[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5167 Engrossed in House (EH)]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5167

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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:

                                                                 Clerk.
110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 5167

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.