764 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. 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 Jamaica Plain, 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 dojA002625.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, January 01, 2002 6:42 PM Equal access January 01, 2002 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. 2002-01-01 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 dojN001281.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. 2002-01-01 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 10:27 AM (no subject) How can you expect me to settle and not pursue litigation if your going to deductlife insurance from the settlement? And what bearing does that have in regards to the liability and negligence of the airline industry? Where were the protections for my wife? I lost my wife in the wtc disaster. I dont see how there liability correlates to her life insurance policy. Individual Comment New York, NY 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 dojW000164.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-06 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, December 04, 2001 4:29 PM Draft regulations that compensate ALL victims of September 11 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 Modesto, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-04 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000355.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-04 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 13, 2001 4:39 PM Fair compensation to September 11 victims loved ones 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. This would do an injustice. 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. 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 was not available for proving the legitimacy of the relationship. 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 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 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 dojA001599.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, March 13, 2002 10:17 PM Equal for all Greetings, I am reading about the possibility that partners of the gay and lesbian victims of September 11 will NOT be equally (if at all) compensated in the way that heterosexual family members of 9/11 victims will be. I hope to God this is not the case, because to rate some people as more deserving or more American than others for reasons of sexual orientation is completely unfair, and domestic terrorism at its worst. You know darn well the laws are far behind the realities, and do not recognize gay couples as married and therefore you can't cop out by saying Well if the state doesn't recognize you as a couple then neither can we... September 11 changed a lot of perspectives and broke into new territory and took risks, this damn well better be one of those times. You can do a little bit of homework -- and chances are their partners would do it for you -- proving a committed relationship, proving a life together, whether it is the same residence, changed / shared last names, children, beneficiary listings, healthcare proxies, wills, and many many many other ways that clearly indicate who the life partner of the 9/11 hero was. These people left behind have been through unspeakable tragedy already, but to then be ignored as if that relationship was less central than any other widow or widower's is completely heartless. Do you not see that? If you need volunteers to help you organize how to distribute funding fairly to ALL the partners of the 9/11 tragedy, I'm sure you need only to ask. President George W. Bush said if you do not side with Freedom, then you are siding with Terrorism. Well, whose side ARE you on??? Sincerely, Individual Comment Massachusetts 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 dojR002132.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. Sunday, December 23, 2001 4:03 PM Protect Traditional Marriage Mr. Kenneth Zwick Office of Management Programs Department of Justice Washington, DC Dear Mr. Zwick: I want to express my opposition to any effort by the federal government to provide 9-11 victim compensation funds to "domestic partners" of unmarried survivors of the terrorist attack upon our nation. Funds disbursed through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 should only go to the surviving family members of those who died on 9-11. Funds must go to the widows, widowers, orphans, and other blood-related or adopted members of the family--not to unmarried sexual partners of those who died. To provide funds to "domestic partners" is to undermine the traditional definition of marriage and family to include any number of sexual liaisons between same-sex or opposite-sex unmarried couples. Many homosexuals and swinging heterosexuals, for example, engage in sex with multiple partners. Do we provide funds to each of the sexual partners? Where do we draw the line on how many "domestic partners" a person may have? Homosexual activists are exploiting the 9-11 tragedy by asking the federal government to redefine what constitutes a legitimate "family" under the law. In fact, homosexual activist , writing in Out magazine has openly called for the subversion of the concept of marriage between a man and a woman. He has urged homosexuals to fight for the legalization of homosexual marriages and once legalized to "redefine the institution of marriage completely . . . . to debunk a myth and radically alter an archaic institution. . . . The most subversive action lesbians and gays can under take--and one that would perhaps benefit all of society--is to transform the notion of 'family' entirely." If the DOJ provides funds to "domestic partners," it will be helping accomplish his goal: That of redefining marriage and altering what he calls an "archaic institution." We also oppose September 11th Funds going to the estates of the deceased instead of to their surviving family members. No one can know for certain where these funds will end up if they are deposited in the estate of a person who has died. The person may have willed his estate to a terrorist, racial hate group, or even to an organization like the North American Man-Boy Love Association. No one will know unless each person's will is examined by a DOJ lawyer. The money should go to the surviving family members of the deceased, not to the estate or to the surviving "domestic partner." Individual Comment Watertown, SD September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-23 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 dojN000748.