[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5167 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. R. 5167
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 16, 2008
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To terminate the authority of the President to waive, with regard to
Iraq, certain provisions under the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2008 unless certain conditions are met.
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 ``Justice for Victims of Torture and
Terrorism Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) During the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, Americans
serving in the United States Armed Forces were captured, became
Prisoners of War (POWs), and were subsequently tortured,
beaten, starved, hooked to electrical shock devices, and
subjected to other horrendous acts by Saddam Hussein's regime.
(2) CBS News reporter Bob Simon and cameraman Roberto
Alvarez were kidnapped while on assignment during the 1991 Gulf
War and were held and tortured, along with the American POWs.
(3) Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990,
many United States citizens were detained by Iraq, beaten,
subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, confined
under deplorable conditions, and used as ``human shields'' for
the avowed purpose of preventing the United States and its
coalition allies from using military force to liberate Kuwait.
(4) At the time these acts occurred, the Department of
State had classified Iraq as a state sponsor of terrorism.
(5) The brave American POWs and American civilian hostages
have suffered long-term physical, emotional, and mental damage
as a result of this brutal, state-sponsored torture and
terrorism.
(6) When the American POWs returned home after the Gulf War
ended, they were given a hero's welcome by then Secretary of
Defense Dick Cheney, who told them, ``Your country is opening
its arms to greet you''.
(7) During the Gulf War, the Congress unanimously passed
resolutions condemning the brutal treatment by the Government
of Iraq of captured United States service members, demanding
that the Government of Iraq abide by the Geneva Convention
regarding the treatment of prisoners of war, and stating an
intention to hold Iraq accountable for the torture of American
POWs.
(8) In 1996, Congress passed an amendment to the Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) provisions of title 28, United
States Code, so that torture victims like the American POWs and
the American ``human shield'' victims from the Gulf War could
seek compensation for their injuries from terrorist countries,
including Iraq.
(9) On April 4, 2002, 17 Gulf War POWs and their families
filed claims in the United States District Court for the
District of Columbia seeking compensation for damages related
to their torture and abuse by the Government of Iraq. The POWs
included Colonel Clifford Acree, USMC (Ret.); Lieutenant
Colonel Craig Berryman, USMC (Ret.); Former Staff Sergeant Troy
Dunlap, US Army; Colonel David Eberly, USAF (Ret.); Lieutenant
Colonel Jeffrey D. Fox, USAF (Ret.); Chief Warrant Officer 5
Guy Hunter, USMC (Ret.); Sergeant David Lockett, US Army;
Colonel H. Michael Roberts, USAF; Colonel Russell Sanborn,
USMC; Captain Lawrence Randolph Slade, USN (Ret.); Major Joseph
Small, USMC (Ret.); Staff Sergeant Daniel Stamaris, US Army
(Ret.); Lieutenant Colonel Richard Dale Storr, Air National
Guard; Lieutenant Colonel Robert Sweet, USAF; Lieutenant
Colonel Jeffrey Tice, USAF (Ret.); Former Lieutenant Robert
Wetzel, USN; and Former Commander Jeffrey Zaun, USN.
(10) In 2003, after the Government of Iraq repeatedly
refused to participate in arbitration on the damage claims, and
after hearing evidence of how the former POWs had been
repeatedly tortured, a judge awarded them a judgment for
damages, stating that ``deterring torture of POWs should be of
the highest priority''.
(11) Despite this ruling, the POWs and their families have
not received payment, and are unable to further pursue their
claims in United States courts because of the waiver that was
granted for Iraq by the President under authority established
in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.
(12) In December 2001, after conducting an evidentiary
hearing, the United States district court held, in Hill v.
Republic of Iraq, that Iraq was liable for having taken United
States citizens hostage following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
and subsequently awarded 180 of those former hostages and their
spouses a judgment for damages.
(13) On March 20, 2003, on the eve of Operation Iraqi
Freedom, the President of the United States directed that all
of the judgments that had been awarded in Hill v. Republic of
Iraq be paid from moneys held in blocked Iraqi accounts.
(14) On that same date, the President issued an Executive
Order confiscating all remaining blocked assets of Iraq and
ordering them to be deposited into the United States Treasury
to be used for Iraq reconstruction.
(15) The claims of more than 200 United States citizens
who, at the same time and in the same manner as the Hill
plaintiffs, were held hostage in territory occupied by Iraq are
currently pending in a United States district court in the case
of Vine v. Republic of Iraq.
(16) The plaintiffs in Vine v. Republic of Iraq have not
been compensated and are unable to enforce any judgment they
may obtain in United States courts because of the waiver that
was granted for Iraq by the President under authority
established in the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2008.
(17) Article 131 of the Third Geneva Convention relative to
the Treatment of Prisoners of War (August 12, 1949) prohibits
the United States as a party to that treaty from absolving the
Government of Iraq of any liability incurred due to the torture
of prisoners of war, such as the American POWs referred to in
this section.
(18) The United States has a moral obligation to protect
its past, present, and future members of its Armed Forces, and
all United States citizens, from torture and hostage-taking,
and the Congress is committed to holding state sponsors of
terrorism accountable for such horrendous acts.
SEC. 3. RESOLUTION OF CERTAIN CLAIMS AGAINST IRAQ.
