[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1275 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1275
To establish a comprehensive federal program to provide benefits to
U.S. victims of international terrorism, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 17, 2003
Mr. Lugar (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a comprehensive federal program to provide benefits to
U.S. victims of international terrorism, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Benefits for Victims of
International Terrorism Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
There is established the Benefits for Victims of International
Terrorism Program (``Program'') under which monetary awards shall be
made in accordance with this Act to eligible individuals who are
physically injured, killed, or held hostage as a result of an act of
international terrorism.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(a) Act of International Terrorism.--The term ``act of
international terrorism'' means an activity that constitutes terrorism
within the definition provided in Section 2(15) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 and that was committed by foreign nationals or
foreign governments (or the agents thereof) and directed, in whole or
in part, at the United States or at an individual because of the
individual's status as a national of the United States.
(b) Claimant.--The term ``claimant'' means an individual filing a
claim for benefits under this Act. In the case of an individual who
died as the direct result of the act of international terrorism, any
individual who is eligible to recover under section 107(a) may be a
claimant. In the case of an individual who suffered physical injury or
was held hostage as the direct result of an act of international
terrorism, the claimant shall be the individual who suffered the
physical injury or was held hostage, except that a parent or legal
guardian may file a claim on behalf of an individual who is less than
18 years of age, incompetent or incapacitated.
(c) Child.--The term ``child'' shall have the meaning given to it
by 42 U.S.C. 3796b(2).
(d) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the Department of
State.
(e) National of the United States.--The term ``national of the
United States'' has the meaning given in section 101(a) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (U.S.C. 1101(a)).
(f) Physical Injury.--The term ``physical injury'' means an injury
to the body, from a source external to the body, that directly results
in partial or total physical disability, incapacity, or disfigurement.
(g) United States.--The term ``United States'' means the States,
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, the territories and possessions of
the United States, the territorial sea of the United States, and the
airspace above them.
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Threshold Determination.--
(1) Upon the occurrence of a terrorist incident, the
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General
and the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security and the
Treasury, shall promptly determine in writing whether an act of
international terrorism as defined in section 103(a) of this
Act has taken place. Any such determination shall be published
in the Federal Register.
(2) The Secretary of State's determination under this
section shall be final and conclusive, and it shall not be
subject to review in any judicial, administrative or other
proceeding.
(b) Adjudication and Payment.--When a threshold determination set
forth in subsection (a) is made, the Department shall have jurisdiction
to receive, examine, adjudicate, and render final decisions, and pay
awards with respect to claims filed under section 105 in accordance
with the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 5. FILING OF CLAIMS.
(a) In General.--Claims for benefits under the Program shall be
filed with the Department on the form developed under subsection (b).
(b) Claim Form.--
(1) The Department shall develop a form that claimants
shall use when submitting claims under subsection (a).
(2) The claim form at a minimum shall request--
(A) in the case of a claim filed for a death
benefit with respect to a decedent, information
demonstrating the decedent's death as a direct result
of the act of international terrorism and information
demonstrating that the claimant is eligible to recover
under the Act.
(B) in the case of a claim not involving a death,
information demonstrating the physical harm that the
claimant suffered as a direct result of the act of
international terrorism or information demonstrating
the period the claimant was held hostage as a direct
result of the act of international terrorism; and
(C) in the case of a claim filed by a parent or
legal guardian, information demonstrating the
claimant's status as a parent or legal guardian.
(3) The claim form shall state clearly and conspicuously
the information contained in section 112(c) of this Act.
SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY.
(a) In General.--The Department shall review each claim filed under
this Program and determine whether the claimant is an eligible
individual under subsection (b) of this section or has filed a claim on
account of the death of an eligible individual under subsection (b).
(b) Eligible Individuals.--An eligible individual is a victim who,
as of the date on which the act of international terrorism occurred--
(1) was a national of the United States; and
(2)(A) died as the direct result of the act of
international terrorism;
(B) suffered physical injury as the direct result of the
act of international terrorism; or
(C) was held hostage as a direct result of an act of
international terrorism and not solely for ransom.
(c) Exclusion for Participants or Conspirators in Acts of
Terrorism.--A participant or conspirator in any act of international
terrorism, or a representative of such individual, shall not be an
eligible individual.
(d) Exclusion for Military Personnel.--This Program does not apply
to any claim arising out of injury, death, or period as a hostage
sustained by a member of the U.S. Armed Forces while serving on active
duty.
(e) September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.--Notwithstanding any
other provision in this Act, no individual who is or was eligible to
recover under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 shall
be eligible to recover under this Act.
SEC. 7. NATURE OF AWARDS.
(a) Death Benefit.--In any case in which the Department determines,
under regulations issued pursuant to this Act, that an eligible
individual has died as the direct and proximate result of an act of
international terrorism, the Department shall award a benefit to the
survivor or survivors in the same manner and the same amount as death
benefits are paid pursuant to the Public Safety Officers' Benefits
Program under subpart 1 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.).
