844 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 4:32 PM Discrimination I am appalled by your as plans shared by Kenneth Feinberg on March 10, 2002 in NBC's "Meet the Press". He stated that he, your fund, intends to exclude benefits from some victims because of their pirvate sexual orientation. To try and rationalize it by hiding behind State laws is laughable in this circumstance. I am neither a gay nor a lesbian so I have absolutely no vested interest in this issue. My only issue is that which comes with being an American with a conscience. Victims of terrorist activities are victims no matter their creed, nationality, and certainly not their sexual orientation. Heros of that terrible incident are heros still regardless of the same criteria. To now exclude a subpopulation from the deserved help, which was given out of the spirit of generosity by the whole world, is immoral. How could you? If this comes to be a truth, I will be ashamed to have contributed to your fund in any way. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000783.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. 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 whomleft 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 Boulder, CO September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001142.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. 2001-12-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, January 14, 2002 8:40 PM Help same sex partners of terrorist victims Dear Mr. Zwick: The very humane Fund for relatives of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks must include all relatives of all the victims. This importantly should include the partners and children of same sex unions. They suffer just as grievously for their deceased loved ones as do other survivors, and their need for assistance is just as great. Please do not give in to the importuning of callous homophobic groups and individuals who would have the Department of Justice limit compensation to survivors of heterosexual unions. They are interested in a political victory, not humane assistance. This Fund is intended for humane purposes; it is not a political statement, Mr. Zwick. Sincerely, Individual Comment Miami, FL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-14 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 dojN001760.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. 2002-01-14 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. Wednesday, March 13, 2002 7:47 PM Outrageous treatment of gay 9/11 survivors I am outraged! How can you include illegal aliens and babies and pretty much everybody else EXCEPT for gay 9/11 tragedy survivors? Try and get your nose out of the backside of the religious right and pointing in the direction of justice for all - gay or straight, black or white, American or foreign citizen. How many hundreds of thousands of dollars have you collected from gay people in your fund? Well, no more money from our community comes your way unless you change your position. I figure you will put me on some kind of list, so your buddy Ashcroft can restrict my civil liberties, and despite Dick Cheney saying "we better watch what we say", this IS still America and we still have free speech. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR002118.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 11:08 AM Regulations for administering Sept. 11 Fund 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 asthe terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. I urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment Chicago, Illinois 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 dojA000788.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, March 19, 2002 2:18 AM Protest 9/11 Fund Exclusion of Gays 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 Dear Kenneth Zwick, I received this is my email. Please tell me this is a hoax. If it is not, it is shameful behavior for the leaders of our United America to be a part of. So because you're gay that means your heart is smaller and doesn't hurt as much? Or you don't need help to get back on your feet? Now the person you loved most in this world is gone.... gone because their loved one fought for our principals, our honor, OUR America. Some of our heroes loved ones now have to bear all of their burdens alone, because their homosexual? And this, while a more accepted part of our race is being held up and supported? Even non-citizens are receiving aid from us???!!! I don't understand!! There were gay/leisbian people who died for our ideals of what America is all about. Our Gay/Lesbian America consists of human beings! We were built on diversity and we need to keep giving thanks for it. I vote for a fair America, one who celebrates diversity, one who supports all of it's citizens, one who is compassionate, fair, just and one who loves her people, All her people....One nation, Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please see below for the original email. Never More Sincerely, Individual Comment American September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR002073.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. 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 Wheaton,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 dojA002620.