854 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. Wednesday, March 20, 2002 4:18 PM Snail Mail 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 Mr Zwick: I am writing to ask you to please compensate gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11th in the same way that you are compensating other partners. Please promote justice and peace in this time of tragedy. FOR THE MEMORY OF: And so many more... Thank you, 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 dojR002403.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. Monday, March 11, 2002 1:09 PM Gay & Lesbian compensation I think it's apauling that you are not going to compensate gay & lesbians who were killed in the 9/11 tragedy. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000112.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, December 04, 2001 4:47 PM 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 Austin TX 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 dojA000374.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. Tuesday, December 04, 2001 5:46 PM (no subject) ________________________________________________________________ Dear Mr. Zwick: Since I lack the ability to word my feelings any better than those presented below, I freely submit they reflect my true feelings and therefore make the following request. I am writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." I strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. It is unquestionable that the devastating grief and economic losses suffered by the families of gay and lesbian victims are no less than that of other families. Just as the terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. I urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment New Milford, CT 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 dojA000418.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. Saturday, March 16, 2002 4:56 PM Compensation for Gay Families If it is true that you are giving compensation to illegals and fetuses and deliberately excluding gays as is being reported everywhere, it can mean only one thing: we are less than human in your eyes. I am 67 years old, a veteran of many things including Korea, and now you tell me I am not a human being with needs and feelings, the same as the other survivors of the victims? Shame on you forever! Individual Comment Hereford, Arizona 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 dojR001107.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. Friday, November 09, 2001 9:59 AM There should be no public money provided to relatives of the victims of the attacks. The donations made by the American public to the charities are more than enough compensation for victims loss. The DOJ should concentrate it's efforts preventing the inevitable misuse of those funds. Use public money for the public good! Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-09 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 dojW000281.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. 2001-11-09 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. Thursday, February 07, 2002 1:12 PM New Vote.com votes as of 01:11 PM EST on February 07th, 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: 30 votes NO: 361 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-07 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 dojP000459.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. 2002-02-07 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. Thursday, December 20, 2001 10:20 PM Survivor's benefits for all December 20, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write to you 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 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 Pittsburgh, PA 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 dojN000151.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, December 04, 2001 10:04 PM Comments on "Victims Compensation 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 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 Warminster, PA 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 dojA000602.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. Saturday, March 16, 2002 3:27 PM funds from9/11 It is my understanding that the funds are equallly being given out to heterosexual family members that had family members killed that day including those that did not have legal status's in this country and the government has even agreed not to send the illegal family members back to the country where they belong. But the benefits that have been requested for the partners and families of the gays and lesbians that were killed in 9/11 incidents are less if even going to be granted. This is not only so unconstitutional it is crazy. What the government is saying by that is we feel we can punish people for what they may or may not be doing in their own homes verses we are going to close our eyes and ears to those who are dishonestly and illegally here in this country stealing our valuable resources that we americans are paying for. Is it a wonder that the debt continues to sky rocket out of control?? You people need to reevaluate what is truly the needed priorities to get this country back on track. I would rather see my tax dollars and donations go to those partners who are fine upstanding citizens rather that the thieves who are illegally here. THank you for attending to this issue 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 dojR001041.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. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 10:35 AM and EVERY OTHER GAY PERSON killed on Sept. 11 SHOULD RECEIVE COMPENSATION -- this is a federal, NOT a STATE MARRIAGE MATTER and to fail to provide them compensation will be a heinous moral, mortal sin. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000394.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-12 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, March 13, 2002 3:51 PM compensation I have heard that no compensation will be accorded gay partners of those who died in the trade center disaster unless the state in which the parties lived recognizes the partnership. This apparently despite the fact that illegals, who are in effect criminals, will receive compensation----illegals who may very well not even be taxpayers, unlike the victims. Perhaps thetaxes of the victims and their partners, and the contributions they made, both monetary and otherwise, should be refunded or refused. Justice this is not----discrimination it is. This, by the way, comes to you from a determined heterosexual. Please do not continue to hide behind a spurious legality--do what is right. 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 dojR000673.