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 15, 2002 Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division United States Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Mr. Zwick: I write to comment on the Interim Final Rule governing the administration of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, Title IV of Public Law 107-42, the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (the "Act"). It is my understanding, and indeed Special Master Kenneth Feinberg noted in his statement which accompanies the Interim Final Rule, that the purpose of the Act, "is not simply "to examine economic and noneconomic harm, but also to provide compensation that is just and appropriate in light of claimants' individual circumstances." (Emphasis added.) It is my further understanding that an additional purpose of the Act is to provide stability in the airline industry by encouraging victims' families to seek relief through the fund rather that in protracted litigation with the airlines and others. After reviewing the Interim Final Rule and considering numerous comments I have received from victims' families, it is my belief that the Interim Final Rule does not serve those purposes. Moreover, I believe that the "collateral source" provisions of the Act are inconsistent with these purposes, and should be re-examined by Congress before final rules for the distribution of funds are adopted. As Borough President of Staten Island, I represent the borough of New York City that was hardest hit by the September 11th attacks. Chief among the complaints I have heard from my constituents is that life insurance proceeds and pension benefits should not be counted as collateral sources to be deducted from awards from the fund. Clearly, deducting such benefits from fund awards is not "just and appropriate in light of claimants' individual circumstances." If taking "individual circumstances" into account is to mean anything, it must mean that victims who provided for the welfare of their families should not have their plans frustrated by the Act. Penalizing the survivors of responsible individuals who have sacrificed financially to provide for their retirements and their families in the event of their untimely deaths is unjust and inappropriate, and will ultimately achieve the perverse effect of discouraging settlements. Another area of great dissatisfaction is the amount of the awards that are to be made under the Interim Final Rule for presumed non-economic loss. Based upon the many comments I have received, the general consensus among victims' families is that the presumed non- economic loss is far too low. Indeed, it has been widely noted that settlements of less grievous personal injury claims frequently exceed the amount of the award fixed by the Interim Final Rule, In view of the fact that the number of victims has fallen significantly since the Act became law, funding for increased awards should be readily available. To promote the purposes of the Act of providing "just and appropriate" relief and encouraging settlement, the Special Master should increase significantly the presumed non-economic loss award. I believe that the very small number of claimants who have filed for compensation from the fund is clear evidence that the issues outlined in this letter are in fact impeding the purposes of the Act. The lives of many of my constituents will be affected dramatically by rules that are ultimately adopted by the Special Master, and on their behalf I urge Mr. Feinberg to give serious consideration to the issues raised herein. Thank you. Sincerely James P. Molinaro JPM/pjm September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-15 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN002591.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-01-15