837 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. Thursday, March 14, 2002 10:08 AM New Vote.com votes as of 10:08 AM EST on March 14th, 2002 Dear September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Vote.com is the Internet's most popular voting site. Millions of people regularly express their opinions and - in just one click - automatically send their views to important decision makers like you. Here are the latest votes on the question, SHOULD FAMILIES OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO DIED ON 9-11 GET MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL VICTIMS' FUND?: YES: 5 votes NO: 39 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000711.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, January 21, 2002 1:59 PM Comments on Rules by Special Master Friday, January 18th, 2002 Gentleman and Ladies I am sure that I am not the first to state that the primary beneficiaries of the rules and the legislation are the airlines, the insurance industry and our government which failed in the protection of life, liberty and property of the thousands of fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, children, nieces nephews, friends and neighbors who were publicly incinerated and physically assaulted by two 40,000 ton jet airliners which were murderously conflagreated upon their persons on September 11th. This tragedy not less horrific then the gas chambers of Hitler's Germany wrecked devastation into the lives of the victims families no less catastrophic and apocalyptic and painful than the collapse of the two 110 story buildings. I have witnessed first hand the psychological and emotional damage to my best friend and her daughter by this public event and know first hand the monetary losses in support, and the emotional damage from watching the events which have been brought upon these unlucky individuals. To begrudge them some financial recompress is wrong. To their complaints when most now are only beginning to go beyond the shock and feeling of the first months is inappropriate. A victim compensation fund should compensate victims and the Special Master entrusted with that charge should do all in his power on behalf of those victims....not prove away to political differences and pressure not to pay. The caps at around 3 million dollars no where approximate the sums of money any of these victims would receive in normal litigation ...what of the millions awarded for a scratched BMW ...and no normal litigation would deduce insurance or charity from it's award. What became of the goal of dispensing with the costs and time of litigation. The capped amounts and the deductibles effectively relieve the United States and the elected officials from meaningful recompensing the victims families. This is an injustice and not within the original intent of the legislation. Most individuals employed at the World Trade Center probably had insurance for their families at their own expense. If they received it as part of compensation they paid the appropriate taxes on a benefit computed as income. The insurance and charity should not be deductible. It is my opinion that if a survey were taken of the 3000 individuals who died most would not be receiving anything more than a couple hundred thousand - not a meaningful sum- or expense to the taxpayers - under the current plan. Effectively the deductibles relieve the U.S. of responsibility to a majority of those who died. The Special Master should go to back to Congress forthwith in accordance with his charge and seek amendment of the underlying legislation. All elected personnel who believe as they should that there must be recompense to those who suffered for all Americans must promptly amend the legislation to leave insurance and charity undeductible from any amount awarded. This legislation was signed into law within days of September 11th. It's errors can just as easily be rectified. The Special Master should also make provisions more specific than turning over funds in some general way in accordance with the state law to award as is normally done by a formula for the years of dependency for spouses and children thereby apportioning rather than further causing disintergration and damage to these families by potential disputes. Tort Reform to prevent excessive monetary judgments and a plan to be used in cases of mass injury should not begin with the families of those individuals who suffered the worst physical, psychological and financial harm ever sustained by human beings. The legislation should permit these individuals to bring suit as well against these terrorist organization and individuals - whose funds have been frozen and any amounts ultimately awarded subrogated and allocated as to portions paid by the US through the victim compensation fund awards. For a country as rich as the United States and with the waste that we so wrongfully cause in spending unnecessary - we are morally obligated if we truly believe as we should - that those who died were Heroes and patriots to fairly compensate the Horrors their families have endured, and will continue to endure for their remaining lives. Some of these costs should be born by taxpayers. Sincerely, Individual Comment Bronxville, New York September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojP000110.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, November 07, 2001 11:30 AM administration of victim's funds I support a cap being placed on the amount of money a victim's family can receive from a combined charitable and Federal fund. I do not support double-dipping nor making millionaires out of victim's families. Families should have to accout for money received from charity on their Federal tax returns. 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 dojW000175.