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. Tuesday, January 08, 2002 9:28 AM This is a DISGRACE!! My name is &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp . My husband &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp was killed in the attacks on 9-11-01. He worked for &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp on the &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp floor. &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp was a 35 year old father of 5, who was quickly climbing the corporate ladder, well on his way to making millions. His life was tragically cut short on 9-11-01. I hold our government liable for his death. It is disgraceful that we had NO IDEA that these scums that we LET into our country were planning these attacks. Our government really let the ball drop and did a huge disservice to it's people!. Looking back now on ALL the terrorist attacks that occurred before 9-11, it is unbelieveable that this has happened on American soil in 2001! I think it is disgraceful and insulting that the government is trying to nickle and dime us on what they want to pay for their NEGELIGENCE and INCOMPETENCY!! If the US government was a private industry the government would expect that the private industry be held liable and make sure that the victims were PROPERLY compensated! You should hold yourselves up to the same standards that you hold to the private sector. Just because you are the government doesn't mean that you can DISCOUNT our losses and suffering!! Remember, we are VOTERS and the last time I look this was still a democracy!! I firmly believe that the paultry amount of $250,000 per person who waited for hours to die is again insulting and disgraceful! These people were alive, I have proof of that! Their lives are certainly worth more that $250,000. Their surviving families contiue to suffer every day and their children have been robbed of a father and a future! Where in the world did you come up with this figure? When I met with Mr. Feinberg &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , he said that there was no limit on the amount of money that they would pay out. How then, do you justify capping the pain and suffering number and salaries? The pain and suffering number should be the biggest number one could imagine! I feel like I am being victimized all over again by the govenrment and the smoke screen they have put up called the Victims Compensation fund. As you are well aware, a lot of people will not get a DIME from this fund if their losses are calculated as per the current regulations. The American public thinks that each and everyone of us is going to get millions, as we well should, but that is certainly NOT the case as you are well aware. I will personally make sure that the American public who have no vested interest in this fund, will know the truth. If that means I have to make my rounds on the news and talks shows, than that is what I will do. However, I feel it is disgusting that I should have to do so. I am a taxpayer, as was my husband, and my children and I need to have some sort of closure and to be able to move forward and live the life that we were living prior to 9-11-01. Again, my husband was ONLY 35 and making a good salary and was on his way to making millions. That is why we had 5 children, because first of all we loved each other and they children, and because we were able to provide for them. If the regulations are not amended, than I will NOT get anything of substance from the fund, and my children and I will once again be victimized by the government. PLEASE, do the right thing for the 2800+ families that are ALL in this together. The government is ultimately to blame for these horrific attacks and it needs to take responsibility and make sure that the survivors will be compensated FAIRLY!! Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-08 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 dojN001442.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. 2002-01-08 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 8:32 PM (no subject) I've recently been informed that gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11th will not be receiving the same benefits (from the Victim Compensation Fund ) as heterosexual spouses . I am at a loss to understand why. These partners are no different than heterosexual partners and should be treated equally. Who makes these decisions? Whoever they may be, I think it's time that they stop trying to please the narrow minded people of this world and treat all people equally. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR002263.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. January 22, 2002 Kenneth L. Zwick Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Mr. Zwick: I am writing to provide Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P. ("SOP") response to the Interim Final Regulations adopted to implement the September 11 Victims Compensation fund. Our main office was located on the 104th floor of Two World Trade Center in New York. SOP is a full service investment bank and broker dealer that prior to September 11, 2001, had 148 employees in New York and an additional 23 employees in four smaller offices throughout the country. SOP lost sixty-six employees and four guests in the terrorist attack. Before the airplane crashed into Two World Trade Center, approximately seventeen employees on the 104th floor who had been in the office had left the building . Another twenty-five employees witnessed the events unfold from the street as they arrived for work. No SOP employees on the 104th floor at the time of the second crash survived. At this time, only fourteen of the SOP victims have been found and positively identified. Although there are numerous portions of the Interim Final Regulations that could be the subject of comment, we would like to confine our comments to three very critical areas: the inherent limitations and caps on awards built into the regulations; the negative impact of an expansive reach in determining collateral source reductions; and the use of artificially low guidelines for the determination of pain and suffering. Sandler O'Neill Unfair Imposition of Caps and Limitations Within days after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the related crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. As this name suggests, a key purpose of this legislation was to provide the United States airline industry financial grants and guaranteed loans, as financial protection against the negative impact of the hijackings and terrorist attacks. The legislation was heavily supported through aggressive lobbying efforts on behalf of the airline industry. One aspect of the unprecedented financial protection granted to this industry was to limit the potential impact of liability lawsuits against the airlines to the liability insurance they carried covering these incidents. This liability protection went hand in hand with another purpose of this legislation. This was the creation of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, an unlimited commitment of our government to use our Treasury to provide a no-fault alternative to litigation. The Fund would compensate the victims of these terrorist attacks and their families for their economic and non-economic losses. At the time the legislation was adopted