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. The Family of Victim of WTC Tragedy 9/11/01 Jersey City, NJ January 18, 2002 Mr. Kenneth L Zwick Director, Office of Management Programs Civil Division United States Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20530-001 Re: September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2201 Dear Mr. Zwick: We are writing to you on behalf of our family. We lost (daughter, sister-in-law sister) in the World Trade Center Disaster. Congress demonstrated its concern for the victims of September 11, 2001, by creating the Victim Compensation Fund. It would appear that this Fund, indeed, was established to offset the negative effects the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act of September 22nd would have on any resultant wrongful death lawsuits. Clearly, the Victim Compensation Fund was enacted by Congress to offer a fair alternative to the bailout act's removal of our rights. Unfortunately, we feel that the regulations established for the Victim Compensation Fund do not reflect the intent of the congressional statute as outlined under Title IV- Victim Compensation, of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. The regulations' contradictions and violations of the statute are outlined in 's letter to you, dated January 10, 2002. Another copy of the letter will be faxed to you, for your reference. The concerns include, but are not limited to the following: Non-economic losses are far too low. In fact, they are one-tenth of those made in comparable cases. In other cases of airline crashes and terrorism, the non-economic, damage awards typically range from $2.0 Million to $5.0 Million and higher in some cases. However, more to the point, Congress specifically did not cap this amount. In addition to the all other non-pecuniary losses of any kind or nature catch-all phrase, Congress cited at least eight other relevant elements of loss: (1) physical pain, (2) emotional pain, (3) suffering, (4) inconvenience, (5)mental anguish,(6) loss of enjoyment of life, (7) loss of consortium and (8) hedonic damages. However, the DOJ seems to have arbitrarily assigned a sum of $250,000, as a presumptive award. As we understand it the DOJ did not even look at or consider the congressional element of loss, but rather used the maximum life insurance amount that a servicemember can elect. It is commonly known as the Servicemembers' Group life Insurance program. The DOJ's economic loss calculations seem to be based on an out-dated table(1979/80) using national averages that are not representative of the New York area. Similarly, is unfairly considered by the outdated table's failure to recognize the place of women in the workplace. In general, it would appear that rather than considering the income-earning potential of the victim as is routinely done in wrongful death cases, outdated inadequate economic loss parameters are being used. The regulations define dependency by a tax return. This is too severe. Dependency should include anyone financially or emotionally dependent upon the victim (decedent). Collateral income provisions, as loosely defined in the Fund's regulations, are unconscionable. The government should not penalize any family member for any charitable funds received or for any victim's thoughtful foresight used when having insured their lives. It would seem to me that making a family member sign a waiver not to sue without that person knowing the financial outcome is tantamount to financial blackmail. You are in effect saying "I won't necessarily give you what you deserve, but you won't know for sure unless you sign a statement saying that you will not pursue any litigation against us or the airline industry." We do not know whether to be hurt as we are being 're-victimized' or to be angry at the lack of respect this shows our beloved . Only special review cases will be assessed by the Special Master. There are no guidelines, there seem to be no rules, merely the Special Master's 'judgement'. Since learning of all of the other items of inequity please forgive us if we don not necessarily trust the Special Master to treat the grieving, devastated families fairly. We simply do not. The Special Master seems to forget that this is not a gift or an act of charity on the part of our government. Congress stripped us of our right to pursue meaningful wrongful death claims, while we were searching for our sister. In so doing, they tried to protect us by legislating this program. Please do no make a sham of Congress' efforts to do the right thing for the families of innocent victims: What is most extraordinary is the overall feeling of inequity. It is fundamentally unfair to trivialize the tremendous amount of suffering of each victim and each family. You drastically undervalue the non- economic losses by a minimum of $1.5 Million. You undervalue the economic validity and duration of the victim, by as much as 50%. You want to subtract other funds that have already been received. Mr. Zwick, obviously you weren't there on September 11th. I was. I was trying to get to my sister in WTC-2 when the second plane hit. The devastation cannot be adequately described. Victims in both towers suffered through terror that we probably cannot ever realize. Victims aboard airplanes suffered through a kidnapping, with the horrific knowledge of what was to befall them. Those in the World Trade Center suffered through the trauma of the planes crashing into the building and with raging fires so intense and unbearable that I watched as some chose to jump out of the 100+ story buildings rather than endure the flames. Think of the last moments of others as the towers came crashing down. I know I do. I think of it every moment of every day. I see it occur all over again, every night in my nightmares. Each time I do, I try to change the nightmare so that this time I actually get to before the second plane does. In light of all of this trauma and unspeakable grief, how can our wonderful country(we truly do love America) try to de-value the most valuable soul in our lives: my Mother's baby, my brother's favorite- sister, my husbands closest friend and my best friend and favorite person in the world? We would urge you, please, to look at 's letter of January 10th and to amend the regulations to properly reflect the congressional intent as outlined in the Title IV-Victim Compensation statute. Please do not dishonor 's memory and value, but rather do what is honorable. Please do not inflict