808 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. Saturday, March 16, 2002 8:47 PM Everyone, including gay and lesbians should be treated equally regarding the payment of benefits as a result of Sept. 11th. To treat the surviving partners of this tragic day differently then any other victim is just wrong. Please reconsider your decisions, and do the right thing. They are all our hero's!!! Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001233.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, November 07, 2001 8:55 PM comment on funds for victims of 9-11 Every one of these charities and every Church, and every social fuction like the BSA and al of those children's agencies are ONE thing..... A money making business. NOT ONE of the vicitm's families EARN a benefit from their pesonal family disaster. Those that are self respecting responsible families have life insurance to tend to exingencies of early death. Still, well-meaning citizens gave some of their $$ for these families so the $$ ought to be given out. ALL of it. The problem I can see is determining how much is to be given to which person. Some might think that a family with children might "deserve" more than a single survivor. And it is true that a family might have greater NEEDS, but the LOSS is the same.. one family member...So in my opinion, the amount ought to be equal, without regard to the number of dependents. Some of the liberal screwy thinkers are talking about college benefits, and future benefits but this was not what I think the DONORs felt they were giving to. Further, the distributon should not be predicated on what a family decided for the future of young survivors. Non-college kids have had the same loss as the others. People need to fend for their own family and not rely on group donations to give them everlasting benefits when they lose a family member. Surely this socialistic demeanor is not what I would opt for. Since the non-thinking emotional public has been careless enough to blindly give money without knowing the rules, does not make it correct or proper. I will never give anything to one of these money making Scams called charities. I have enough trouble taking care of my own needs and when I have been in trouble NOBODY got me out but ME. IF I knew personally any of these families and I was feeling sorry for them and saw that they were unable to take care of themself, I may THEN give directly to them, but no way would I give any % of a donation to a scam that LIVES off donations. I also know that the agencies that the public servants work for, have death benefits. If those other families have no sense of saving for troubled times it is NOT the responsiblity of the public to over come their shortcomings. Neither is it the responsibility of the goverment. so how about you just butting out. Let the scammers do their scams and don't join in by spending more tax money to try to make them do what you want. Maybe people that give to charity ought to just forget it afterward. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000218.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 9:10 PM EQUALITY Among ALL December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Glendale, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA003810.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, November 15, 2001 11:26 AM Attention Mr. Zwick: Attached is a comment document. If you have any questions or would like clarification of any of the points, please contact me at this email address or call me at . We hope that these suggestions aid you and the Special Master in organizing and delivering this very important compensation program. The Alliance FCI Inc. Parsippany, NJ Attachment 1: To: Kenneth L. Zwick {victimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov} Director, Office of Management Programs Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20530 From: The Alliance of Fiduciary Consultants International, Inc. Parsippany, NJ COMMENT Regarding Pubic Law 107-42, "Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act," in particular: Title IV - September 11 th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 The accompanying comments, based upon experience in the trust industry, offer suggestions for ways in which the Department of Justice can assure fairness to all claimants, speed in making meaningful aid available to them, and efficiency in expending the taxpayers' money. They recommend favoring assistance that empowers victims and survivors to attain self-sufficiency rather than building lasting dependency upon the government. Of paramount importance is addressing victims' needs compassionately and expeditiously and providing equitable compensation as quickly as possible. Second is a goal that the maximum amount of appropriated funds be expended for the victims' benefit and that a minimum amount be used to create or expand bureaucracies or unjustly enrich other parties. In pursuit of this mandate we therefore urge: 1. Emphasis on simplifying information gathering to reduce the burden on the claimants, while establishing an effective database for coordinating claim assessment and award determination. 2. The optimum collaboration with other governmental agencies to leverage their respective information sources rather than creating duplicative processes and records. 3. The optimum use of established, credible, private sector suppliers of services with the expertise and facilities required to meet present and future needs. By its nature, this program may represent a departure from other government assistance programs. DOJ should bear in mind that approaches used in executing this charter may form precedents for future actions to aid victims of other, similar events. We urge caution in achieving balance and not extending beyond reasonable, appropriate limits of the government's responsibility. Contents I. Overall Philosophy 3 II. Precepts for Managing Victim Compensation 3 III. Substantive Responsibilities of the Special Master 4 IV. Suggested Procedural and Substantive Rules 4 V. Clarification of the intent of Congress 5 A. "To Provide" 5 B. "Compensation" 5 C. Panel to Review Calculation 6 D. Providing Medical Insurance 6 E. Higher Education Assistance 7 F. Non-monetary compensation 8 G. Offsets to Compensation 8 H. A Possible Distribution Alternative 8 I. Triage Based on Citizenship and Residence 9 J. Claims of Multiple Relatives of a Victim 9 K. Victim's Own Actions Determinative 10 L. "Physically injured" Defined 10 M. "Killed" Defined 10 VI. Organization 11 A. Functional Requirements of the Special Master's Office 11 B. External Resources 13 