and signed into law, estimates of potential victims reached as high as twelve to fifteen thousand. Fortunately, the ultimate number of victims and the related cost of the Compensation Fund is much lower than what had been expected. It is clear that Congress and the President, in providing a fair no-fault alternative to protracted negligence litigation, anticipated paying awards similar to those that would be recovered in court proceedings. While the statute contained a more expansive definition of collateral sources, the law generally relied on the same state laws that would be used to determine loss in conventional litigation. There was no limit or ca on the compensation for loss that may be awarded. There can be an endless debate about whether the enactment of this legislation was an appropriate allocation of public resources. After all, airlines have far greater resources than just the insurance available per plane. They have paid massive negligence awards in many cases in the past. Even if the financial impact of these attacks led to airline bankruptcy, we have seen numerous major airlines suffer this fate without a catastrophic effect on our economy. Nonetheless, there is no question that these actions of Congress and the President also reflected the very noble and true outrage of our Nation and a heartfelt desire to aid the victims of these attacks, as well as a desire to protect an industry. The drafters and signer of this legislation clearly understood that the targets of this attack by foreign hostile forces represented the essence of our system-the government and the financial industries of our country. In subsequent airport security legislation, Congress and the President similarly limited the risks of litigation for other potential defendants. No non-terrorist defendant would have liability in excess of applicable insurance. Sandler O'Neill Because of the unprecedented reach of this legislation, the unknown losses that may be faced and the speed with which it was drafted and signed into law, the actual law left the establishment of rules for the operation of the Victims Fund to the Department of Justice. An independent Special Master was appointed, with broad powers to implement and oversee the system. A basic principal of regulation is that the regulations not contradict or override the purpose of the statue. Unfortunately, in the current case, the Interim Final Regulations have ignored the clear intention of the statute to use conventional methods in the calculation of losses in conformity with current state laws. Instead, the regulations have imposed inherent caps under Track A and a clear intention to abide with those caps under Track B, based solely on the assumed resources available to the claimants. Such a regulatory action is in clear contravention of the statute designed to compensate for losses in a manner consistent with that applied in litigation. The Interim Final Regulations undermine the intention of Congress and the President to provide a full and fair alternative to litigation for all victims. The Interim Final Regulations replace this clear statutory purpose with a concept more akin to that applied under I.R.S. regulations governing the dispensing of charity benefits-a "need" based standard, as opposed to a loss based standard. The DOJ in adopting the regulations made very strong statements that the size of awards would be limited for persons who earned above the 98th percentile of national income because they were likely to have the resources to protect themselves and didn't need to be fairly compensated for their loss. Unfortunately, in addition to ignoring the statute, the imposition of such a cap ignores both the financial realities of living in many communitities in the New York City area and the fact the Trade Center Victims were chosen as targets precisely because of their financial success. It is easy to understand that using a 98th percentile national cap had a far greater limiting effect in the New York area for the many employees of companies in the Trade Center. For example, this would imply that only 2%, or approximately 60, of the victims made over this amount. Our company, as well as several others, provided compensation histories for many victims in the Trade Center prior to the adoption of the Interim Final Rules. Our firm was among a roster of companies with offices in the World Trade Center that reads like a "Who's Who" of the financial sector of the economy. In essence, these employees were exactly the kind of people Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network wanted to target-those Americans who represented our capitalist system and the American dream. The families of the people who were living this dream are now dealing with tremendous grief due to the loss of their loved ones, as well as concerns over the enormous financial challenges they will face in the months and years ahead. It was therefore completely clear to the DOJ and Special Master that many times that number of persons made over the unrealistic limit used in the regulations. In addition to ignoring the statute's intention regarding the meaning of "loss", the purported justification of imposing such limits to not unnecessarily use public resources Sandler O'Neill also ignores the fact that a significant portion of the governments cost may be paid by the private sector. Section 409 of the statute provides that the United States is subrogated to any claim paid under the statute. Since we can assume the government would seek to minimize public expenditures, it would seem likely that the government will negotiate with insurers for significant under these subrogation rights. Overly Expansive Application of Collateral Sources As written, the Interim Final Regulations adopted a very broad reach for the definition of collateral sources. For example, voluntary survivors benefits that are paid by employers would be included in collateral sources. This will obviously have the effect of discouraging employers from making such payments. For example, our commitment to pay for health insurance of families may similarly reduce their awards from the Fund. This will force us, and other companies, to reconsider such voluntary efforts. This is, simply, cruel and unnecessary. In addition, the regulations penalize those responsible persons who saved in pension funds and purchased insurance by deducting the full amounts of these benefits from the awards they could receive under the fund. The statute clearly would allow a narrower scope in defining collateral source in the regulations. For example, the definition of collateral source could have excluded vested pension or retirement benefits (which are essentially nothing more than a form of savings account which belong to an employee) or other amounts (such as term life insurance or previously unvested interests in a retirement fund). As adopted, the regulations are capricious and can serve no public policy purpose. The victims who were spendthrifts who never saved are rewarded with fewer reductions from the awards, as compared to