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. Tuesday, November 06, 2001 2:49 PM Re: Public comments on issues related to the Victims compensation fund Hello, Thank you for inviting public comments on this issue. I have been extremely disappointed in the way charitable organizations are giving in to their own transparent greed by trying to devise ways to cheat the Sept 11 victims out of the money collected on their behalf. I applaud our government for wanting to rise above that level and strive for fairness. I'll address the issues as outlined in the NY Times article today. 1. In order to define/verify eligibility for the fund, I believe producing acceptable forms of documentation for the person lost such as the expedited death certificates offered for the WTC victims families should be sufficient. To ensure that the right relative is applying for benefits of the fund, generally accepted standards like those used by life insurance companies to determine who gets the proceeds of any policy should be used. This would prevent a non-immediate relative from intercepting benefits that should rightfully go to someone more closely tied to the lost victim. Ie, an Uncle could not apply to receive the fund proceeds if it were found that there was a living wife, or child who would be deemed in first position to receive benefits. In the event that no spouse (legal or common-law) were evident, then children of the deceased should be next, followed by parents of the deceased, siblings, etc. Only one relative should be allowed to file on behalf of one victim. There should not be several people filing to receive benefits on the same victim. 2. Calculating economic and noneconomic losses should be based on a combination of what the lost victim was earning on an annualized basis and calculating what percentage that amount was in relation to the families overall income as a whole. If the person was only earning 25% of the total family income, then the economic benefit should not be greater than that. The non-economic benefits to all families should be one set dollar amount which would be equally dispersed to all families. 3. Disputes amoung relatives could easily be resolved by referring back to #1 above and using a standard life insurance companies rules for determining eligibility. In the case of disputes over which relatives in a family are entitled to benefits, the burden of proof should always rest on the relative with the greatest relational distance from the victim himself. For example: Between an ex-wife with children and an Uncle or Aunt, the burden of proof of entitlement to benefits would rest on the Uncle or Aunt and not on the ex-wife with children. In the case of homosexual couples or non-married couples, I believe using the standard common-law marriage rules to determine the validity of the relationship should apply. I am pleased to see our government rise to the challenge of providing for the victims of Sept 11. My support, and my prayers remain with all of you. Individual Comment Mount Pleasant, SC September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-06 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000113.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-06 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, November 25, 2001 9:13 PM 9/11 victim comp I can only hope that the people who are making these rules are as generous as possible.This is only a small drop in the bucket for the government. These people lost so much that the money can give only little relief. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-25 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000544.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-25 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Date: 3/14/02 Kenneth L. Zwick Director, Office of Management Programs Civil Division, US Dept of Justice Main Building Room 3140 950 Pensylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 Mr. Zwick, I am writing to tell you how shocked to hear that you will not be compensating the gay and lesbian victims of 9/11. It is my understanding that no payments are being made to gay and lesbian partners and family members if there is no state law to sanction a payment. I made contributions at work to 9/11 funds and it was not just some of the victims. Your discrimination hiding behind the shortcomings of state laws goes against the equality United States Constitution strives to bring all its citizens. Granting compensation to illegal aliens and their families who were victimized in the attacks is right and just. The fact that you are willing to overlook federal laws while helping aliens runs counter to your standing on state law to avoid paying a select group. When my company, ask for contributions to its 9/11 fund I contributed out of a sense of compassion and patriotism. matched the employee contributions which were over $100,000. Our parent company pledged $3,000,000 as well. Although I don't speak for my company I will take up this issue with those who may lend a voice to the cause of equality for all the victims of 9/11. I will encourage and to specify that no exclusion be made to any individual or group that was a victim of the act of terrorism. I hope you will look at your current policy and correct the inequality that exists. Individual Comment Arlington, VA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR002860.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 4, 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 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, including the gay who gave his life ministering to those in need as well as who died while stopping the assalt on the White House, 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 Lake Oswego, OR September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-04 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000896.