anymore pain into our unbearably painful lives, by 'nickel-and-dime-ing" the American victims of the Taliban and El Qaeda, while touting a $45.0 Billion package for the Afghani victims of the Taliban and El Qaeda. Sincerely, On Behalf of our Mother and Family of CC: Pesident George W. Bush president@whitehouse.gov Attorney General Ashcroft AskDOJ@usdoj.gov Special Master Kenneth Feinberg AskDOJ@usdoj.gov WTC United Family Group January 10, 2002 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL AND FEDERAL EXPRESS Mr. Kenneth L Zwick Director, Office of Management Programs Civil Division United States Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20530-0001 Re: September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Dear Mr. Zwick: The following are our comments with respect to the regulations promulgated by the Department of Justice on December 20, 2001 concerning the administration of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (the "Fund"). As will be demonstrated herein, the regulations, as presently written, are in direct contradiction and violation of the statute. The statute required that claimants receive compensation for economic and non-economic losses as specifically delineated in the statute. Simply put, the regulations are a betrayal to the families who have suffered enormously as a result of the tragic events of September 11th and they must be rewritten to conform to the statute. In addition, some of our comments are preliminary as we have requested in writing additional information from Kenneth R. Feinberg, Esq., Special Master to the Fund, concerning the formula and criteria used to calculate economic loss under the presumptive award guidelines. We have also requested that he provide us with the factors that were considered in determining the presumptive awards for non-economic loss. To date, we have not received a response to our inquiries. See letters dated December 27, 2001 January 4, 2002 and January 8, 2002 collectively attached as Exhibit "A". As will be set forth below, the regulations are in direct contradiction to the statute which created the Fund. Accordingly, they must be rewritten as to promote the purpose and intent of the statute, which is to provide compensation for the economic and non-economic losses suffered by each claimant based upon the individual facts and circumstances of each claim. As currently written, the regulations group together different cases and award like amounts based simply upon minimal demographic information, i.e., age, earnings, marital status and number of dependents. The pre-determined and presumptive awards, by definition, do not account for the individual facts of each claim and, therefore, this approach must be discarded in favor of a process that will allow awards to be based upon the actual damages of the claimant without any pre-determined limits or caps. This approach is precisely what the statute calls for; the statute does not allow the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master to limit or cap awards. As such, the present regulations are contrary to the law. See Act, at §405(b). The Act specifically defines the recoverable elements of economic and non-economic loss. Under the Act, economic loss is defined as: ANY PECUNIARY LOSS RESULTING FROM THE HARM; including, LOSS OF EARNINGS; or OTHER BENEFITS RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT; MEDICAL EXPENSE LOSS; LOSS DUE TO DEATH; BURIAL COSTS; and LOSS OF BUSINESS OR EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES; to the extent that the foregoing losses are allowed under applicable State law. See Act, at 402 (5). Nothing whatsoever in the Act allows the determination of economic loss to be limited to a pre-determined or presumptive amount. Moreover, no potentially applicable law allows for the calculation of economic loss to be based upon pre-determined, presumptive or "capped" income. Rather, the calculation of economic losses must be based upon the decedent's actual economic circumstances. Id. ECONOMIC LOSS As set forth above, the Act requires the Special Master to calculate the extent of the economic harm suffered by the claimant. Id. The parameters for economic harm are contained within the statute itself and leave no discretion to the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master to limit same in any fashion. See Act, at §402(5). Had Congress intended to impose a limit on economic loss, it would have simply said so in the Act. The regulations which address the calculation of economic loss violate the express terms of the Act in a number of respects. First, the regulations state that for purposes of the Special Master's analysis in determining economic loss, the maximum amount of yearly income that will be recognized for computation of an award are earnings up to but not beyond the 98th percentile of individual income in the United States for the year 2000 or $231,000.00.1 See 28 CFR §104.43 This limitation or "cap" on earnings has no support or justification within the Act. The statute does not permit economic losses to be limited in the manner prescribed in the regulations and, as such the regulations contradict the statute. Moreover, the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master do not cite any authority from the statute to allow a limitation of annual earnings to this arbitrary and pre-determined figure, nor do they cite to any state statute which permits an economic analysis to be limited in the manner set forth in the regulations. Accordingly, the regulations must be rewritten to allow for the recovery of full economic loss based upon the actual earnings of the decedent. Contrary to the statement published by the Special Master, the determination of economic loss based upon actual earnings is not a theoretical analysis based upon mere speculation. 