VII. Information About the Authors 14 I. Overall Philosophy It is clear that, in passing Title IV, the Congress intended to benefit the actual victims of the September 11 attacks and it is, therefore, incumbent upon the Attorney General to insure that the government's own program should be efficient, effective and prompt. The news of the day is rife with complaints that victims of the September 11 attacks and their families are encountering delay and frustration in attempting to obtain the benefits of the hundreds of millions of dollars donated to various private charities and agencies. Bureaucracy is among the chief complaints. For that reason, this complex mandate requires decisiveness on the part of the Special Master, rather than endless debate. Regulations should provide for expeditious review of input from the inevitable variety of interested parties to insure fairness to all classes of claimants. Reasonable consideration of diverse viewpoints is imperative, but not at the cost of paralysis while victims await the assistance that the Congress has promised. II. Precepts for Managing Victim Compensation We respectfully submit that the Attorney General should direct the Special Master and his designees to adopt the following precepts to guide all staff and independent persons in the exercise of their delegated responsibilities. A. Insure fairness in dealing with diverse claims and with people of all backgrounds, but do not expect to attain perfect equality in treatment of all claimants. B. Deploy these resources with deliberate speed, where possible, but allow that some compensation decisions may have to be deferred until more is known. C. Provide immediate help, but strive for lasting benefit for the living victims and the decedents' survivors, favoring the provision of opportunities for self-sufficiency, not dependency upon the government. D. Use the maximum proportion of these resources for the victims, and a minimum to create bureaucracies or enlarge existing ones. E. Outsource as much of the work as possible through an expedited bidding process, favoring those with the ability to put aid in motion quickly. F. Provide for a sunset provision so that all segregated funds and organizational units do not survive past the needs they serve. G. Vigorously prosecute, without plea bargaining, all those accused of fraud and deception so that the intended recipients are not victimized again. III. Substantive Responsibilities of the Special Master To afford the Special Master the ability to focus, it is suggested that his/her role be circumscribed to include these primary responsibilities: A. Define the process and establish procedures for claimants to file, establish eligibility, and appeal decisions. B. Establish a framework for triage of applicants in a manner that affords all as expeditious a process as their circumstances permit and for swiftly determining eligibility and level of need. C. Establish a means of consolidating information from public and private sources to provide investigators and hearing officers as much relevant information as is feasible, as quickly as possible. D. Identify sources of expertise and establish an accelerated bidding and award process to select providers of needed services. E. Construct an organization and prepare the job descriptions for trustees/ examiners/case investigators and support staff. F. Establish the requisite management, operating and fiscal controls. G. Establish effective liaison with governmental and private bodies that also have a role in effecting the intent of Title IV. IV. Suggested Procedural and Substantive Rules A. Focus on the urgent needs of victims before the longer-term issues. B. Do not attempt to involve the Department in providing material aid directly, but utilize the best available local programs, agencies and instrumentalities to insure delivery through established mechanisms for: 1. Sustenance, temporary shelter for the displaced 2. Housing for those relocating 3. Guardians for the orphaned and incapacitated 4. Medical and Psychological attention 5. Temporary Job Placement 6. Assistance in preparing and/or replacing vital documents 7. Legal assistance to establish bona fides and priority of claim C. To establish claims, use information available from existing Federal sources and other proven methods such as those used in: 1. INS to document and validate status of aliens and visitors 2. SSI (and Green Card/Alien Registration) records and files 3. IRS records and welfare tracking mechanism to certify income, dependent status and spending levels and to identify insurance benefits, and other aid paid to claimants 4. Financial Aid Form (College Board) to determine education need D. Use existing, accredited professionals wherever possible, rather than creating new bureaucracy and government positions. E. Affirmatively accept the risk that quick action may result in some errors, and establish a tracking system that will facilitate remediation after the fact. V. Clarification of the Intent of Congress The express intention of Congress is to: "...provide compensation to any individual (or relatives of a deceased individual) who was physically injured or killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001." Despite the apparent clarity of the foregoing language, and the definitions contained in Section 402 of the statute, there are ambiguities that should be clarified early on. The following are suggested: A. "To Provide" To provide does not necessarily mean that the Attorney General, Special Master or their staff must perform all, or any, of the activity, nor does it require that permanent staff be hired. (See Section VI below regarding Organization.) B. "Compensation" The single most daunting task before the Special Master is to decide how to achieve equity and fairness. How will the program compare the needs and entitlement of, for example, Person A who was a kitchen worker at minimum wage, supporting a family and sending money to his native country to support indigent parents, with those of Person B, the surviving spouse of a bond salesman who had a seven figure income, a six figure mortgage and no life insurance. A set of guidelines must be established whereby the financial situation of claimants can be readily assessed, the other resources available to them can be taken into account (as provided by Title IV) and an equitable assessment can be made against absolute limits or maximums and relative standards of fairness. The range of approaches is extremely wide. They range from giving only immediate cash to sustain a household for three months to establishing some means of life-long income replacement, to every variety in between. Some propose that everyone ought to be treated the same with a per capita amount paid, while others propose that aid should be proportionate to the loss suffered even if it means the poor remain poor and the well-to-do are assured their pre-event standard of living. C. Panel to Review Calculation Once the Special Master has developed an approach to calculate compensation entitlements, and a system for adjudicating disputes, we suggest that the Special Master promptly appoint a panel of independent experts to review them and make recommendations as to how to improve upon them. Such a panel might include representatives of the following specialties and interests to provide a balanced approach and broad input without being so large as to gridlock. 