persons who made voluntary contributions to pension funds or purchased whole life insurance as a savings and investment vehicle. It was never the intent of our Congress and the President for the presumption of need to replace the measurement of economic loss. Unfair Pain and Suffering Assumptions The adopting release for the regulations provides that pain and suffering awards have been fixed consistent with standards applied to law enforcement and military personnel. While pain and suffering awards are always subjective, it is hard to understand how the suffering of a group of civilians, completely unprepared for the risk of violent deaths and injuries, could be equated with persons who have voluntarily chosen to put themselves at risk of such death and injury as part of their daily job. This type of an assumption is, again, completely inconsistent with the language of the statute regarding compensation for non-economic loss. It imposes an unrealistically low Sandler O'Neill an inapplicable standard whose sole purpose is to limit the size of the award without providing adequate compensation by any reasonable standard for civilians. Conclusion The statutory limitations on litigation designed to protect certain industries left the Victims Compensation Fund as the only viable alternative to recover losses. The noble intentions of Congress and the President to provide a fair alternative were structured to provide restitution without limit. The Interim Final Regulations have been expressly designed to alter the intended effect of the statute. This has put the squeeze on many victims and families. The victims we knew in the Trade Center were among the most highly motivated people in our country. Their families shared their motivations and dreams. Most paid taxes at the highest rates and never asked for, wanted or anticipated being on the government dole. Quite a few comment letters sent to the DOJ prior to adopting the Interim Rules took the shocking position that these people were being unjustly enriched at the public expense. Unfortunately, this shocking position has found its way into the Interim Final Rules. The statute would have provided support to companies likely to be defendants in lawsuits and just compensation for victims. This reflected national interest in preserving the airline and other industries and national outrage on the attack on our American system. Our government, through the legislative process, made a policy decision that the costs were properly placed on our Nation's Treasury. What has happened through the Interim Final Regulations is a trade-off, not envisioned by Congress or the President, which has turned the legislation on its head-potential commercial-defendants have been protected at a cost to individual victims. A strong argument can be made that such limitations on awards, which have never before been found in our American litigation system, only further victimized the victims. We urge the Special Master and DOJ to reverse this injustice and act consistent with the legislation and honor the memories of the many unfortunate victims. Very truly yours, Comment by: Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P. New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002447.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, January 23, 2002 12:32 PM Victim Compensation Fund Fund is too generous and sets a precedent for future disaster payouts. Why were the OKC bombing vicitms' families not compensated like this? Individual Comment Atlanta, GA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojP000019.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. 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 Los Angeles, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA004023.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. Monday, November 26, 2001 5:54 PM Dear Attorney General Ashcroft, The deaths on September 11th were the result of an attack on America. Please do not discriminate against the unmarried partners of September 11th victims. All unmarried partners, gay or straight, young and old and their dependents should be eligible for compensation. Thank you. Individual Comment San Francisco, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-26 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000676.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-26 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, March 20, 2002 11:44 AM 9/11 GLBTQ Discrimination Complaint My name is . I'm 20 years old, and live in Charlotte, NC, USA. I am writing today because I was informed that GLBTQ partners of some of those killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center will not be equally compensated as surviving loved ones. This, simply put, is not only a shock, but is also unaduleratedly disgusting. I'm shocked because after 9/11 happened, we were all drawn together, lines of societal and cultural division seemed less important, and I hoped that would make a lasting impression on the climate of social equality in America. But, when it comes to money, those groups of people who outnumber others will use their majority rule to ensure their needs are met first, but pay little or no regard to the equal merits and needs those who differ from them. It is time for ALL Americans to realize that queer people suffered right alongside "straight" people during and after those attacks. We suffered the same losses, the same financial hardships, and the same fears- especially those queer people who indeed lost their significant other or family member on that fateful day. My heart goes out to them more than anything, because now they are being told that because they were not a male and female together (in a relationship some would dare venture to say is the only "natural" kind of romantic bond there is), their love, and indeed, their painful loss, would be and never will be as great as the straight majority who outnumber them. Please keep my comments in consideration during the final distribution of aid funds to the families of the victims of September 11. Thank you. Individual Comment Charlotte, NC 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 dojR002346.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. Sunday, March 17, 2002 8:52 PM 9/11 Fund To the Administrators of the Fund: I would just like to be on the record as saying that the remarks of Kenneth Feinberg left me absolutely dumbfounded and aghast at how your aid is being administered. It shames and amazes me that your organization is able to overlook federal law in dispensing aid to illegal aliens, but not willing to bend legal stipulation to aid the families of gay and lesbian victims of 9/11. The contributions and sacrifices of , and countless others seem to go unnnoticed and unappreciated by your organization. The unscrupulousness of your policy is outweighed only by its lack of acceptability. We will not take this lying down. Yours, Individual Comment Astoria, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001679.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17