1In the presumptive award guidelines attached to the regulations, the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master state that the 98th percentile of individual income in the United States for the year 2000 equaled $231,000. Rather, it is an analysis done in courtrooms every day across this country and it is what is required when evaluating economic loss. Second, the regulations set forth pre-determined and presumptive awards for economic loss, but fail to set forth the manner in which the economic loss was calculated. For example, the regulations attempt to establish pre-determined awards based upon income, age, marital status and dependents. The economic loss calculations are purportedly based upon a number of economic criteria including gross earnings, retirement age, tax rate, reduction of the award to present value using an unknown discount rate, as well as a reduction of the award based upon the personal consumption of the decedent, yet no consumption rate is contained within the regulations. Also, the regulations are silent as to the manner in which each of the foregoing criteria were utilized in the calculation of the pre-determined and presumptive awards for economic losses. As previously indicated, my office has sent a number of letters to the Special Master requesting the precise manner in which a claimant's economic losses were calculated, including the formula and factors considered in this analysis. Regrettably, the Special Master has not yet responded to our inquiries and, as such, it is impossible to comment on the manner in which these figures were calculated. When, and if, we receive the requested information, we will provide additional comment. Moreover, the Act requires that the analysis for economic losses be determined by the individual circumstances to the claimant. The publication of pre-determined and presumptive guidelines, by definition, do not take into account the individual circumstances of a claimant. The career path of a particular claimant, average wage increases with that claimant's industry, average wage increases given by the claimant's employer, individual consumption rates, individual habits of savings, and the value of household services contributed by the decedent are all essential elements of any analysis. The generalized grouping together of cases based upon minimal demographic criteria is contrary to the statute. As a result, the pre-determined presumptive awards for economic losses must be eliminated and the regulations rewritten to permit economic losses to be calculated in each individual case based upon the facts of the claim. Third, the factors utilized by the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master take into account only "certain employer benefits( such as premiums for medical coverage paid by the employer)". See Presumed Economic and Non-Economic Loss Tables, II(A) at Step One, 28 CFR §104. The regulations with respect to the calculation of economic loss apparently omit other elements of significant employee compensation such as pension benefits paid by the employer, contributions by the employer to retirement programs, stock opinion grants, etc. Contrary to the statute, the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master have simply omitted these significant elements of employee compensation from their pre-determined and presumptive calculation of economic loss. Therefore, the regulations must be rewritten so that economic losses include these significant elements of compensation. NON-ECONOMIC LOSS The Act defines the elements of non-economic loss as follows: LOSSES FOR PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL PAIN; SUFFERING; INCONVENIENCE; PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT; MENTAL ANGUISH; DISFIGUREMENT; LOSS OF ENJOYMENT OF LIFE; LOSS OF SOCIETY AND COMPANIONSHIP; LOSS OF CONSORTIUM (not domestic services); HEDONIC DAMAGES; INJURY TO REPUTATION, and ALL OTHER NON-PECUNIARY LOSSES OF ANY KIND OR NATURE. See Act, at §402(7). As with economic losses, the Act does not limit or cap the recovery of non-economic losses to a pre-determined or presumptive amount. Instead, the Act requires the award for such losses shall be based upon individual circumstances of the claimant, the facts of the claim and the harm to the claimant. See Act, § 405(b). As set forth above, pursuant to the terms of the Act, the Special Master is required to make an award for all elements of non-economic losses. Nothing in the statute allows the Special Master to place a pre-determined amount upon any of these statutorily prescribed elements of recovery. Contrary to the express language of the statute, however, the regulations impose a pre- determined, presumptive and arbitrary value upon non-economic losses, i.e., $250,000 for the pre-death pain and suffering of the decedent, and the spouse and dependents of the decedent shall each receive the total sum of $50,000 in compensation for their above described losses. See 28 CFR §104.44. This approach to the valuation of non-economic losses, however, is nothing more than an arbitrary and capricious determination of the value of non-economic losses suffered by each family. Moreover, these arbitrary valuations have been decided upon without the Special Master hearing any evidence whatsoever with respect to a particular claim. The statute sets forth various components of non-economic loss as well as allow recovery for all aspects of non-pecuniary loss of any kind whatsoever. Congress did not limit the non- economic recovery as is contained in the regulations. Rather, with respect to the determination of compensation, Congress specifically mandated that the Special Master "shall review a claim and determine..the extent of the harm to the claimant, including any economic and noneconomic losses". See Act, §405(b)(emphasis added). Accordingly, the regulations must be rewritten to allow for non-economic losses to be based upon the individual circumstances of each