1. Psychologist experienced in post-trauma recovery to help assess the duration of the need for relief. 2. Experienced head of a major city's welfare program with a perspective on handling large numbers of claimants. 3. FEMA authority on household expenses in large-scale disaster recovery. 4. Executive director of a faith-based aid agency, such as the Salvation Army, that is experienced in providing both support and self-help programs. 5. College Board expert on financial aid for higher education. 6. Senior trust executive to advise on mechanisms available to administer payment programs over time, and provide financial management for minors. 7. Actuary who can help project long-term cost implications of alternatives. 8. One or more representative members of the class of claimants. 9. Plaintiffs' attorney to advise on compensation elements relating to state wrongful death statutes and conscious pain and suffering. D. Providing Medical Insurance To keep DOJ out of the business of providing medical care and attention, it is suggested that the fund purchase a group policy or policies in which claimants would be able to participate, if they wished. (No payment in lieu of this insurance would be offered.) The intent would be to provide a temporary program to insure that no claimant would be denied medical care for at least the first few years until the household of the injured or deceased person has recovered its ability to be self-sufficient. To insure both the assistance desired and an automatic sunset of the benefit, the following type of program could be instituted. Sample Diminishing Medical Insurance Support Program <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 style='margin-left:.7in;border-collapse: collapse;border:none;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt'> Year Percentage of Premium Paid by the Title IV Fund Individual Deductible Paid By Claimant Amount of Claimant's Co-pay for Services 2001 100% 0 10% 2002 100% $150 12.5% 2003 75% $300 15% 2004 50% $600 17.5% 2005 25% $1200 20% E. Higher Education Assistance Under the spirit of Title IV, we suggest that some of the money be used to invest in the education of the victims and their children. The suggested approach is to treat all children in the same manner, regardless of the wealth of their families or the number of siblings in the family. Each child would be entitled to a subsidy for his or her post-high school education for up to four years. It could be used for college, technical school, or a program in arts. The subsidy would be calculated using the standard Financial Aid Form utilized by virtually all colleges in the United States. It takes into account the household resources available and establishes a recommended level of need that can be filled by grant, work-study and/or student loan and specifies an amount that the household should be able to support. Children of the victims covered by Title IV would be given sufficient aid to insure that they could attend the best US public college or university they could be accepted in, regardless of the tuition level. The subsidy could include tuition, room and board, fees and/or living expenses, as determined by the Special Master. To fund this part of the compensation an educational trust would be funded, based on the actuarial projection of what would be needed to provide this benefit for the entire class of children from those now in senior year of college to those who will be twenty-two years of age in 2022. Unexpended funds in the trust in 2022 would revert to the US treasury. Children wishing to attend private schools would be given the same level of aid, but no more than they would have been entitled to at the best state school admitting them. The purpose of this award is to provide an educational opportunity, not a windfall. Private colleges would directly invoice the trust. In the event of student withdrawal, any tuition refund would be returned to the trust. Equivalent aid for Special Education, special needs private schools, and the like would be considered on case-by-case basis by a hearing officer. It would apply to all dependents of the injured or deceased victims who were alive and actually dependents, or who were subsequently born to the household within nine months of September 11, 2001. F. Non-monetary compensation The Special Master may wish to explore another form of compensation besides money. For positions required to execute Title IV, a one-time preference could be extended to the victims and their dependents, such as has been done in the past for Veterans. For example: 1. Preferential consideration for jobs when a claimant is one of a group of otherwise equally qualified candidates. 2. Preferential placement for civil service appointment, advancement and promotion, where claimant is otherwise qualified, but may have less seniority than others eligible. In addition, through cooperation with other Federal agencies and departments, consideration could be extended to those applying for Small Business or minority owned enterprise preferences for US government contracts and/or assistance, when the claimant is one of a group of otherwise equally qualified persons. G. Offsets to Compensation Title IV mandates that this compensation must be offset by other sources of aid and support. The Special Master must promulgate rules that prescribe how to assess and weight the impact of: 1. Other income producing assets 2. Life, accidental death and medical insurance proceeds 3. Trusts, annuities and segregated assets not under the claimants' control 5. State and Local grants in aid and interest free or low rate loans 6. Grants from private charities and special funds raised for the victims 7. Special scholarship programs established for victims and their children 8. Employee benefits H. A Possible Distribution Alternative The Special Master may