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. 2001-12-23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, November 26, 2001 8:43 PM Victims Compensation Fund - Public Comment Dear Mr. Zwick, Attached in PDF format is our comments in response to your Notice of Inquiry and Advanced Notice of Rulemaking for Comment on the Victim Compensation Fund. Due to their size, the three attachments referenced in our comments will be sent in separate e-mails. They are also in PDF format. If you have any questions or would prefer these files in a different format, please contact me. Sincerely, POORMAN-DOUGLAS CORPORATION BEAVERTON, OREGON Attachment 1: November 26, 2001 SENT VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION & FAX Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 Re: September 11 th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 - Notice of Inquiry and Advance Notice of Rulemaking for Comment Dear Mr. Zwick: Poorman-Douglas Corporation ("PD") appreciates the opportunity to respond to the Request for Comment on proposed regulations and processes for implementing the Victim Compensation Fund, which was published in the November 5, 2001 Federal Register by the Department of Justice. Established in 1968 as a full- service data processing company, Poorman-Douglas is now expert in claims administration for large, complex class actions and bankruptcy cases. Poorman-Douglas has extensive experience in complex case administration and has a history of successful partnerships with special masters and monitors. We also are skilled in effectively yet sympathetically working on sensitive, humanitarian cases. While we are located in Portland, Oregon, our business is national, with strong ties in New York and Washington, D.C. We are ready to assist in this humanitarian effort for the victims of the September 11 th disaster in any way within our broad scope of capabilities. In reviewing the Notice of Inquiry and the specific issues raised, PD, as an open market vendor of claims administration and mass litigation support services, will generally address the identified issues that fall into PDs areas of expertise. In addition to drawing from our experience and knowledge base, we have performed research on techniques to improve communications with claimants and have cited relevant sources with our comments. First and foremost, any and all contemplated requirements and procedures should be developed and implemented with the claimants best interests in mind and with consistent compliance with the intent of the Victim Compensation Fund. The claimants making claims against this Fund are involuntary claimants who have already suffered severe emotional, if not physical, circumstances and have been confused by uncoordinated relief efforts. To provide some measure of relief to these distressed claimants, claim procedures should be designed to maximize assistance and minimize the burden on these claimants. Our comments are directed toward this goal. ** Timing of Services Several short deadlines impact the amount of time available to develop and implement claims procedures, including: . December 21, 2001 deadline for promulgation of implementation regulations; . A 120-day deadline for claims processing and award determination; . A 20-day deadline for disbursement of funds after an award is made. With these deadlines in mind, two key actions will impact the Funds ability to provide effective, quality service to the victims; efficiently resolve claims in a timely fashion; and control costs: 1. Designation of an experienced administrative service/support organization as soon as possible; and 2. Development of clear, straightforward Fund requirements and production guidelines with participation by all parties, including the administrative services/support organization as soon as possible after one is selected. ** Claim Form Design (with specific comments on making the form and its instructions readable and readily available) Based on its wide experience in claims administration, PD recommends that the claim form package include a notice that is clear and descriptive. Special information should be highlighted, using a bolded font or a different colored ink. Important information such as claims filing deadlines, toll- free numbers, administrator mailing addresses and Internet information should be well positioned within the instructions. Any special calls to action (e.g. actions required of a claimant) should be boxed or highlighted. PD has reviewed human behavior studies to guide the form and content of the claim forms it designs. The flagship study done by behavioral researchers McClelland and Atkinson indicated that without knowledge of the perceived outcome, people are much less likely to act. A claim form should be designed so that the face of the form is easy to understand, telling claimants what they need to do, how they should do it, and in what timeframe. Effective form design is also predicated on how key information is positioned on the claim form. Primacy-recency literature has established that the most effective positioning of messages or content of critical importance is at the beginning or end. The material placed in the middle is less likely to be remembered. "One research finding can be stated unequivocally: material presented in the middle of a message is relatively poorly remembered and has the least impact."(1) * Claim Form Design for readability Plain language is the guiding principle in form design for readability. Plain language claim forms provide many benefits, including greater target audience participation; less overall confusion, which will reduce the potential expense of toll- free telephone support and a higher likelihood that the information submitted would be complete. Plain language design is a concept embraced by the Federal Judicial Center.