claim. The regulations' reliance upon pre- determined awards for this aspect of recovery must be eliminated and the Special Master and/or an impartial hearing officer must be required to make awards based upon the specific facts of the claim. BURDEN OF PROOF As set forth in detail above, the regulations must be rewritten and the pre-determined presumptive award guidelines eliminated in favor of a system which is mandated by the statute, i.e., a determination based upon the individual facts and circumstances of each claim. As written, the regulations require that for the claimant to be successful in obtaining an award in excess of the pre-determined presumptive guidelines, he or she must demonstrate "extraordinary circumstances not adequately addressed by the presumptive award methodology." See 28 CFR § 104.31(b)(2) and 28 CFR §104.33(f)(2)(emphasis added). Simply put, placing this burden upon the claimant is an utter abuse of discretion. There is no justification for this action contained in the Act and the Department of Justice's and/or the Special Master's reliance upon a claimant's showing of "extraordinary circumstances" is contrary to the direct mandate of the legislation. Moreover, the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master do not cite any statutory authority for their determination that a showing of extraordinary circumstances in necessary to obtain an award in excess of the arbitrarily pre-determined and presumptive award guidelines. Rather, they have determined that in their view, "absent extraordinary circumstances, awards in excess of $3,000,000 Dollars will rarely be appropriate in light of individual needs and resources." See 28 CFR §104, at Statement by the Special Master (emphasis added). Contrary to the express language and mandate of the statute, the Department of Justice and the Special Master exceeded the breadth and scope of their authority and have pre- determined that no award, prior to collateral offset, should exceed $3,000,000. This limitation has no support other than the subjective, arbitrary and capricious determination of the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master. Had Congress intended for awards not to exceed a certain sum, it simply would have said so in the Act. Moreover, nowhere in the Act does Congress state that awards should be based upon any limiting factor. Rather, the statute requires that the recovery reflect economic and non-economic harm suffered by the claimant. Accordingly, the requirement of "extraordinary circumstances" must be stricken from the regulations. PROCESSING OF CLAIMS The regulations propose two separate tracks in which to process claims. See CFR §104.31. We propose that when rewritten, the regulations add an additional track identified as "Track C". Under Track C, Claimants will have the ability to submit their individual information to an independent and non-political evaluator who will conduct a hearing and issue an advisory award concerning the claim. Under this scenario, the claimant will not waive any right whatsoever upon submission of the claim under Track C. This procedure conforms to the stature in that under Track C claims, the claimant will not receive an actual award, but rather, he or she will receive an advisory opinion as to the valuation of the claim. With respect to the hearing officers utilized to process claims under Track C, we propose that they be retired judges who are well experienced in evaluating claims of this nature. My office contacted , Esq., Vice President of , located at , New York, New York . advised that will make available at least 100 retired judges to evaluate claims under "Track C". She further advised that would reduce their rates in light of the unique and tragic circumstances surrounding this matter. Budgetary constraints are not an issue with respect to the hiring of hearing officers as the statute specifically mandates that the Special Master has the authority to hire and employ these types of hearing officers. See Act, at §§404 and 406. After the issuance of an advisory award under Track C, the claimant and the Special Master shall have (10) days from the date of the award to accept, reject or negotiate same. If the advisory award is accepted by both Special Master and the claimant, the advisory award will be deemed the final award as if a claim had been submitted to the Fund in accordance with the statute, the claimant shall then receive payment within twenty days of the award's acceptance. Should either party reject the award, the claimant shall have the ability to either file a civil lawsuit seeking damages or submit a claim under Tracks A or B. HEARING The Act states, inter alia, that each claimant shall have the right to present evidence, including the presentation of witnesses and documents, in order to establish a claim under the Fund. Act , at §405(b)(4). The statute does not limit the hearing in any manner whatsoever. Contrary to the mandate of the statute, the Department of Justice and the Special Master have pre-determined that the length of the hearing shall be limited in length generally not to exceed two hours. See 14 CFR §104.33. This pre-determined hearing limit of two hours is in contravention to the express language and mandate of the statute in that this limited time will not provide the claimant with his or her due process right to present evidence as set forth in the Act. See Act, at §405 (b) (4). The ability to present evidence and testimony at a hearing becomes even more critical in light of the Department of Justice's and/or the Special Master's requirement that a claimant establish "extraordinary circumstances" to justify a higher recovery than set forth in the presumptive guidelines. Given the tremendous burden imposed upon the claimant, it will be necessary to present as much testimony and evidence as possible in order to establish "extraordinary circumstances" to justify