(a) Resolution by Iraq of Certain Claims.--
(1) In general.--Unless the President, before the end of
the 90-day period beginning on the date described in paragraph
(2)(A), certifies to the Congress that the Government of Iraq
has adequately settled the claims in the cases referred to in
subsection (b), then, upon the expiration of that 90-day
period, the waiver authority granted to the President in
section 1083(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 343), and any
waiver granted before the end of that 90-day period under such
authority, shall terminate.
(2) Date described.--
(A) In general.--The date described in this
paragraph is--
(i) 30 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, unless the President has certified
to the Congress, before the end of that 30-day
period, that--
(I) the Government of Iraq has not,
before, on, or after the enactment of
this Act, compensated any foreign
persons or entities for claims or
liabilities incurred by or under the
control of the Saddam Hussein regime,
including, but not limited to,
commercial or financial claims, and
claims for acts against individuals
similar to those described in section
1605A(a)(1) of title 28, United States
Code; or
(II) negotiations are ongoing with
the Government of Iraq to settle the
claims in the cases referred to in
subsection (b), and the President
believes that those negotiations are
being conducted in good faith and could
lead to a satisfactory settlement of
those claims; or
(ii) if a certification is made under
clause (i), the day after the date on which
that certification terminates or, if a
subsequent certification is in effect under
subparagraph (B), the day after the date on
which the last such certification terminates.
(B) Duration of certifications.--A certification
under subclause (I) or (II) of subparagraph (A)(i)
terminates 180 days after it is made. The President may
make subsequent certifications under subclause (I) or
(II) of subparagraph (A)(i) for periods of not more
than 180 days each.
(b) Cases.--The cases referred to in subsection (a)(1) are cases
numbered 99:00CV03346 (TPJ), 1:01CV02674 (HHK), CIV.A. 02-632 (RWR)
(July 7, 2003), 1:03CV00691 (HHK), and 1:03CV00888 (HHK), in the United
States District Court for the District of Columbia.
(c) Adequate Settlement.--For purposes of subsection (a)(1),
adequate settlement means payment by the Government of Iraq of, or an
unqualified and unconditional guarantee made by a United States
depository institution to pay within 30 days after the end of the 90-
day period described in subsection (a)(1), at least the following
amounts to the following persons:
(1) To any person--
(A) whose claim in the applicable case referred to
in subsection (b) arose from an act of hostage taking
or from being held in hostage status, and
(B) who has not obtained a judgment on the claim
before the date of the enactment of this Act,
$150,000, plus $6,000 for each day the person was held as a
hostage, but in no event more than $900,000.
(2) To any person--
(A) whose claim in the applicable case referred to
in subsection (b) arose from an act of hostage taking
or from being held in hostage status,
(B) who, while a hostage, was subjected to torture,
and
(C) who has not obtained a judgment on the claim
before the date of the enactment of this Act,
$2,500,000, plus $6,000 for each day the person was held as a
hostage.
(3) To a plaintiff in the applicable case referred to in
subsection (b) who is the spouse or child of any person who
qualifies for receipt of payment under paragraph (1) or (2),
one third of the amount that such person qualifies for receipt
under such paragraph.
(4) To any person who, before the date of the enactment of
this Act, obtained a judgment for compensatory damages in a
case referred to in subsection (b) (regardless of whether such
judgment was subsequently vacated)--
(A) payment of the unsatisfied amount of such
judgment, in an amount that is the lesser of $1,000,000
or the unsatisfied amount of the award; and
(B) if the amount of the judgment exceeds
$1,000,000, one third of the unsatisfied amount of such
excess.
(d) Additional Condition in Case of Guarantee of Payment.--If the
claims in the cases referred to in subsection (b) are adequately
settled for purposes of subsection (a)(1) because of a guarantee of
payment by a depository institution within the 30-day period specified
in subsection (c), and such payment is not made within that 30-day
period, then upon the expiration of that 30-day period, the waiver
authority described in subsection (a)(1), and any waiver granted before
the end of that 30-day period under such authority, shall terminate.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Foreign person or entity.--The term ``foreign person or
entity'' means--
(A) an individual other than a national of the
United States; and
(B) a person or entity, other than an individual,
that is organized under the laws of a country other
than the United States.
(2) Hostage.--The term ``hostage'' means an individual in
hostage status or an individual seized or detained in the
commission of an act of hostage taking.
(3) Hostage status.--The term ``hostage status'' has the
meaning given that term in section 599C(d)(1) of the Foreign
Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 1991 (Public Law 101-513).
(4) Hostage taking.--The term ``hostage taking'' has the
meaning given that term in section 1605A(h)(2) of title 28,
United States Code.
(5) National of the united states.--The term ``national of
the United States'' has the meaning given that term in section
1605A(h)(5) of title 28, United States Code.
(6) Torture.--The term ``torture'' has the meaning given
that term in section 3 of the Torture Victim Protection Act of
1991 (28 U.S.C. 1350 note).
(7) United states.--The term ``United States'' means the
several States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth,
territory, or possession of the United States.
(8) United states depository institution.--The term
``United States depository institution'' means a depository
institution organized under the laws of any State, the District
of Columbia, or the United States, including a branch or agency
of a foreign depository institution.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN CLAIMS.
No funds of the United States Government may be used to pay any
claim--
(1) that is cognizable under section 1605A of title 28,
United States Code, as added by section 1083 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, for money
damages against Iraq for personal injury or death that was
caused by acts committed by an official, officer, or employee
of the Iraqi Government under Saddam Hussein; and
(2) with respect to which the waiver authority under
section 1083(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2008 has been or may be exercised.
Passed the House of Representatives September 15, 2008.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.