(2) In its discussion of proposed amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (requiring plain language in class action notices) the Federal Judicial Center supports the amendments that would require that "the notice concisely and clearly describe in plain, easily understood language the nature of the action, the claims, and the potential consequences of a litigation." Focus group studies conducted by the Federal Judicial Center found that comprehension of legal notices is significantly improved through deliberate changes in language, organization, structure, formatting and presentation of the notice text. The use of a cover letter, captions, headings, font changes, and color increases reader comprehension and motivation. Additionally the RAND Institute for Civil Justice conducted an extensive review of damage class actions in the United States Court systems. RAND reviewed the texts of several high-profile class action notices and found that the readability and content varied dramatically. On one end of the spectrum, was a notice that Poorman-Douglas and Huntington Legal Advertising designed: In re: Louisiana-Pacific Inner-Seal Litigation (a copy of which is attached hereto as Attachment 1). The RAND researchers suggest that the plain language text from the Louisiana-Pacific notice was more likely than other notices to attract the attention of class members. * Design for Accessibility The claim package should be readily available via any means reasonable and possible, which should include the Internet, first class mail, and established centers for victims. Although a direct mail program will get the materials in the hands of a number of potential claimants, requests for information will also come from the toll-free support, fax and mail. Documents provided via the Internet should be in a format that is readily viewable, free of charge. We recommend .PDF format (Adobe), which is currently the industry standard. ** Claim Form/Instruction Content In order to facilitate the ease and orderly filing of claims for all parties concerned, at a minimum, the claim package should contain the following items: 1. Registration form (w/instructions for filling out and filing); 2. Compensation form (w/instructions for filling out and filing); 3. A claimant information package with details and guidelines for filing, as well as any grids or charts deemed appropriate 4. A "Question and Answer" document or "FAQ" which covers the key issues and procedures in the above-referenced documents, formatted in such a way that a claimant can easily spot information on a particular subject matter that may have been overlooked when the claimant was reviewing the other information. Guidance for the content of an effective claim form and information packet can be found in the Manual for Complex Litigation. (3) In particular, a good notice of settlement (to which the Fund forms would be equivalent) should include: . The essential terms of the proposed settlement. . Any special benefits provided to any particular group of claimants. . Information regarding attorney fees. . (If applicable) the time and place of the hearing to consider approval of the settlement, and the method for objecting to (or, if permitted, for opting out of) the settlement. . Procedures for allocating and distributing settlement funds, and, if the settlement provides different kinds of relief for different categories of class members, clearly set out those variations. . A prominent display of the address and phone number of counsel and the procedure for making inquiries. ** Claim Acceptance/"Filing" As mentioned above, consistent with other complex, mass personal injury settlements, the Victim Compensation Fund claim process would benefit from the use of two forms to be filed by each claimant: an initial registration form and a compensation form. At the time of registration, the only documentation that should be required is basic proof of 1) eligibility; and 2) (if the victim is deceased) legal status of contacting party (e.g. legal guardian, personal representative). When proper proof of eligibility and legal status (if necessary) has been received, a claim can be deemed "filed." A compensation form can be submitted concurrently with the registration form, but is not required. The two-step process would allow claimants to file quickly while the details of the full claims package and claims process are defined. Upon submission of the compensation form along with the required proof, the 120-day processing window would begin. Not only would this reduce the burden placed upon claimants to submit enormous amounts of materials to have their claim deemed "filed" but it would also give DOJ a full 120 days to evaluate a substantially complete claims (except for whatever defects may still exist). ** Claim Defect/Dismissal In keeping with the goal of maximizing assistance for and minimizing the frustrations of the claimants, a claim should not be dismissed outright if a claim is determined to be defective for some reason or another (e.g. lack of adequate supporting information). Instead, procedures should be implemented which allow a claimant to cure the defects (in eligibility and entitlement) in a reasonable timeframe. While a formal notification of the reasons a claim is considered incomplete is required, it is helpful to claimants to have someone call and coach them through what needs to be supplied to make the claim complete and valid. ** Presentation of Claim/Evidence In similar circumstances, having all claims initially filed on paper has been found to be quite effective. If the claim is deemed defective or the claimant is dissatisfied with the result, he or she can appeal the Special Masters decision; the appeals procedures could then allow for oral hearings under limited circumstances. Accordingly, the 120-day statutory claim-processing deadline would be satisfied while allowing for additional procedural safeguards. A second option is a two or more track approach that gives to the claimants the choice of which procedures they would like to follow. For example, in the African American Farmers Discrimination case,(4) the class members could elect to participate under Track A, where the claim was submitted on paper and the class member received a fixed payout based upon a pre-determined payment grid, or Track B, where class members filed a claim for the amount they believed due and owing, but were required to present evidence at an arbitration. Although there might be some concern that having an oral hearing option might unreasonably increase the work and the cost of administering the Fund, experience shows that this is not typically the case. In the African American Farmers Discrimination case, out of the approximately 23,000 claims, only 150 class members opted to pursue Track B. In fact, when the procedural requirements are more demanding, when given the option, class members overwhelmingly choose the option with the more simple procedure, even when choosing the less onerous procedure will give them less compensation in the end. The MDL-926 National Breast Implant Settlement is a good example.