a recovery that differs from the presumptive guidelines. This arbitrary time limit imposed by the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master is nothing more than an attempt to curtail the claimant's ability to present such evidence and, therefore, will have the effect of limiting awards under the Fund. Had Congress intended for the hearing to be limited to a specific time, it would have set forth this time period in the Act. Moreover, the effect of this arbitrary limitation on the length of the hearing is contrary to the intent and purpose of the statute which is to provide recovery for the economic and non-economic losses suffered by the claimant. Accordingly, the two hour time limit must be discarded and the claimant be allowed as much time as necessary to present the claim. RECORD OF HEARING In all likelihood, the hearing will be conducted by a hearing officer instead of the Special Master. As such, the hearing should be recorded and the hearing officer should be required to make a written determination of the award, including identifying and detailing the information relied upon by the hearing officer in making his or her determination. If the claimant feels that the award is inappropriate for any reason whatsoever, the claimant should then have a right to file an appeal with the Special Master and the Special Master shall then be required to review the award as well as the facts considered by the hearing officer in making the award. In this fashion, since the hearing will be recorded, a claimant who chooses to appeal such a determination to the Special Master will have a basis to do so. The regulations also state that the Special Master has the right to publish some or all of the awards. See 28 CFR §104.34. The regulations must require that each award along with the specific demographics of the decedent, i.e., age, marital status, number of children and dependents, earnings, occupation, etc., be published to insure that all claimants are being treated fairly and that no "side deals" are agreed to between parties. DISTRIBUTION OF AWARD The regulations require that the Personal Representative distribute the award consistent with the law of the decedent's domicile. Notwithstanding this provision, the Special Master has the right to require the Personal Representative to distribute the award pursuant to his directive if he determines that the proposed plan for distribution does not adequately compensate the spouse, children and/or other relatives. See 28 CFR §104.52. The statute, however, was intended to compensate relatives of a deceased individual. See Act, at §403. Since the Fund was created to provide compensation to the relatives of a decedent, the Special Master should identify in his award the specific awards for each individual eligible to share in the recovery. In this way, the Personal Representative will not have the ability and/or authority to distribute the award. Rather, the Special Master shall compensate each individual deemed eligible for the specific economic and non-economic losses that each has suffered. Certainly, each individual relative eligible to share in the award suffered different economic and non-economic damages as a result of the decedent's death. Since the Fund was established to compensate these individuals, this decision should be left to the Special Master as to the damages that each eligible individual suffered based upon the facts and circumstances of the claim. ADDITIONAL MATTERS The regulations define dependency as the spouse of the decedent and /or someone who was claimed as a dependent upon the deceased individual's 2000 federal tax return, and any child born after January 1, 2001. We believe, however, that the term dependency should not be limited to those individuals identified on the tax return, but rather, should include anyone who was financially or emotionally dependent upon the decedent. With respect to collateral sources, although the regulations state that charitable donations shall not be considered sources, Special Master Feinberg has the discretion to deem private charitable payments as collateral source offsets and as such, deductions from the award. See 28 CFR §104.47 (b)(2). The regulations must specifically state that all charitable payments of any kind whatsoever are not to be deemed collateral source offsets. Special Master Feinberg should not be given the discretion to determine what is in fact a charitable contribution. It is generally accepted that "collateral source" refers to contractual payments made to a claimant which compensate for economic losses. The regulations should make it clear that there shall be no collateral source deduction for payments made to victims and/or their families outside of a contractual agreement, including, private gifts to the victim and/or surviving family members. Lastly, under the compensation plan envisioned by the Department of Justice and/or the Special Master, it is possible for claimants who submit claims under the Fund to receive absolutely nothing. This result is more than likely for those claimants whose loved ones had the forethought to obtain life insurance policies and who have received other significant collateral source payments. The regulations should specifically set forth a minimum payment that each claimant will receive from the Fund regardless of the collateral source offsets. Certainly, the Act intended to compensate each claimant who files a claim under the Fund. Accordingly, the Act's essential purpose would not be met if a claimant was entitled to receive nothing from the Fund. Establishing a minimum award would be in the best interests of all claimants and would provide each claimant with the security of some type of recovery from the Fund. As aforementioned, it is our intention to submit additional comments once we receive responses to our repeated inquiries to the Special Master concerning the calculation of economic and non-economic losses. Very truly yours, Enclosures September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-09-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002469.