consider that, when entitlements are determined, an account could be established at a financial institution convenient to the claimant's residence, through which a secure debit card would be issued in lieu of checks. This could expedite one-time and periodic transfers of money to the claimants, and would provide a ready record of expenditures to help thwart fraud and exploitation of the claimants by third parties. Clearly, there are privacy implications of such a design. I. Triage Based on Citizenship and Residence It may expedite the identification, verification of bona fides and certification of claimants to establish several paths for processing, such that each group can be handled most expeditiously without an individual or group of individuals being unnecessarily delayed in a queue of persons with different needs. Due to the fact that different information must be gathered and validated in each of these cases, the program might handle claim submissions differently, based upon citizenship and immigration status. This would not be to discriminate in entitlement, but to afford appropriate screening and triage for claimants who are: 1. US citizens living in the United States 2. US citizens living abroad 3. Resident aliens, documented and not documented 4. Visitors, tourists and guests on visa or other entry permission 5. Non-resident aliens J. Claims of Multiple Relatives of a Victim. The Special Master may consider applying a single standard of preference to sort out competing claims in the timing for hearing claims, and possibly in determining relative awards and entitlements. The Master must acknowledge the laws of the states in which victims reside. Many protect the respective rights of those whose claims derive from less traditional households and extended families, such as those involving same-sex unions, group homes and other living arrangements involving parties not legally married or related by blood. As an example, the statutes governing descent and distribution in many states confer preferences in intestacy based upon degree of kinship and a presumption about persons who would normally be the object of a deceased person's bounty. Sample Priority in Intestacy As an example, the Special Master might assign priority of claims: First To persons named in the deceased victim's Will Second To the surviving spouse Legal spouse Common law spouse/partner Prior spouse with alimony or support rights Third To the deceased victim's issue Natural and adopted children under the age of majority Children of majority age Grandchildren and great grandchildren, per stirpes Fourth To other related and non-related persons having a valid claim K. Victim's Own Actions Determinative Deciding "dependent" status may be simplified by a rule that gives a presumption of orthodoxy and supremacy to those persons whom the deceased or injured person claimed on his or her 2000 Federal Income Tax Return and/or his/her W-4 identification of dependents for 2001 tax purposes, or the nearest equivalent evidence for those who did not file such a return. There could be a refutable presumption established that, if decedent did not claim someone as a dependent, that person was not a dependent entitled to relief under this title. L. "Physically injured" Defined This should be defined to mean all persons who were in the buildings struck, or in and about neighboring buildings within the debris zones of the Trade Center and the Pentagon, or in the aircraft involved, or on the ground at Pennsylvania crash site. The Special Master should defer to local authorities who designated the impact and debris zones, including the Department of Defense, with respect to the Pentagon, rather than attempting to develop an independent standard. M. "Killed" Defined The Special Master should issue rules that classify victims as all those individuals who are or will be: 1. Proven dead by competent medical examining authorities 2. Dead of injuries sustained in the attacks within one year, i.e. before September 12, 2002 3. Presumptively dead and documented by a competent local authority 4. Missing and likely a victim (e.g. tourist not heard from) as certified by a competent authority local to the deceased person's residence. Different processes should be applied to separate and expedite claims where there is, no doubt, or a higher degree of certainty, while others may simply take longer to validate. VI. Organization A. Functional Requirements of the Special Master's Office Certainly, the Department of Justice has its requirements and preferences for organizational development and deployment of resources. The following is a checklist of functions that is suggested by the nature and scope of the Special Master's charter and the apparent complexity of the task. 1. Management and Administration a. Administration b. Budgets and Appropriations c. Human Resources d. Accounting, Oversight and Reporting 2. Investigators a. Certification and Entitlement b. Documenting Missing Persons c. Fraud and Corruption 3. Hearing Officers and Administrative Support a. NYC Metro Area b. Pentagon Area c. Circuit Rider to other US Locations Convenient to Claimants d. Special Office for Foreign Nationals 4. Ombudsman to Cut Red Tape a. Claimants' Inquiries and Appeals b. Contractors, Suppliers and Others 5. Database Management and Tracking System a. Claimants b. Contractors c. Payees on Behalf of Claimants d. Medical Insurance Providers 6. Government Liaison to and Coordination with a. The White House b. Congress and OMB c. Executive Departments Directly Concerned with the Fund i. Health and Human Services ii. Immigration and Naturalization Service iii. Social Security Administration iv. Internal Revenue Service d. Department of State i. Foreign Embassies and Consulates ii. UN and International Organizations e. Treasury f. Federal Courts i. Bankruptcy Court ii. District Courts - Civil and Criminal g. Within Justice: Criminal Division for Fraud 7. Extra-Governmental Liaison a. State and Local Relief Coordinators b. State and Local Welfare Agencies c. Private Charities and Foundations i. Central Database of Victims and Compensation ii. Cooperation in Sharing Grant and Relief Information 8. Contracts Administration and Oversight a. Banks and Trust Companies i. Entitlement Accounts ii. Trusts and Guardianships iii. Educational Trust b. Medical Insurance Providers c. Consultants and Other Suppliers 9. Information Technology a. Computer Systems Acquisition b. Database Construction and Maintenance c. Interfaces to Other Federal IT Systems B. External Resources 1. Use of temporary staff: See USDOJ, Justice Management Division Memorandum for Bureau Personnel Officers, dated September 28, 2001, which cites the use of excepted authority under 5 CFR 213.3102(i)(2) and (3) to use temporary positions, even at Senior Levels. 