, fiancés and domestic partners. Your decisions should not be a blanket black or white, but based on each individual case where there is a doubt. Other charities have openly recognized the suffering in these instances and have helped, I implore you to be wise and help also. We do exist, we suffer, we have lost our future as planned with our perspective partners, must we also go un recognized in the plan to compensate our loss. Loss of love, companionship, parenthood and income, we suffer this even more than the parents whom they have not lived with for many years. We are the ones who must rebuild our households and finances. I too deserve to be recognized as a victim of this murderous act. Our leaders should have the capacity to deal justly in these matters, to witness all who have suffered. I wish to thank all on the committee for your consideration in this matter. Open your hearts, listen to our stories, listen to your conscience..... Your burden is a heavy one and will affect real lives for many years to come. Please take the e extra time to judge fairly. I remain Individual Comment Hoboken,NJ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-15 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 dojN001616.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. 2002-01-15 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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 2:32 PM gays and lesbians deserve justice 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 Oakland, CA 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 dojA003398.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