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. 2001-09-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. January 9, 2001 To Our Elected Officials: In the immediate aftermath of the tragic attack of The United States, on September 11, Congress enacted the Victims" Compensation Fund of 2001 P.L. 107-42, to compensate the relatives of the victims of that brutal attack. As you know, this Fund was enacted as part of a comprehensive package which bailed out the airline industry and imposed restrictions of the rights of the victims' relatives to recover damages from court. We implore upon you, as our elected officials, to demand changes to the interim rules issued by Kenneth Feinberg, the Special Master. As it stands, Mr. Feinberg's self-imposed rules fail to satisfy the letter or the spirit of the legislation, which was enacted. Specifically, we request that you act on our behalf and demand the following changes to the interim rules: 1. The arbitrary income limits imposed by the Special Master are not only unfair but also inconsistent with the letter and the spirit of the law. Those victims from financial industry are specifically harmed by this limit. They were targeted and murdered precisely because of the jobs they held and where they worked-the World Trade Center, the Financial capital of the world, the embodiment of financial success. Those who achieved such Success should see that reflected in their awards. They personified American Business and commerce, democracy and freedom. We ask that you demand that Mr. Feinberg lift the arbitrary income limits so that each family can be treated fairly; commensurate with support they provided their families before their death. 2. Mr. Feinberg has arbitrarily restricted the non-economic awards for pain and suffering, no matter what the extent of the pain and suffering. This is unacceptable. In the words of Congressman Peter King,"...every death is tragic. A murder is particularly tragic. But to have your love one murdered in a burning building in full view of the world - in a scene which will be repeated in the media for decades to come is a horror these families will never escape from... The Special Master cannot take it upon himself to restrict the rights of the families." Therefore, we request that the interim rules be amended to more appropriately compensate the victims' families' for the immeasurable pain and suffering endured by our loved ones. As Mayor Giulani stated in his farewell address: "we have an obligation to the people who did die...Their families need to be protected just as if they had been alive, financially and every other way that we can help and assist their families...There should be no compromise about that ever..." We request that the interim rules be amended and that compensation for pain and suffering more accurately reflect that horror which was suffered. Justice demands no less. Sincerely, Individual Comment NYC September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-01-09 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 dojN002407.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. 2001-01-09 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 11:09 PM Compensation? Why discriminate against Gays and Lesbians? Isn't their partner as important to them as the "married" people. If they could have gotten married there wouldn't be any question about whether they were eligible. Incidentally, why is ANYONE getting money from the government? Was it their fault? If so, what will happen the next time we have a terrorist act? What about the Oklahoma tragedy? We, as a country, cannot afford to pay this compensation. We can hardly afford to fund the programs we have now. 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 dojR001278.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, December 19, 2001 11:38 AM equal access now 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 Somerville, MA 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 dojA003120.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. Monday, January 14, 2002 8:34 PM Help same sex partners of terrorist victims Dear Mr. Zwick: The very humane Fund for relatives of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks must include all relatives of all the victims. This importantly should include the partners and children of same sex unions. They suffer just as grievously for their deceased loved ones as do other survivors, and their need for assistance is just as great. Please do not give in to the importuning of callous homophobic groups and individuals who would have the Department of Justice limit compensation to survivors of heterosexual unions. They are interested in a political victory, not humane assistance. This Fund is intended for humane purposes; it is not a political statement, Mr. Zwick. Sincerely, Individual Comment Windsor, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-14 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 dojN001721.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. 