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-04 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 11:06 AM survival benefits for partners of 9/11 victims. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20530 Via Email: victimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov Dear Director Zwick: I am writing to support the position of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in their letter to you dated November 21, 2001 regarding disbursement of monies from the September 11 Fund. I agree with the need for the Department of Justice to Department to "include among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners or de facto parents or children, regardless of sexual orientation and marital status." The horrific loss of loved ones to a random terrorist act should not be compounded by our own government denying survivors whatever benefits may be available simply because we fail to have laws to protect all of our citizens. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Very truly yours, Individual Comment Fairfax, VA 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 dojA000787.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. Friday, December 07, 2001 9:37 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 Watertown, MA *** September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-07 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 dojA001270.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. 2001-12-07 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, March 20, 2002 10:42 AM benefits for gay partners I was appalled to learn that partners of gay and lebians who were killed on 9/11 will not be receiving the same benefits as others, even illegal aliens. This is completely unfair and I for one hope that you will rethink this outrageous decision. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-20 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 dojR002338.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. 2002-03-20 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. Thursday, December 13, 2001 8:49 PM To Each as Each Has Need Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Dear Mr. Zwick: As I insisted with my donation to the American Red Cross, so I insist that my government distribute to each as each has need regardless of sexual orientation, and including "partners" whether gay or not. I know how hard it is to lose someone one loves but is not "married" to. Fortunately, family and friends shared in my loss, and cared for the same loved one. Our government must be no less generous. Sincerely, Individual Comment San Francisco 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 dojA001646.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, January 18, 2002 4:19 PM My comments to "The Federal Victims(Heroes) Compensation Program" My comments regarding the Federal Victims(Heroes) Compensation Fund are as follows: 1) The $250,000 non-economic payout is way too low. My sister was only 31 years old and was the mother of a 10-month old little boy. He will never get the chance to even know his mother. 2) The charts that are being used to calculate the economic payout are extremely outdated. Today, women work much longer then they did when these charts were formulated. Also, work performed in the home needs to be calculated in to the formula as well. 3) The fact that payments such as Life Insurance and Social Security Survivor's benefits are subtracted from the total is insane. In reference to the Social Security Benefits, it's like the government is giving with one hand and taking back with the other! In reference to the Life Insurance, why should people be penalized for the foresight of their loved ones? 4) Also, the fact that you have know way of knowing what your final payment will be until after you sign up for the program, thereby, giving up your right to sue if the total is too low is ridiculous. You should know exactly what your options are so that you can make an educated decision. You're talking about people's lives here! I attended the rally in the Park Avenue Armory last night and everyone in attendance, and I'm sure many people who were not able to attend, have many of the same grievances. In fact, Governor Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and many other government officials voiced the same concerns. If this program is truly meant to compensate the victims or victims' families, these grievances should be seriously taken into consideration. As it is now the Federal Victims Compensation Program is an injustice and a disgrace. If Mr. Feinberg truly cares about the families he will take the time to hear what we have to say and make the necessary changes so that the Federal Victims Compensation Program meets the needs of all those concerned and, in doing so, honors the memory of all those lost on September 11th. Thank you. Individual Comment Middle Village, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002036.