(b) Injury or Hostage Benefit.--In the event the claimant was
physically injured or held hostage as a direct result of an act of
international terrorism, the Department shall award a benefit to the
claimant in an amount determined by the Department up to, but not to
exceed, the amount provided for under the preceding subsection. The
Secretary of State may issue regulations regarding the amount of
benefits to be provided under this subsection for categories of
injuries or for durations of time as a hostage.
(c) No Fault Program.--Awards shall be made without regard to the
negligence or any other theory of liability of the claimant or of the
individual on whose behalf the claimant is filing a claim.
(d) Reversion of Amounts to the Fund.--If no person is entitled to
receive the amount awarded under the above subsections, the amount
shall revert to the Fund.
SEC. 8. LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.
(a) Prohibition on Double Recovery.--No benefit is payable under
this Act with respect to a victim having been injured or held hostage
if a benefit is payable under this Act with respect to the death of
such victim. In the event that a payment is made under this Act on
account of death or period as a hostage and a death benefit
subsequently becomes payable for the death of the same victim, such
death benefit shall be reduced by amounts previously awarded.
(b) Time Limitation for Filing.--No claim may be filed on the basis
of an act of international terrorism after the date that is 2 years
after the date of publication in the Federal Register of the relevant
determination under section 104(a) of this Act.
SEC. 9. INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM BEFORE EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) International Terrorism Before Effective Date.--Benefits may be
awarded under this Act, subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of
this section, to eligible individuals for acts of international
terrorism that took place before the effective date of this Act and
which occurred on or after November 1, 1979.
(b) Determination.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with
the Attorney General and the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security
and the Treasury, shall issue, promptly upon the request of a claimant
potentially covered under subsection (a), a determination whether an
incident that occurred on or after November 1, 1979, and before the
date of enactment of this Act was an act of international terrorism.
Such requests will be considered only if made within one year after the
date of enactment of this Act. Any such determination shall be
published in the Federal Register.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION.
(a) Authorization.--There is established for the purpose of
providing benefits under this Act a Victims of International Terrorism
Benefits Fund (``Fund''). In addition to amounts otherwise authorized
to be appropriated for the Department of State, there are authorized to
be appropriated to the Department of State for deposit into the Fund
such sums as may be necessary to pay awards under this Act and to
administer this Program.
(1) Amounts in the Fund shall be available until expended.
(2) Contributions.--The Secretary of State is authorized to
accept such amounts as may be contributed by individuals,
business concerns, foreign governments, or other entities for
the payment of awards certified under this Act and such amounts may be
deposited directly into the Fund.
(3) Unexpended balances of expired appropriations available
to the Department of State may be transferred directly into the
Fund for the payment of awards under this Act and, to the
extent and in such amounts as provided in appropriations acts,
for the costs to administer this Program.
SEC. 11. SUBROGATION.
The United States shall be subrogated, to the extent of the
payments, to any recovery in litigation or settlement of litigation
related to an injury, death, or period of a hostage for which payment
was made under the Program. Any amounts recovered under this subsection
shall be deposited into the Fund established by section 110(a).
SEC. 12. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) Rules and Procedures.--The Secretary of State may issue such
rules and procedures as may be necessary to carry out this Act,
including rules with respect to choice of law principles, admitting
agents or other persons to representation before the Department of
claimants under this Act, and the nature and maximum amount of fees
that such agent or other person may charge for such representation.
(b) Acts Committed to Officer's Discretion.--Any action taken or
omitted by an officer of the United States under this Act is committed
to the discretion of such officer.
(c) Civil Actions Against Foreign States.--
(1) A person who by a civil action has obtained and
received full satisfaction of a judgment against a foreign
state or government or its agencies or instrumentalities, or
against the United States or its agencies or instrumentalities,
for death, injury, or period as a hostage due to an act of
international terrorism shall not receive an award under this
Act based on the same act of international terrorism.
(2) A person who has accepted benefits pursuant to an award
under this Act relating to an act of international terrorism
shall not thereafter commence or maintain in a court of the
United States a civil action based on the same act of
international terrorism against a foreign state or government
or its agencies or instrumentalities or against the United
States or its agencies or instrumentalities.
SEC. 13. NO JUDICIAL REVIEW.
Decisions made under this Act shall not be subject to review in any
judicial, administrative or other proceeding.
SEC. 14. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) Section 201 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (Public
Law 107-297) is amended by adding the following as new subsection (e):
``(e) Subsection (a) shall not apply to any judgment obtained
pursuant to a complaint filed after [the date of submission of the
Benefits for Victims of International Terrorism Act of 2003].''.
(b) Section 1610(f) of Title 28, United States Code (28 U.S.C.
1610(f)), is amended by adding the following at the end as new
subparagraph (4):
``(4) Subsection (f) shall not apply to any judgment
obtained pursuant to a complaint filed after [the date of
submission of the Benefits for Victims of International
Terrorism Act of 2003].''.
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