2002-01-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 20, 2001 12:15 AM Protect Traditional Marriage Mr. Kenneth Zwick Office of Management Programs Department of Justice Washington, DC Dear Mr. Zwick: I want to express my opposition to any effort by the federal government to provide 9-11 victim compensation funds to "domestic partners" of unmarried survivors of the terrorist attack upon our nation. Funds disbursed through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 should only go to the surviving family members of those who died on 9-11. Funds must go to the widows, widowers, orphans, and other blood-related or adopted members of the family--not to unmarried sexual partners of those who died. To provide funds to "domestic partners" is to undermine the traditional definition of marriage and family to include any number of sexual liaisons between same-sex or opposite-sex unmarried couples. Many homosexuals and swinging heterosexuals, for example, engage in sex with multiple partners. Do we provide funds to each of the sexual partners? Where do we draw the line on how many "domestic partners" a person may have? Homosexual activists are exploiting the 9-11 tragedy by asking the federal government to redefine what constitutes a legitimate "family" under the law. In fact, homosexual activist , writing in Out magazine has openly called for the subversion of the concept of marriage between a man and a woman. He has urged homosexuals to fight for the legalization of homosexual marriages and once legalized to "redefine the institution of marriage completely . . . . to debunk a myth and radically alter an archaic institution. . . . The most subversive action lesbians and gays can under take--and one that would perhaps benefit all of society--is to transform the notion of 'family' entirely." If the DOJ provides funds to "domestic partners," it will be helping accomplish his goal: That of redefining marriage and altering what he calls an "archaic institution." We also oppose September 11th Funds going to the estates of the deceased instead of to their surviving family members. No one can know for certain where these funds will end up if they are deposited in the estate of a person who has died. The person may have willed his estate to a terrorist, racial hate group, or even to an organization like the North American Man-Boy Love Association. No one will know unless each person's will is examined by a DOJ lawyer. The money should go to the surviving family members of the deceased, not to the estate or to the surviving "domestic partner." Individual Comment Norfolk, VA 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 dojA004051.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. December 15, 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 Rock Island, IL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-15 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 dojA004976.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. 2001-12-15 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, November 28, 2001 7:59 PM 9/11 victims relief fund TO: Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director; Office of Managment Programs, Civil Division, U.S. Dept. of Justice. In response to your request for input: Please include lifelong partners, regardless of sex, or sexual orientation, and their included family members in the 9/11 victims relief fund. Thank You. Individual Comment Dubach, LA. September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000146.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. MEMORANDUM TO: Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice FROM: &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp DATE: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 SUBJ: Compensation of Gay and Lesbian Victims' Families This is in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding forthcoming regulations regarding the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund. I strongly urge the Department to develop regulations that guarantee equal compensation to all victims, regardless of sexual orientation and/or marital status. Until federal and other applicable laws fairly treat same- sex relationships, gay and lesbian families must receive equal treatment from funds such as this. Thank you for your attention. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001535.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. 2001-12-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 14, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Eugene, OR September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA004463.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, December 28, 2001 11:06 AM Equal Access to Crisis Relief Benefits December 28, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Cambridge, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN001078.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, December 10, 2001 10:26 PM Fwd: Compensation of Gay & Lesbian Victims and Families Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice The email address used to send the original message to you was incorrect. I am forwarding it to your attention on behalf of the originator. Please see below. Attachment 1: vicitimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov Compensation of Gay (038) Lesbian Victims and Families It has come to my attention that the above mentioned group might not get any compensation for the loss of a loved one on 9 /ll with all the flag waving and patriotism in this county today it is hard to believe that discrimination would be used against so many parents and children who are citiizens and deserve every consideration for their protection I love my country and because I am the parent of a Lesbian Daughter and grandparent of her child I shudder to think that her rights would be ignored by the country that I was born in and raised as was she and they could act in such a bigoted and selfish way I pray that whoever is making up these new laws will reconsider a group which has ADDED so much to this country Individual Comment Pembroke Pines, FL September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-10 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 dojA001448.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. 2001-12-10 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 18, 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 Blue Mounds, WI September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA005409.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-18