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, January 21, 2002 2:49 PM Victim Compensation Fund Dear Mr. Feinberg, My name is . I am the mother of two small children, ages 5 and 10. My husband, , was taken from us as a result of the unspeakable horror that occurred on September 11, 2001. was only 39 years old, just entering the prime of his life. He was a wonderful husband and father, working very hard, commuting from our home in South Jersey to New York City every day, to make sure we enjoyed a comfortable existence. We took great comfort in knowing he was always there for us. No amount of compensation could ever restore the life we shared with or remove the devastation we experience every day because of his absence. However, without financial assistance to replace the income we all depended on, our suffering will be even worse. There is great confusion and debate as to the extent of the compensation being offered to the victims' families from the Victim Compensation Fund and I have recently been advised that strong (and costly) legal representation will be the only way for victims to receive an equitable distribution. I hope you will agree that this should not be the case. In this highly litigious society, and I have never been the type of people to rely on litigation to gain a competitive edge or to become unjustly enriched. I firmly believe that the goal of the compensation offered by the Fund should be to allow each victim's family to continue living in roughly the same manner to which they were accustomed before September 11, 2001, no more, no less. Obviously, this is no easy task. However, I am very concerned about a number of issues related to the interim final rules that appear to run contrary to the intent of the Fund's purpose. First and foremost, if the Fund is supposed to present a favorable alternative to costly, uncertain and time-consuming litigation, it is incomprehensible to me that a claimant would have to waive the right to litigate before knowing the exact amount to which he or she would be entitled under the Fund. I personally believe that for many claimants, a lot of confusion would be eliminated, and perhaps the need for legal representation removed, if each was to receive a calculation showing the amount of award and precisely how it was determined under the rules. Then, having been given a reasonable amount of time to evaluate the award, the claimant would chose whether to accept it and waive the right to litigate, appeal the determination on the basis of extraordinary circumstances, or reject it, thereby opting for litigation. Concerning the method of calculation, I cannot personally speak to the inequities of using national economic statistics, as opposed to area-specific data, nor to the use of caps and offsets, except to reiterate that whatever methodology is used should have the result of allowing each claimant family to continue to exist in roughly the same manner it did before September 11, 2001. I believe this was the intent of the Fund and I pray that you will do whatever is necessary to achieve this result. Sincerely, Individual Comment Sewell, NJ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002181.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, December 21, 2001 7:02 AM Justice help all terrorist victims Dear Mr. Zwick: The very humane Fund for relatives of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks must include all relatives of all the victims. This importantly should include the partners and children of same sex unions. They suffer just as grievously for their deceased loved ones as do other survivors, and their need for assistance is just as great. Please do not give in to the importuning of callous homophobic groups and individuals who would have the Department of Justice limit compensation to survivors of heterosexual unions. They are interested in a political victory, not humane assistance. This Fund is intended for humane purposes; it is not a political statement, Mr. Zwick. Sincerely, Individual Comment Beacon 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 dojN000337.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 10:01 AM Crisis Relief Benefits for Same-Sex Partners 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 Chicago, IL 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 dojA002920.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, January 16, 2002 8:03 PM Comment on the Interim Final Rule 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: Public Comment of on behalf of (victim's wife) on the Interim Final Rule and Request for Comments, September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, 28 C.F.R. Part 104 [Civ 104p; AG Order No. 2541-2001] RIN 1105-AA79 I. Commenter's Interest in Commenting I am writing on behalf of myself and my daughter to comment on the Interim Final Rule implementing the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (hereinafter, the "Fund"), which was established by the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (hereinafter, the "Act"). My son-in-law of fourteen years, , was standing watch as the on September 11, 2001 and lost his life in the Pentagon attack. My Daughter, who is now left to raise and support two children under the age of five alone due to the attack, is also now struggling with the decision as to whether or not to participate in the Fund. As my daughter and I struggle to understand the full implications of participation in the Fund, it is clear to us that many important issues regarding application of the Interim Final Rule (hereinafter, the 'Rule") to military victims are not adequately addressed by the Rule. I comment in order to identify several of these issues and to urge that these issues be clarified in the final rule. I am sure that many families of military personnel lost at the Pentagon share the concerns that are addressed below. We appreciate your consideration of our comments and we hope that by clarifying these issues in the final rule military families will be better able to make a decision regarding Fund participation. II. The Nature of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund At the outset, I would like to express our family's gratitude for the Fund. On September 11 our family and our nation suffered a devastating blow. We are comforted by our government's response and we would like