(5) After the original global settlement fell through in 1994 and notwithstanding the fact that the new settlement amounts offered to those who wanted to pursue the less onerous procedures in the 1995 settlement,(6) were substantially smaller than what was 1) offered in the 1994 settlement; and 2) what could be obtained following Option 2 of the new settlement (the option with more demanding procedures), approximately 92% of the class members who registered for the first settlement (7) chose to receive less money under Option 1. In conclusion, the value in additional procedural safeguards for the claimants will far outweigh the potential increase in cost in administering these procedural safeguards. ** Claimant Assistance In keeping with the goal of maximizing assistance for and minimizing the frustrations of the claimants, claimant support and assistance needs special and immediate attention. Assistance should be available via toll- free telephone (supporting multiple languages and the hearing impaired), the Internet and first class mail (as requested). During times of peak activity, consideration should be given to opening local assistance office(s). In the Swiss Banks (8) case, for the filing of "Initial Questionnaires" and claim forms, local organizations were called upon to assist in providing local assistances to claimants and, in some areas, specific claimant support offices were opened. Either having local help center(s) in New York and in Washington or educating staff in existing centers on the claims process for the Fund would be helpful to claimants. Regional information/assistance meetings would also be helpful in the early stages of the claims process. If claims processing specialists could be made available at these meetings, claimants could receive personal assistance without having to travel long distances to an established office. Coordination with other Victim Support programs and organizations will further victim support and assistance goals without adding significant cost to the administration of the Victim Compensation Fund. For example, coordination with Trial Lawyers Care, Inc.(9) would give victims access to attorneys who are willing and available to give free legal services and other assistance to claimants who wish to file a claim against the Victim Compensation Fund. In certain circumstances, coordination with other Victim Support programs could reduce Fund administration costs. Compilation of a mailing list of potential claimants is a perfect example. Since a comprehensive address list of victims and next of kin does not currently exist (to our knowledge), data may need to come from a number of sources. Depending on the source of the address data, and the inherent difficulties in identifying the appropriate claimants for those victims who are missing or dead, the level of undeliverable mail could be as high as 20-30%. By getting lists from other support programs that contain current addresses, less mail would be undeliverable, saving the costs of mailing and postage. A number of organizations have collected data in connection with their outreach and victims assistance programs.(10) Coordination with these groups could give the DOJ access to current contact information, which would reduce costs associated with locating potential claimants and increase the effectiveness of the direct mail program. ** Eligibility and proof of identity requirements for missing (and presumed deceased) victims and for representative claimants who are filing claims In order to reduce the incidence of fraud, a claimant should be required to submit proof of eligibility and identity at the time of registration. If the eligible victim is missing and presumed deceased, the person filing the claim should be required to provide proof of his or her legal status as the representative claimant. In addition each claimant should be required to sign a certification that the contents of their claim are true and valid. * Proof of death for "missing" victims. Although the rules for obtaining a death certificate have been modified to assist those trying to obtain death certificates for missing and presumed dead victims,(11) many may not yet have obtained a death certificate for their missing family member(s). Accordingly, a death certificate should not be required at the time of registration for the Fund. A copy of the petition for the death certificate and the affidavit filed with the New York Country Supreme Court by the next of kin (attesting to personal information about the missing victim) should be considered sufficient for Fund registration. However, the death certificate may be required before a claim is settled. * Proof of legal status as "Representative Claimant" Typically, the only person who can file a claim is the actual claimant or an individual who legally represents the claimant or the claimants estate e.g., personal representative, administrator, other legal representative, heir or beneficiary). As with the death certificate, if the representative claimant does not have an official copy of letters of administration or probate or surrogate certificate at the time of registration, following New York Citys "next of kin" proof rules should be sufficient to prevent fraud.(12) It is important that a balance be achieved between having sound fraud prevention procedures and not having claims filing requirements that are onerous for the victims or their next of kin. Below is suggested language to be included in the registration form for representative claimants. If you are representing a deceaseds estate, please attach 1. An official copy of the death certificate and a copy of any letters of administration or probate or surrogate certificate, 2. A copy of the petition for death certificate and supporting affidavit; or 3. Complete the following: Date of Death: _______________________ Reason for lack of death certificate: _________________________ If you are representing any other person as a Representative Claimant, please attach a copy of any order or other document appointing you the persons legal representative. ** Use of schedules or statistical methodologies to create an entitlement grid or matrix In a complex mass tort settlement, a combination of settlement options is used. For more frequent, readily definable claims, entitlement grids are often used. In the cases of serious injury or death, where the proofs are more complex, review and calculation of an award on a case-by-case basis is more appropriate. In re Unocal Refinery Litigation is an example of a mass tort personal injury settlement where entitlement was based upon a geocoded exposure grid.