[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 856 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 856

 To provide for the adjudication and payment of certain claims against 
                        the Government of Iraq.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 9, 1997

   Mr. Robb introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the adjudication and payment of certain claims against 
                        the Government of Iraq.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PAYMENT OF IRAQI CLAIMS.

    (a) Vesting of Assets.--All nondiplomatic accounts of the 
Government of Iraq in the United States that have been blocked pursuant 
to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et 
seq.) shall vest in the President, and the President, not later than 30 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, shall liquidate such 
accounts. Amounts from such liquidation shall be transferred into the 
Iraq Claims Fund established under subsection (b).
    (b) Iraq Claims Fund.--Upon the vesting of accounts under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall establish in the 
Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the Iraq Claims 
Fund (hereafter in this section referred to as the ``Fund'') for 
payment of private claims or United States Government claims in 
accordance with subsection (c).
    (c) Payments.--
            (1) Payments on private claims.--Not later than 2 years 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
        the Treasury shall make payment out of the Fund in ratable 
        proportions on private claims certified under subsection (e) 
        according to the proportions which the total amount of the 
        private claims so certified bear to the total amount in the 
        Fund that is available for distribution at the time such 
        payments are made.
            (2) Payments on united states government claims.--After 
        payment has been made in full out of the Fund on all private 
        claims certified under subsection (e), any funds remaining in 
        the Fund shall be made available to satisfy claims of the 
        United States Government against the Government of Iraq 
        determined under subsection (d).
    (d) Determination of Validity of United States Government Claims.--
The President shall determine the validity and amounts of claims of the 
Government of the United States against the Government of Iraq which 
the Secretary of State has determined are outside the jurisdiction of 
the United Nations Commission, and, to the extent that such claims are 
not satisfied from funds made available by the Fund, the President is 
authorized and requested to enter into a settlement agreement with the 
Government of Iraq which would provide for the payment of such 
unsatisfied claims.
    (e) Determination of Private Claims.--
            (1) Authority of the foreign claims settlement 
        commission.--The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the 
        United States is authorized to receive and determine, in 
        accordance with substantive law, including international law, 
        the validity and amounts of private claims under this section. 
        The Commission shall complete its affairs in connection with 
        the determination of private claims under this section within 
        such time as is necessary to allow the payment of the claims 
        under subsection (c)(1).
            (2) Applicability.--Except to the extent inconsistent with 
        the provisions of this section, the provisions of title I of 
        the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1621 
        et seq.) shall apply with respect to private claims under this 
        section. Any reference in such provisions to ``this title'' 
        shall be deemed to refer to those provisions and to this 
        section.
            (3) Certification.--The Foreign Claims Settlement 
        Commission shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the 
        awards made in favor of each private claim under paragraph (1).
    (f) Unsatisfied Claims.--Payment of any award made pursuant to this 
section shall not extinguish any unsatisfied claim, or be construed to 
have divested any claimant, or the United States on his or her behalf, 
of any rights against the Government of Iraq with respect to any 
unsatisfied claim.
    (g) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            (1) the term ``Government of Iraq'' includes agencies, 
        instrumentalities, and controlled entities (including public 
        sector enterprises) of that government;
            (2) the term ``private claims'' mean claims of United 
        States persons against the Government of Iraq that are 
        determined by the Secretary of State to be outside the 
        jurisdiction of the United Nations Commission;
            (3) the term ``United Nations Commission'' means the United 
        Nations Compensation Commission established pursuant to United 
        Nations Security Council Resolution 687, adopted in 1991; and
            (4) the term ``United States person''--
                    (A) includes--
                            (i) any person, wherever located, who is a 
                        citizen of the United States;
                            (ii) any corporation, partnership, 
                        association, or other legal entity organized 
                        under the laws of the United States or of any 
                        State, the District of Columbia, or any 
                        commonwealth, territory, or possession of the 
                        United States; and
                            (iii) any corporation, partnership, 
                        association, or other organization, wherever 
                        organized or doing business, which is owned or 
                        controlled by persons described in clause (i) 
                        or (ii); and
                    (B) does not include the United States Government 
                or any officer or employee of the United States 
                Government acting in an official capacity.
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