to express our appreciation for the promptness by which the Rule was promulgated. At the same time, however, it must be recognized that the Act is unprecedented in American history Never before, to my knowledge, has the United States government simultaneously limited a potential wrongdoer's liability and then made the victims choose between using the United States judicial system - without knowing the extent of this government-mandated limited liability - or filing a complaint in the hopes of receiving just compensation from a governmentagency operating under rules that are somewhat ambiguous and whose decision is not subject to judicial review. I am not an attorney, but I question how such a system can be Constitutional. Nonetheless, this is the system in which we must operate. Against this backdrop, I believe that it is your duty to clarify implementation of the program-including the items addressed below-to the maximum extent humanly possible. Accordingly, we respectfully request that you clear up the issues discussed below when promulgating the final rule. III. Specific Comments A. Pre-Filing Presumed Award Determination. The Act requires that each claimant waive the right to sue "upon the submission of a claim." A significant problem with the current Rule is that it lacks any mechanism for the determination of the presumed award applicable to a particular claimant before such claimant has filed an actual claim for compensation under the Fund. A few presumed award tables have been promulgated, but given that the Rule fails to address how many common compensation circumstances will be treated under the collateral source rule, the publication of several presumed award tables does not provide sufficient information upon which claimants can make a reliable determination of the presumed award applicable in a particular case. Thus, the current Rule forces claimants - i.e., September 11th victims and their families- to "gamble" with their future by filing a claim (and thereby forever waiving any judicial review of their claim) in the hopes that they will receive a just award determination from the Fund administrators. Such a situation is not required by the Act. Indeed, there is nothing in the Act which would prohibit the Special Master from implementing a procedure by which a particular claimant's relevant information could be submitted before a claim is filed and then the claimant notified of his or her applicable presumed award. I urge the Special Master to adopt in the final rule a procedure for the determination of the presumed award applicable to a particular claimant before a claim is filed. To be effective, the final rule would have to required that if a claimant utilized the pre-filing presumed award determination mechanism, the actual presumed award used after the claimant filed a claim would be at least as great as the pre-filing determination. B. Veterans Administration Payment to Dependent Children. Dependent Children of military members Killed in the September 11th attacks are eligible for monthly compensation from the Veterans Administration (until age 18 or 21). One question that should be resolved when promulgating the final rule is whether these payments will be tested as collateral compensation - to the claimant -- and, if so, exactly how such payment will be valued. The plain language of the Act requires that Veterans Administration payment to dependent children not be counted as collateral source compensation. More specifically, the Act requires the Special Master to reduce compensation from the Fund "by the of the collateral source compensation the claimant has received or is entitled to receive." This concept is echoed in the comments to the current Rule: " Moreover, because the collateral offset only applies to collateral source compensation that the claimant has received or is entitled to receive...," Because dependent children who are not the named legal representative of a victim are not claimants under the definitions set forth in the Act (and Rule), the final rule should explicitly provide that Veterans Administration payments to dependent children who are not the named personal representative will not be counted as collateral source compensation and offset against Fund compensation to claimants. In my opinion, it is only fair that these Veterans Administration payments should be treated the same as payment from charitable organizations, which the Special Master has determined will not count as collateral source compensation, in order not to further penalize victims of the Pentagon disaster more than other victims of September 11 attacks. I do not mean to distinguish between, as everybody involved has suffered a tragedy, but it should be recognized that many charities--and indeed perhaps the best-known television fund raising event - will provide relief only to the victims of the World Trade Center attack. Thus, exempting charitable contributions from the collateral source rule will, generally speaking, be more advantages to victims of the World Trade Center attack. Given this, it would seem fair that Veterans Administration payments to dependent children of military victims also not be treated as collateral source compensation, especially when the plain meaning of the Act would exempt such payment from the collateral source rule. C. Unearned Military Retirement Pay. The Act Specifies that pension funds are collateral source compensation and thus deductible from any compensation under the Fund. How will unearned military retirement benefits be treated under the program? More specifically, many active duty and reservist victims of the Pentagon attack were not yet eligible for military retirement pay. Thus, those victims were not receiving such pay and their