2. Use of banks and trust companies: Especially in the case of minor claimants and those of diminished capacity, the Special Master should consider using banks and/or trust companies to receive and manage, in trust, the monies to which such claimants are entitled, where a trust arrangement is appropriate. This should be preferable to establishing any new trustee functions within or reporting to the Justice Department. In addition to locations in metropolitan New York and Washington, DC, it may be appropriate to designate banks in other cities, such as Boston, where a sufficient number of claimants resided. These institutions have established processes and professional staff in place. They can probably handle incremental responsibilities at a lower cost than a new bureau or independent, individual trustees. The professional fiduciaries have in place the expertise to handle personal trusts, decedents' estates, committeeships and guardianship of incompetents. In addition, they have experience and infrastructure in the bond indenture trust and employee benefit trust administration businesses that may be useful to handling the lump sum and periodic payments ultimately provided. Many also handle class action suits and escrow arrangements that may be analogous to the requirements of the Special Master for handling thousands of claims. Finally, they are already bonded, insured and subject to oversight and examination. As an alternative to letting bids, the Special Master may consider forming a pool or consortium of qualified banks to make more facilities available sooner, in more locations. 3. Consultants: The Special Master may wish to use consultants and firms with the expertise and domain knowledge not readily available in the Department of Justice. The types of tasks that are suited to using consultants in this context are: a. Constructing detailed action plans to include organization, position descriptions, staffing, recruitment, screening, selection of permanent and temporary staff, and selection of outsourced resources b. Proposing a structure for allocating the appropriation and for distribution of benefits, to include the following essential processes i. Triage of claimants ii. An identification scheme to positively identify claimants iii. Settlement of conflicts among competing claimants iv. Establishing liaison and communications with other agencies v. Establishing a clearinghouse with charities and local aid agencies for claimant payments information vi. Providing for immediate cash assistance through banks vii. Developing the income replacement approach (if any) viii. Establishing a group for medical insurance and treatment ix. Managing the RFP and bid process for the same x. Establishing a trust for higher education for children of victims xi. Consortium to provide special education and counseling needs xii. Exploring employment placement and career opportunities xiii. Prototype trusts for minors and incompetents, and selecting trustees xiv. Arranging for local, temporary stewardship for the incapacitated VII. Information About the Authors The authors are principals of The Alliance of Fiduciary Consultants International, Inc., of Parsippany, New Jersey. Collectively they possess over one hundred years of experience in managing trust businesses in money-center and regional banks and in consulting to leading financial institutions. In addition, the firm maintains active, collaborative associations with other large and small firms specializing in many aspects of insurance and investment services and those with expertise in human resources, process design and information technology. For more information, call or refer to our website: Respectfully submitted, The Alliance of Fiduciary Consultants International, Inc. Parsippany, NJ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-15 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 dojW000363.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. 2001-11-15 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. 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 Honolulu, HI 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 dojA004141.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 20, 2001 9:22 AM crisis relief for gay partners 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 Cambridge, MA 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 dojA004198.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. Monday, November 26, 2001 9:56 PM Claims Please advise as to the claim process for the WTC victims compensation fund. Individual Comment 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 dojW000715.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. Monday, November 19, 2001 1:46 PM Claimant Eligibility Regarding your Topic #5 on Claimant Eligibility, I request that you consider those unborn children who were killed along with their pregnant mothers as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks as "eligible victims." If legally possible can the frozen assets of these terrorist organizations be seized and included in the reparations for the victims. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000392.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 9:41 AM Victim Compensation Fund December 5, 2001 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 victims regardless of their sexual orientation. The emotional and economic effects on the families of victims is no less because the victims were "straight" or "gay." 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 the bonds of family by treating all families equitably, and without any narrowing of our compassion by partisan ideology or homophobic discrimination. Sincerely, Individual Comment Lansing, MI 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 dojA000738.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, January 22, 2002 11:37 AM Help! Help! All of this verbage is way to overwhelming for us. We consider ourselves lucky to be able to get out of bed in the A. M. It is much easier for persons not directly affected by the Sept. 11th attack to submit such litigation and go on and on. All we want is our son back but we can't have that.We don't even make next day plans so how are we supposed to assume that we can take the time to try and understand all of the litigation that is being thrown at us. Well I don't think we can do that. We still half way walk around from day to day like some kind of zombies or living dead. For heavens sake In the name of God all mighty quit continuously stirring things up, grant us some peace. Don't smother us with bureaucracy. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002244.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 17, 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 Bristol, NH September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA005016.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. 2001-12-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 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 Irvine, 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 dojA003921.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 15, 2002 2:51 AM Needed Changes to Victim's Compensation Fund Dear Mr. Feinberg: My husband was killed in the WTC on September 11th, he was on the floor of Tower 2. He was 39 years old and a Vice President in his company. Upon reviewing the current rules associated with the Victim's Compensation Fund I've come to the conclusion that my son (21 months old) and I will receive nothing from the fund. We will be penalized because my husband had the common sense to plan for the future by securing life insurance. There should not be a deduction for life insurance and pensions. My husband's life insurance should not be used to subsidize the airline's negligence. My son and I will also be penalized because my husband's earnings for 2001 exceeded the salary cap and the only earnings that will be considered are those for the 1998 through 2000 year. My husband was promoted in 2001 and also received a substantial increase in salary that year; this should be considered in determining his future earnings. The terrorist attacks occurred in the fourth quarter of 2001; the year was almost over. Earnings for the 2001 year should be considered in the calculations and salary caps should be removed. The government never put a cap on the taxes my husband and I paid therefore, there should be no cap on his salary. Also, my husband's retirement age would have been 67 (he was born in 1962). The victim's families are not looking to profit off their loved ones death, like many people unaffected by this tragedy seem to think. We just want to be made whole financially; we would like to maintain a similar lifestyle to the one we would have had if our loved one was still alive. Instead of penalizing the victim's families our government should be penalizing those responsible for the terrorists attacks. The airlines should be held accountable for their lack of security, something which the public and government has been aware of for many years. It seems like our government is more concerned with protecting the airlines rather than the thousands of people who were victimized by the terrorist attacks. Who is the advocate for the victim's families? Also, why aren't Osama Bin Laden's frozen assets being used to subsidize the Victims Compensation Fund? What happens to these assets? Where do they eventually end up? How much of the taxpayers money is being used to feed the people in Afghanistan, a country we are at war with? These people we are feeding are the same people who were cheering in the streets upon hearing that the WTC towers collapsed killing thousands. These people are also the same people who ambush our soldiers. If the government uses the American people's money for humanitarian efforts in a country we are at war with, then why are they not willing to make whole all these families that have lost their main wage earner? Please revise the rules governing the Victims Compensation Fund so that the Fund becomes a viable option for people like me. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Individual Comment Emerson, NJ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-15 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN001611.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-15 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, January 15, 2002 3:16 PM The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 January 15, 2002 Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 Re: The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 / The Estate of Dear Mr. Zwick: My brother-in-law, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , was lost in the World Trade Center atrocity on September 11th. He is survived by his wife (my sister), &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , and their four children &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp and &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp was a resident of New Canaan, Connecticut, and worked for &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp on the &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Floor of One World Trade Center. I have been appointed as the executor of &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp . With the hope of realizing a measure of financial security for the &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp family, I have been paying close attention to developments concerning the "September 11 Victims Compensation Fund" (Title IV of Public Law 107-42). I have reviewed the regulations for the Fund (28 CFR Part 104) published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2001, as an Interim Final Rule (CIV 104P; AG Order No. 2541-2001; RIN 1105-AA79). We are considering filing a claim under the Fund but, in light of the Interim Final Rule, we hold considerable reservations. I understand that the Department of Justice is seeking further comment on the regulations and I would accordingly like point out certain aspects of the Rule that are inconsistent with intent of the legislation and that are otherwise inequitable to victims' families. The Statute and the Interim Final Rule clearly provide that as a condition to filing a claim under the Fund, a victim's estate and family must waive all rights to sue any parties except the terrorists. Paraphrasing the Interim Final Rule, the Fund is intended to be an alternative to litigation. At the same time (further paraphrasing the Interim Final Rule), the purpose of the Fund is to provide compensation to a victim's spouse and children that is just and appropriate in light of the victim's individual circumstances. If that is true, if the Fund is truly intended to provide just and appropriate compensation in lieu of litigation, it is incumbent upon Special Master Kenneth Feinberg to develop a methodology within the parameters of the Statute that establishes awards under the Fund that are roughly equal to awards that would otherwise be available to victims by way of the litigation process. In order