(13) If a claimant could prove that he or she either worked or lived within the defined zones of exposure (determined by geo-coding) and was present during the relevant time periods, the claimant was deemed to be a class member. Once eligibility was determined, three settlement options existed in the Unocal settlement: . Cash Out - for those who had no known symptoms or suffered relatively minor injuries, a one-time payment of $3,500 was offered. A claimant only had to submit proof of eligibility (discussed above) to receive this payment. . Middle Level Injury Claims - claims were made and adjudicated on paper. . Serious Injury Claims - physical injury was substantiated at an oral hearing. These individuals were invariably represented by counsel at the oral hearings. Consideration should also be given to payouts in multiple stages, if part of the claim is straightforward and part requires research, legal ruling, or is dependent on the resolution of other payments, such as insurance. This will provide claimants with complex claims a balance between gaining immediate relief and due consideration of their claim. ** Publication of schedules or hypothetical or presumptive awards Although published grids and/or schedules can be helpful to a claimant when deciding whether or not to participate in a settlement, DOJ will want to ensure that claims are not being created or inflated based upon DOJs published injury categories and compensation numbers. This can be prevented, in part, if the guidelines for eligibility and damage elements are not subjective in nature or are otherwise objectively verifiable. Presumptive awards, like the Unocal cash-out option, should be published. But publishing hypothetical awards can lead to claim creation/inflation. Publishing settlement ranges for each of the settlement options would give potential claimants adequate information to determine whether to file. ** Administrative Appeal Procedures With experience supporting administrative appeals processes in several cases, including the complex Louisiana-Pacific siding class action, PD has found that certain procedures that can expedite the appeals process. In Louisiana-Pacific, a rejected claim appeals process was developed that separated procedural and substantive appeals. Appeals based on a procedural or calculation error were resolved by the Claims Administrator, while those that required a legal opinion were forwarded to the Special Master.(14) By having this system of administrative appeal, the Special Masters office or a third party arbitration/mediation vendor is only burdened with appeals that require a legal opinion. * Fraud Prevention In PDs experience, although fraud does occur, it occurs infrequently. If it does occur, it usually occurs at the time disbursement is to be made (e.g. request for payee change on check). With proper proof of claimant status and strict adherence to claim change rules, fraud can be prevented. Examples of deterrents include requiring proofs of claim, signing a certification, independent review of claims, having an audit process, adding approval levels based on the size of the claim. Controls for fraud prevention should be considered as the claims and disbursement processes are defined. ** Additional Comments * Notice Considerations - greater overall response is achieved through the use of direct mail, paid advertising and public relations programming Central to the design and implementation of a successful legal notice program is a clear understanding of how target audiences learn and understand new messages. Direct mail is only one method of communicating important information to target audiences. Although DOJ may have access to mailing lists of potential victims (from e.g., the IRS), these lists will not be complete nor will they always contain information on next of kin and/or the current legal representative for a victim. Accordingly, a successful legal notice program includes not only a direct mail component, but also includes a well designed paid advertising and public relations program. Because Americans are saturated daily with marketing messages (the victims and friends and families of victims of the events of September 11 th are no exception), legal notice programs with proper consideration to notice process increasingly need to correctly target audiences by defining them demographically and psychographically. Demography is the study of the characteristics of populations related to size, growth, density, distribution and vital statistics. Although demographic studies are important to the planning process, they are usually considered of secondary importance to psychographic studies that define media usage habits of individuals based on their values and lifestyle habits. With this information, legal noticing experts can develop highly targeted media plans based on media preferences of target groups. This is especially important in relation to the events of September 11 th as many of the victims were not legal residents of the United States or were visiting nationals from other countries, which wouldnt allow DOJ to readily come up with a comprehensive list of these individuals. Using a mixture of both paid and earned media creates greater effectiveness in a legal notice program. Here, potential claimants have an increased opportunity to see the message and then take action on the message. Integration helps to: 1) reach people not reached with the first vehicle; 2) create higher overall reach and a greater opportunity to see the message; and 3) provide additional repeat exposure in a less expensive secondary vehicle after a maximum reach is achieved in the first vehicle. Public relations must be used in concert with paid media in order to support reach into a