families will never receive such pay now that those victims are deceased. But those payments should be considered as supplemental information with respect to future income of the deceased members, as these members would have become eligible for such payment in time. The final Rule should explicitly provide for the treatment of unearned military retirement pay. D. 401(K) Funds. The Act specifies that pension funds are collateral source compensation and thus deductible from any compensation under the Fund. The Special Master's FAQs indicate that 401(K) balances will not be treated as collateral source compensation if such balances resulted from the employee's contribution. How will the Special Master treat 401(k) balances in which both the employee and employer contributed? I believe that the final rule should specify that such balances should also not be treated a collateral source compensation because the employer's contribution should be treated as part of the employee's compensation. E. Airline Liability Limitation. The Act limits the liability of airlines to the maximum limit of each airlines's liability insurance limit. But individual claimants have no way of determining what such limits are, short of filing a lawsuit and conducting discovery. I am not sure whether this is within the Department of Justice's power; however, I believe, that, if possible, part of the final rule should require those airlines involved to disclose the limitation of liability that they will assert in court so that victims trying to decide whether to participate in the program will know what limitations will apply for the airlines should the dispute end up in litigation. I believe that this requirement of airline disclosure is only fair, after all, the airlines are getting a tremendous advantage from the Act in that their liability is capped. It would thus seem not at all be unreasonable to require the airlines to disclose their liability limits. F. Salary increases and inflation factor. Referring to the "Calculation of Economic Loss" procedure outlined in Section II of the "Presumed Economic and Non-Economic Loss Table" publication attached to the Interim Final Rule, in Step 2 of the procedure certain wage growth assumptions are applied to the three-year earnings calculation in Step 1. Individuals between 31 and 50 years of age are assumed to have received wage increases of 5.1% per year, and this figured is described as including a 0.5% above inflation salary increase and a 1.5% merit increase for workers in this age bracket. In Step 4 of the same procedures, an inflation factor of 5.13% is applied to future estimated earnings in order to calculate a present value. As the 5.13% inflation factor is greater that the 5.1% salary increase factor, it appears that a straightforward application of this procedure results in negative constant-dollar salary growth for all individuals in this age bracket. At the open forum in Crystal City on January 16, 2002, Special Master Feinberg, in response to this comment, stated that this interpretation is incorrect. Please correct and/or clarify this procedure to properly indicate what the true salary growth estimates are. G. Worklife Estimates. Referring again to the "Calculation of Economic Loss" procedure outlined in Section II of the "Presumed Economic and Non-Economic Loss Tables" publication attached to the Interim Final Rule, estimates of working lifetime are defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Worklife Estimates" publication. The only available publication entitled "Worklife Estimates" from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is a 1986 document that bases its finding on 1979-1980 labor force data. It may be generally assumed that working lifetimes have increase over the 20 years since this data were taken, and thus the use fo such vintage data will underestimates the working lifetimes of persons in 2001 and in turn underestimate their total future earnings. The final rule should accurately cite and make available updated worklife estimated from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and discontinue use of 1979-1980 labor force data. Respectfully submitted, Individual Comment Catonsville, Maryland September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-16 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 dojN002405.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. 2002-01-16 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. 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 Evanston, IL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA002292.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, March 21, 2002 5:03 PM You're discriminating too? I'd like to express my outrage over the fact that the families of gays and lesbians who died on September 11th are not receiving the compensation that other families are. I thought this tragedy had served to break down barriers of ignorance and hate in this country. I guess I was wrong. I thought we were all equals, all Americans. Now I'm not proud to be one. Individual Comment New Jersey September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR002563.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 4:10 PM Support Equal Access to Crisis Relief Benefits for Surviving Gay and Lesbian Partners 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 Freehold, NJ 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 dojA003507.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 1:25 PM please provide equal access to benefits for gay and lesbian victims of 9/11 December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Mountain View, 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 dojA003312.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