to ensure that any award from the Fund is in fact an equitable alternative to litigation, none of the recoveries to which a victim's estate and family would normally be entitled should be reduced through a restrictive interpretation of the wording or intent of the legislation. To that end, a number of critical issues still need to be resolved and/or clarified in favor of WTC victims in order to convince family members that the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund is indeed an equitable alternative to bringing suit against American or United Airlines, the Port Authority of NY/NJ, the City of New York, Silverstein Properties (the WTC landlord) and/or the other parties protected under Public Law 107-42. One such issue is the "collateral source" deduction set forth in the Interim Final Rule. Traditional tort recoveries to victims are typically "free" from federal income tax. In an attempt to follow suit, the Interim Final Rule seems to indicate that awards issued under the Fund will be "tax-free". That, however, will not necessarily be the case if the current Interim Final Rule requirement that certain collateral sources be deducted from all such awards is applied. For example, the Interim Final Rule provides that the Special Master shall reduce the amount of an award under the Fund by any "pension" that a victim "has received or is entitled to receive". The term "pension" is not clearly defined in either Public Law 107-42 or the Interim Final Rule. All the same, it would appear under Section 104.47 thereof that the Interim Final Rule adopts an all inclusive interpretation of term "pension". Even traditional individual retirement accounts (IRA) would arguably constitute collateral source compensation to be deducted from awards. Unlike traditional tort recoveries, IRA distributions will not be "tax-free" to a victim's family. The new law exempting most victims from federal income and estate taxes does not change that fact. Under that law, individual retirement accounts remain taxable for purposes of federal income taxation (see the Technical Explanation of the "Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act" prepared by the Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation). As a result, for the families of many victims, it cannot be said that an award under the Fund will be equal to a like award under the traditional tort process. An IRA is not a "pension" and should not be considered a "collateral source" under Public Law 107-42. In addition to individual retirement accounts, the collateral source provisions of the Fund should not include any insurance that was paid to a trust that does not grant a power of appointment to any family member, permit a victim's family to independently invade any principal of the trust or otherwise permit a family member to independently direct the disposition of any trust principal or income. Moreover, collateral sources (however defined) should be deducted against economic losses only, not the entire award. As a whole, the Interim Final Rule succeeds in certain respects but substantially fails in others. In the final analysis, unless the above changes are made to the Interim Final Rule, as well as other changes needed to ensure that claims for losses will be handled in an equitable way, victim's families will be unwilling to give up what is, for all intents and purposes, their most important right (i.e., the right to sue any responsible party). We sincerely appreciate the extraordinary and difficult work undertaken by the Department of Justice and Special Master Feinberg on behalf of WTC Victims. If I can be of any further assistance with respect to the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund, I will be honored to help and can be reached day or night. Thank you in advance for your attention and courtesy. Very truly yours, Individual Comment Syracuse, New York 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 dojN001767.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-15 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 6:11 AM September 11 Victim Compensation Fund Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. It is unquestionable that the devastating grief and economic losses suffered by the families of gay and lesbian victims are no less than that of other families. Just as the terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. I urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment Boiling Springs, PA 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 dojA000684.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 13, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment 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 dojA003899.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, December 21, 2001 2:53 PM Help all victims of terrorist attack Dear Mr. Zwick: The very humane Fund for relatives of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks must include all relatives of all the victims. This importantly should include the partners and children of same sex unions. They suffer just as grievously for their deceased loved ones as do other survivors, and their need for assistance is just as great. Please do not give in to the importuning of callous homophobic groups and individuals who would have the Department of Justice limit compensation to survivors of heterosexual unions. They are interested in a political victory, not humane assistance. This Fund is intended for humane purposes; it is not a political statement, Mr. Zwick. Sincerely, Individual Comment Langley, WA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN000543.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. 