demographic target. Results from a pub lic relations campaign are indirect and should not be used to supplant advertising. Public Relations are dependent on a host of factors that are difficult to control; ultimately an editor, reporter or special interest group will process the message and interpret it. However, in spite of its limitations, public relations work is an essential component in any effort to achieve effective public outreach. Studies show that information conveyed through editorials is generally more believable and acted upon more readily than conventional advertising. Both advertising and public relations must work hand-in- glove in order to achieve the goals of this plan. * Disbursement Considerations Either before a claim is adjudicated, after it is adjudicated or in tandem with the adjudication process, any other payment sources (insurance, other funds, etc.) that qualify to be considered as a deduction from payment by Victim Compensation Fund will need to be identified and researched. Since these payments may be made before, during or even after the Funds payment is calculated, this could be a lengthy process. If other payments must be deducted from the Funds payment and it is likely that it will be some time before the other payments are made, then the Fund may want to consider a two-stage settlement. The first stage will give a base amount to claimants to provide near term relief. Then the final amount of the Fund settlement will be determined as the other payments are made. * Technology Considerations The DOJ should endeavor to utilize current computer technology, which will increase speed and efficiency while decreasing processing costs and choose an administrator that is technologically advanced and able to use technology innovatively to reduce cost, without incurring risk. Services to be considered by DOJ should include: · Multi-lingual website, where any language can be loaded into one website.(15) · Imaging services, bringing imaging and OCR technology in for use on complex cases. · Software that integrates document images with database technology to form a comprehensive information base. · Secure, On-Line Document Depository which permits 24-hour access to authorized users to case critical information, including claim forms, supporting documentation and images of physical proofs. · Color laser printing of claimant specific documents and other notices, so that important passages, dates and other key information on the notices can be seen at a glance by color type. · Address correction and standardization can be applied to improve the quality of mailings and reduce total costs. · Computerized mail inserting equipment to insert multiple pieces into one envelope, including multiple page, personalized claim forms. · Enhanced staff productivity through automation based on a backbone of the latest LAN/PC technology for rapid response and flexibility. Poorman-Douglas appreciates the opportunity to participate in the Department of Justices comment process. If you have any questions regarding our comments, please contact me at . Sincerely, Comments by Poorman-Douglas Corporation Beaverton, Oregon ____________________ (1) Mowen and Minor, CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 334 (Prentice-Hall, 5th ed., 1998). (2) Http://www.fjc.gov. (3) MANUAL FOR COMPLEX LITIGATION THIRD 227 (3 rd Ed., 1995). (4) A summary of the African American Farmers Discrimination case administration procedures and PDs work with the case Special Masters is attached hereto as Attachment 2. (5) The history of this litigation can be traced on the MDL-926 courts website, located at http://www.fjc.gov/BREIMLIT/mdl926.htm. (6) MDL-926 Order No. 27, et. seq. (7) Excluding the Dow Corning class members who were ineligible for the second settlement after Dow Corning filed for bankruptcy mid-1995. (8) A summary of the Swiss Banks case notice procedures is attached hereto as Attachment 3. (9) Trial Lawyers Care, Inc. is the non-profit corporation set up by volunteer trial lawyers across the nation to provide access to free legal services to the September 11 th terrorist attach victims who are eligible and choose to make claims under the federal September 11 th Victim Co mpensation Fund. (10) Groups that have been collecting victim information include the Family Assistance Center, located at Pier 94 in New York City, and Trial Lawyers Care, Inc. (11) Procedures can be found on the official New York City website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/em/dth_cert.html. (12) From Appendix B to the Procedure for Issuance of Death Certifications for Individuals Currently Missing at the World Trade Center: In order to prevent fraud, next of kin making an application for a declaration of death should provide the following: · photo identification (driver's license, passport, other government issued ID) of the next of kin signing the affidavit (the affiant), and · a document or documents establishing the relationship between the affiant and the missing person; this proof may take a variety of forms, depending on the relationship between the next of kin and the missing person, but examples include: 1. for a spouse, a marriage certificate. 2. for a registered domestic partner, the domestic partnership registration. 3. for a child 18 years of age or older, or a parent, a birth certificate showing the missing person's relationship to such child or parent. 4. for a brother or sister, birth certificates of the missing person and such sibling showing common parents. (13) Class members were exposed to allegedly toxic or hazardous substances that were released from a Unocal refinery incident to several tank fire incidents. (14) Additional information on Louisiana-Pacific procedures can be obtained from the case Special Master and former Oregon State Supreme Court Judge, the Honorable Richard L. Unis, (503) 669-7286. (15) See the Swiss Bank website as an example, located at http://www.swissbankclaims.com/. ____________________ Attachment 2: Monday, November 26, 2001 8:58 PM Victims Compensation Fund - Public Comment Attachment 2 Comments by POORMAN-DOUGLAS CORPORATION BEAVERTON, OREGON ATTACHMENT II AFRICAN AMERICAN FARMERS CLASS ACTION CLAIMS ADMINISTRATION Poorman-Douglas and JAMS Partnership on Pigford v. Glickman (Civil Action Nos. 97-1978 (PLF) and 97-1693 (PLF): Poorman-Douglas 30 years of experience and administration