[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2009 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2009

    To provide for the recovery, restitution, and protection of the 
                       cultural heritage of Iraq.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 7, 2003

Mr. English (for himself and Mr. Leach) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for the recovery, restitution, and protection of the 
                       cultural heritage of Iraq.

    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 ``Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``archaeological material of Iraq''--
                    (A) means any object or fragment or part of an 
                object, including human and animal skeletal remains and 
                plant and floral remains, that was first found within 
                the borders of Iraq as such borders existed on August 
                2, 1990, and that--
                            (i) was built, manufactured, sculpted, 
                        produced, or written by humans;
                            (ii) is at least 100 years old; and
                            (iii) was discovered as a result of 
                        scientific excavation, illegal or clandestine 
                        digging, accidental discovery, or exploration 
                        on land or under water; and
                    (B) includes all human and animal skeletal remains, 
                as well as floral and botanical remains, that are found 
                in association with archaeological material described 
                in subparagraph (A); and
            (2) the term ``cultural material of Iraq'' means any 
        object, regardless of age, including manuscripts, and materials 
        used for traditional or religious ceremonial purposes, or a 
        fragment or part of an object, that was, on or after August 2, 
        1990, in the care of Iraq's cultural or religious institutions 
        and is of historic, artistic, religious, scientific, or 
        cultural interest.

SEC. 3. IMPORT RESTRICTION.

    (a) Import Prohibition.--No archaeological material of Iraq or 
cultural material of Iraq that was removed from Iraq after Executive 
Order 12722 of August 2, 1990, was issued may be imported into the 
United States, unless the Government of Iraq issues a certification or 
other documentation certifying that the exportation of the material 
from Iraq was not in violation of the laws of Iraq.
    (b) Customs Action in Absence of Documentation.--If the consignee 
of any archaeological material of Iraq or cultural material of Iraq is 
unable to present to the appropriate customs officer at the time of 
making entry of such material the certification or other documentation 
by the Government of Iraq required under subsection (a), the customs 
officer shall refuse to release the material from customs custody, and 
shall send it to a bonded warehouse or store to be held at the risk and 
expense of the consignee, notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
until such certification or other documentation is filed with such 
officer. If such certification or other documentation is not presented 
within 90 days after the date on which such material is refused release 
from customs custody, or such longer period as may be allowed by the 
Secretary of the Treasury for good cause shown, the material shall be 
subject to seizure and forfeiture.

SEC. 4. FORFEITURE OF UNLAWFUL IMPORTS.

    (a) Seizure.--Archaeological material of Iraq or cultural material 
of Iraq that is imported into the United States in violation of this 
Act shall be seized and subject to forfeiture under the customs laws of 
the United States. All provisions of law relating to seizure, 
forfeiture, and condemnation for violation of the customs laws shall 
apply to seizures and forfeitures under this Act, insofar as those 
provisions of law are applicable to, and not inconsistent with, the 
provisions of this Act.
    (b) Disposition of Articles.--Any archaeological material of Iraq 
or cultural material of Iraq that is forfeited to the United States 
under this Act shall be returned to the country of Iraq.

SEC. 5. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.

    In applying the Tariff Act of 1930 or any other provision of the 
customs laws of the United States to an article that is an object, or 
fragment of an object, discovered as a result of scientific excavation, 
illegal or clandestine digging, accidental discovery, or exploration on 
land or under water, the country of origin of the object or fragment is 
the country within whose borders, as they exist at the time the object 
or fragment is imported, or attempted to be imported, into the United 
States, the object or fragment was first discovered or excavated.

SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO CONVENTION ON CULTURAL PROPERTY IMPLEMENTATION 
              ACT.

    (a) Definition of Archaeological or Ethnological Material.--Section 
302(2)(i)(II) of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act 
(19 U.S.C. 2601(2)(i)(II)) is amended by striking ``two hundred and 
fifty years'' and inserting ``100''.
    (b) Emergency Implementation of Import Restrictions.--Section 304 
of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 
2603) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``State Party'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``country''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2);
                    (B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) No import restrictions under section 307 may be 
        applied under this section to the archaeological or 
        ethnological materials of any country for more than 10 years 
        after the date on which the notice in the Federal Register 
        imposing such restrictions is published. Such 10-year period 
        may be extended by the President if the President determines 
        that the emergency condition continues to apply with respect to 
        the archaeological or ethnological material.''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) by redesignating such paragraph as 
                        paragraph (2); and
                            (ii) by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and 
                        inserting ``paragraph (1)''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--The Convention on Cultural Property 
Implementation Act is amended--
            (1) in section 302 (19 U.S.C. 2601)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by amending the matter preceding 
                        subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
            ``(2) The term `archaeological or ethnological material' of 
        a State Party or othercountry means--''; and
                            (ii) in the matter following subparagraph 
                        (C), by inserting ``or other country'' after 
                        ``State Party''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (7), by inserting ``or another 
                country'' after ``State Party'';
            (2) in section 305 (19 U.S.C. 2604) in the first sentence, 
        by striking ``by such action'' and inserting ``the country 
        covered by such action'';
            (3) in section 307 (19 U.S.C. 2606)--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by striking ``State Party'' the first 
                        place it appears and inserting ``the country 
                        concerned''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``the State Party'' each 
                        subsequent place it appears and inserting 
                        ``that country''; and
                    (B) in subsections (b) and (c), by striking ``the 
                State Party'' each place it appears and inserting ``the 
                country concerned''; and
            (4) in section 310(b) (19 U.S.C. 2609(b)) by striking 
        ``State Party'' each place it appears and inserting ``country 
        concerned''.
    (d) Extension of Agreements.--Section 303(e) of the Convention on 
Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2602(e)) is amended by 
striking ``five years'' and inserting ``10 years''.
                                 <all>