2001-12-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, November 16, 2001 12:46 AM Victims' Compensation Fund Comments Submitted to: Kenneth L. Zwik, Director Office of Management Programs U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division Email: victimcom.comments@usdoj.gov November 16, 2001 Dear Mr. Zwik: As a relative of one of the victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks, I trust that the regulations for the Victims Compensation Fund ("the Fund") can be fashioned in such a manner to bring equity and closure this most awful chapter in American history. Towards that end, the Fund must be structured to encourage victims' families to surrender their rights to sue because they believe they will be treated fairly and promptly. To send such a compelling message I respectfully submit that the regulations must contain following elements: 1. Do not reduce the award from any collateral source funds collected, including insurance, pension benefits, death benefits, and governmental payments (which we understand are being considered as offsets). Such offsets should be disallowed for, among other reasons, the same reason the IRS exempts life insurance proceeds from taxation (i.e., to encourage citizens to plan for their heirs). Such offsets would penalize those victims who sacrificed and saved for their families' futures and unjustly transfer these assets, thereby representing a lifetime of work, to insurance companies and other corporate entities that may share the blame for the consequences that resulted from the tragic events of 9/11. In a nutshell, these assets have nothing to do with the damages that flowed from 9/11, and therefore there should be no offset to damages based on the net worth of the victims' families. It would also result in awarding more in damages to those who did not sacrifice and save for their families' futures, which would be an inequitable result. 2. Provide the victims' families with the right to appeal the award, as doing so would undoubtedly increase participation in the Fund. 3. Should the Department of Justice decline to offer victims' families the right to appeal, then at a minimum they should have input regarding the selection of the mediator who would decide the award. The government should provide a list of potential mediators with their background (e.g., educational, work experience, prior award history, etc.), which would allow victims' families to make an informed choice. 4. There should be set parameters for calculating damages (i.e., mathematical formula factoring lost future earnings, pension benefits, number of children, and other pecuniary benefits that would have been earned taking into consideration life expectancy tables), that would provide a floor for calculating damages and provide assurance to victims' families as to what they could expect to receive, at a minimum, if they elected to opt into the Fund. I believe this has been referred to in the press as the development of a "grid." In short, the victims' families should be able to calculate, with some certainty, the minimum amount of money they could expect to be awarded prior to participating in the hearing. That should serve as a powerful inducement to opt into the Fund. 5. Determine pain and suffering at the hearing. 6. If the mediator deviates for the guidelines the victims' families should be able to appeal the decision. 7. The regulations should include a scheme that would afford the victims' families one that is similar to the one they would enjoy in a wrongful death case. The amount awarded as damages should include all funeral, burial, and estate administration expenses incurred. Importantly, the amount should compensate the victims' family for contributions they would have received between the time of his death and the end of this life expectancy, such as future lost wages. His gross earnings, including all fringe benefits between the date of his death and his life expectancy, must be factored in. Additionally, all monies the victim would have spent for or given to his family for such items as shelter, food, clothing, medical car, education, entertainment, gifts and recreation, taking into account his salary and age, must also be considered. The amount awarded should also consider the comfort and friendship that he would have given to his family had he lived and such other elements as work around the home and provision of society and comfort. 8. Since the amount awarded would be intended to restore the victim's family's loss, it should not be considered as "income." Therefore, it should not be taxable by the federal or state taxing authorities. In closing, I understand that the DOJ is suggesting that the victims' families surrender their right to sue without advising them what they can anticipate by way of award and without the ability to appeal such award. This is, to be kind, unacceptable. The above suggestions would encourage attorneys and families alike to opt into the Fund, thereby forgoing their right to sue. This would bring closure to an American Tragedy and reassure victims' families that our government has their best interests at heart. We only want to place them in the financial position they would have been in had their loved ones not been taken away in the worst terrorist attacks in American history?which may have been avoided. But that is another story. Thank you. Respectfully, Widow of one of the victims killed in the WTC attacks Individual comment New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000359.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. 2001-11-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, January 06, 2002 7:41 PM COMMENT Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20530 Jan 6, 2001 Dear Mr. Zwick: My parents perished on September 11th. They were not American citizens and were visitors in US. As victims' family member, I have two suggestions on the interim regulation of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. First, I think that the compensation for non-economic damages, should be raised from $250,000 to the similar level of the pain and suffering compensation for casualty in other plane crashes in recent years. In that case, most of the victims's families will choose this program rather than sue in the court. Second, this interim regulation did not specify how to calculate the economic loss of those legal foreign victims. Given the living standard , as well as the income and benefit, is quite different in foreign countries from that in the US, it is not fair to compute the economic compensation based on the exact amount of their income. In my opinion it will be more reasonable to analyze the percentile of their income in their own country and calculate the economic loss in the light of the income of the similar percentile in US. Sincerely, Individual Comment Towson, MD September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-06 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 dojN001367.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. 2002-01-06 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. Friday, December 21, 2001 10:20 AM Equal Access December 21, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of the worldwide human rights movement, Amnesty International, 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, please 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 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 - affected by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN000398.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. 2001-12-21