competencies helped JAMS achieve a speedy and fair resolution for thousands of black farmers allegedly discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Poorman-Douglas used its technical staff to design and deve lop a comprehensive database application that enabled JAMS to issue decisions on over 20,000 Black Farmers Claim Adjudications in one years time. P-Ds claims analysts worked directly with JAMS panelists to: 1) consolidate information provided by the claimant and the government; 2) input the facts of each claim into the database; 3) review and write a short briefing on the government responses; and 4) confirm the fact pattern in all final Claims Adjudications issued by JAMS panelists. Poorman-Douglas used its technical staff to design and develop a comprehensive database application to enable JAMS to issue decisions on over 20,000 Black Farmers Claim Adjudications in a year. The application was able to interface with the Facilitators database of claimant information and maintain claimant allegations, panelist notes and comments, and the final decision text. The system ultimately printed a formal three-page finding on each of the 20,000 claims with an electronic signature corresponding to the panelist who issued the decision. The decisions contained a unique finding for each claim and the relief provided relative to the allegations made and the specific farm programs over a 16-year class period. The database housed fields to track the deadlines provided in the Consent Decree for timely claims, government response time, due dates for adjudication decisions, and date the findings were issued. We also maintained internal data to determine which panelists were involved on which claims at each stage from assignment of claim to editing to review. The claims analysts at Poorman-Douglas worked directly with the judges and attorneys on JAMS panel to consolidate the information provided by the claimant and the government for each of the 20,000 claims requiring adjudication. P-D took the responsibility of inputting the facts of each claim into the Adjudication Application, reviewing the USDAs response, writing a short briefing on the consistency of the claimant allegations and the USDAs ability to refute those allegations, and confirmed the fact pattern as finally summarized by JAMS. In cases where a P-D analyst found inconsistencies or questions about the basis for the adjudication decision, we communicated those concerns directly to the panelist or peer reviewer and helped to resolve the claim with research or review of the documents. Poorman-Douglas utilized trained personnel to help with the editing process required to publish such a large number of decisions in such a short period of time. We reviewed decisions for consistency of findings and clear communications. Attachment 3: Monday, November 26, 2001 8:58 PM Victims Compensation Fund - Public Comment Attachment 3 ATTACHMENT III SWISS BANKS CLASS ACTION NOTICE ADMINISTRATION In the fall of 1998 Poorman-Douglas was selected as the lead vendor for the Notice Administration for the Swiss Banks Class Action Settlement, coordinating the efforts of three other vendors into one integrated program. The work on Swiss Banks required project management on a large scale to ensure the success of the multi- million dollar outreach program. In addition, during the course of the notice program, Poorman-Douglas performed the activities listed below. Most of these activities were complicated by having to work in 21 core languages, as well several additional ones, and by having to coordinate the program throughout the world. In summary, Poorman Douglas performed the following activities. · Poorman-Douglas established a multi- language/multi-alphabet database system using new SQL technology and the new Unicode standards. · Two processing sites were set up, in the United States and Israel, with mail boxes in four locations. · We printed and delivered, by direct mail and through organizations, more than three million notices in 21 languages, for the Initial Notice and Initial Questionnaire, the draft Plan of Allocation and the claims handling/deadline information. · Over 560,000 Initial Questionnaires were filed, scanned to electronic images, had data entered and have been retained. Image copies of the questionnaires and their recorded information have also been forwarded to those organizations handling the claims settlement. · Poorman-Douglas maintains a web site of case information, notices, claim forms, court orders and other documents in 21 languages. More than 300,000 accesses have been made to the site. · Our toll free voice response lines operate in more than 21 countries and 21 languages, with Russian and Yiddish available on most lines. To date over 550,000 calls have been made to the toll free lines. · In excess of 50,000 letters have been received, either requiring a letter response or requesting more information in the form of a notice. In addition to direct mail, the notice campaign, which was coordinated by Poorman-Douglas, consisted of a massive published notice campaign, an aggressive publicity program, and organizational outreach to the Holocaust victim communities and support orga nizations to take advantage of volunteer and organizational support activities and newsletters. In areas where the postal and technological infrastructure was weak, staff traveled to villages, synagogues and other gathering centers to distribute information and collect Initial Questionnaires. Comments by Poorman-Douglas Corporation Beaverton, Oregon September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-26 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000731.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-26 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 3:23 PM Extend Aid to Gay Families I am New York City resident and voter, and I am writing to show my support for extending federal aid to gay families affected by the events of September 11. Any gay individuals and/or anyone depending on support from those injured and/or displaced by the event deserve to be assisted by federal funds. To exclude these victims is to exhibit the same hatred that fueled the terrorist attacks. Do not let this happen. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Individual Comment Astoria, 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 dojA000817.