Whereas there has not been a resolution of the claims of
members of the United States Armed Forces and other United States citizens who
were injured in the April 6, 1986, bombing of the LaBelle Discothéque in
Berlin, Germany, and the claims of family members of the service men and women
killed in that bombing or the resolution of other outstanding cases of United
States victims of terror sponsored or supported by Libya;
Whereas, on December 21, 1988, terrorists from Libya
bombed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people,
including 189 Americans;
Whereas, on May 29, 2002, the Government of Libya offered
to pay up to $2,700,000,000 to settle claims by the families of the 270 people
killed aboard Pan Am Flight 103, representing $10,000,000 for each victim of
the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing;
Whereas, on August 15, 2003, Libya's Ambassador to the
United Nations, Ahmed Own, submitted a letter to the United Nations Security
Council formally accepting responsibility for the action of its
officials
in relation to the Lockerbie bombing;
Whereas, on September 12, 2003, the United Nations lifted
sanctions against Libya, thereby enabling the first trigger of the agreement
between the Government of Libya and the families of the victims of the attack
on Pan Am Flight 103 for a payment of $4,000,000 per victim that has been paid
to the victims’ families;
Whereas, on September 24, 2004, the United States lifted
most economic sanctions against Libya, thereby enabling the second trigger of
the agreement between the Government of Libya and the families of the victims
of the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 for an additional payment of $4,000,000 per
victim that has been paid to the victims’ families;
Whereas, on May 15, 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice announced the determination of President George W. Bush to rescind the
designation of Libya on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, thereby
enabling the third trigger of the agreement between the Government of Libya and
the families of the victims of the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 for a final
payment of $2,000,000 per victim;
Whereas, on May 15, 2006, Secretary of State Rice
announced the reestablishment of full diplomatic relations with the Government
of Libya, ending 26 years of isolation; and
Whereas the agreement between the Government of Libya and
the families of the victims of the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 incorporated a
timeline for payment of the full $2,700,000,000 that has not been met even
though all of the other conditions for such payment have been satisfied: Now,
therefore, be it
That it is the sense of the Senate
that—
(1)it remains an
important priority for further improvement in the relations between the United
States and Libya that the Government of Libya make a good faith effort to
resolve all outstanding claims of United States victims of terrorism sponsored
or supported by Libya;
(2)it is in the best
interests of the long-term relationship between the United States and Libya
that final payment be made to the families of the victims of the attack on Pan
Am Flight 103; and
(3)the President
should not accept the credentials of any representative of the Government of
Libya without the expressed understanding that the Government of Libya will
continue to work in good faith to resolve outstanding cases of United States
victims of terrorism sponsored or supported by Libya, including the settlement
of cases arising from the Pan Am Flight 103 and LaBelle Discothéque
bombings.