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. Tuesday, November 06, 2001 12:15 PM LEAVE IT TO A BUNCH OF POLITICIANS WHO HAVE BEEN DOUBLE DIPPING FOR AGES TO WORRY ABOUT OVERPAYING VICTIMS OF A NATIONAL DISASTER. IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO JUST LET THEM DEAL WITH THE IMPACT OF THEIR PERSONAL TRAGEDIES, BUT LET'S MAKE PUTTING THEIR LIVES BACK TOGETHER EVEN MORE DIFFICULT. ONLY IN WASHINGTON. GIVE IT A REST. DO YOU HAVE TO MESS WITH EVERYTHING, EVEN WHAT'S NOT BROKEN, NO WONDER NO ONE VOTES ANYMORE. 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 dojW000091.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. Monday, March 11, 2002 12:18 PM Benefits for Gay Partners of 9/11 victims I merely want to applaud the decision to "not necessarily" issue benefits to the gay partners of those who were killed by the terrorist attacks on 9/11 (per Kenneth Feinberg on 3/10 broadcast of "Meet The Press"). I sincerely hope you do not cave in to the gay rights political agenda's (poorly masked) efforts to "extort" funds that my tax dollars have helped pay for. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000184.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. 2002-03-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, November 28, 2001 7:58 PM 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund To Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick- This e-mail concerns the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. I am writing to urge the Department of Justice to include among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners or de facto parents or children, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. Thank you for your time. Individual Comment Harrisonburg, VA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000145.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, January 07, 2002 11:46 AM Don't sponser agiveaway for the greedy The families of victims of Sept. 11th Terrorist attack should not receive a dime more than those of the Oklahoma Terrorist attack or of any of the other attacks against the American people. The victims chose to work in the WTC, so be it. I don't know any of the victims from any of the terrorist attacks. All I know is the rest of us have to learn how to survive with out any help, why can't they do the same? I lost my job due to NAFTA that Clinton so willingly signed and now I have lost my medical insurance due to costs. I am a 61 year old handicapped woman and I realize that life must go on. My faith in our Lord has not diminished and I will receive all I need to survive until he calls me home. May God bless America and all the faithful leaders. And I am not afraid to sign my name. Individual Comment Abingdon, VA. September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-07 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 dojN001418.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. 2002-01-07 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. 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 San Francisco,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 dojA005144.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. 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 Broomall, PA 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 dojA005262.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. 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 South Pasadena, CA 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 dojA004964.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. Friday, March 15, 2002 1:32 PM Commentary, by When will this great country of ours finally recognize that long term same sex relationships should be legally honored the same as a heterosexual relationship? I find the fact that the 9/11 fund is not compensating the Partners of the Gay American citizens who lost there lives in the attacks absolutely appalling. Isn't is enough that the self righteous people or our great country, who regard Gay relationships unworthy, deny them the legal right to be married? Now we are slapping them in the face after the tragedy that shook our Nation, our World? I must think twice about contributing to 9/11 funds that discriminate against the Gay Americans directly affected by the horrible events of that horrible day. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-15 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 dojR000850.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. 2002-03-15 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, January 23, 2002 10:26 PM New Comments At today's Family Meeting held in Ridgewood, NJ with Special Master Kenneth Feinberg, it was stated that additional comments would be allowed up until around Feb 1. Here are mine: My wife was killed in WTC2 while a visitor to a brokerage firm. We were a two income household. The Interim Rules exclude two key points that will apply to my situation: 1) The rules as they describe the "consumption factor" that is deducted from economic damages are not specific. In two-income households, the percent of the victim's salary that would be applied toward 'consumption' that is assumed in the model would be at most half of what was deducted. In the Final Rules, please clarify how the Consumption Factor is determined and be specific for one versus two income households. 2) The Economic Damage formula does not take into consideration the loss of earnings potential and limited advancement of the surviving working spouse. My career is now derailed and my earnings potential is much less than before Sept. 11. How and where would this be applied? Thank you. Individual Comment Paramus, NJ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-23 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 dojP000040.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. 2002-01-23 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 11:06 AM September 11 Victims 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 St. Louis, MO 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 dojA004244.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. Tuesday, January 15, 2002 8:19 PM Help same sex partners of terrorist victims 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 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 dojN001708.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