[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 48 (Thursday, April 28, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        IRAQ CLAIMS ACT OF 1993

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 410 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 410

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule 
     XXIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the State of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 3221) to provide for the adjudication of 
     certain claims against the Government of Iraq. The first 
     reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. General debate 
     shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour 
     equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. After 
     general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment 
     under the five-minute rule. It shall be in order to consider 
     as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the 
     five-minute rule the amendment in the nature of a substitute 
     recommended by the Committee on Foreign Affairs now printed 
     in the bill. Each section of the committee amendment in the 
     nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. Points of 
     order against the committee amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute for failure to comply with clause 7 of rule XVI 
     are waived. No amendment to the committee amendment in the 
     nature of a substitute shall be in order unless printed in 
     the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that 
     purpose in clause 6 of rule XXIII before the beginning of 
     consideration of the bill. The amendment caused to be printed 
     in the Record by Representative Bereuter of Nebraska 
     (relating to certain commercial claims) may amend portions of 
     the bill not yet read for amendment. After disposition of all 
     other amendments to the committee amendment in the nature of 
     a substitute, it shall be in order to consider an amendment 
     caused to be printed in the Record by Representative Bonior 
     of Michigan (relating to humanitarian assistance) and an 
     amendment caused to be printed in the Record by 
     Representative Solomon of New York (relating to war crimes) 
     in the order stated. Points of order against each of those 
     amendments for failure to comply with clause 7 of rule XVI 
     are waived. After disposition of those amendments, no further 
     amendment to the committee amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute shall be in order. At the conclusion of 
     consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall 
     rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as 
     may have been adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote 
     in the House on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the 
     Whole to the bill or to the committee amendment in the nature 
     of a substitute. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage 
     without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with 
     or without instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss], pending 
which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration 
of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
  (Mr. BONIOR asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago this month, America was 
celebrating our victory in the Persian Gulf war.
  We had defeated the forces of Saddam Hussein.
  We had liberated the people of Kuwait, and our troops were rightfully 
welcomed home with flags, parades, and all-star salutes.
  But Mr. Speaker, 3 years after the war ended, there are still some 
people who are paying the price.
  Thousands of the brave men and women who fought for America in that 
war still suffer physical and emotional injuries, including the effects 
of Persian Gulf war syndrome.
  Many of the crew members injured in the prewar Iraqi attack on the 
U.S.S. Stark still have outstanding claims from the injuries they 
suffered, and many United States corporations who did business in 
prewar Iraq and were owed money for services rendered, were left high 
and dry after the United Nations imposed sanctions and the United 
States Government itself is owed a hefty chunk of change as the result 
of defaults by the Iraqi Government.
  Mr. Speaker, all told, American claims against Iraq for losses, 
damages, and injuries suffered as a result of the gulf war run to about 
$5 billion.
  And Saddam Hussein is not about to pay a dime of it back.
  But this bill before us today will help us recoup some of those 
losses.
  Mr. Speaker, as we stand here today, there are approximately $1.2 
billion in frozen Iraqi assets in the United States, assets that were 
frozen by the United States after Iraq invaded Kuwait.
  For most of the people and businesses owed money by Iraq, these 
frozen assets are the only means they have of being reimbursed.
  There is no other way.
  But under current U.S. law, those assets must remain frozen. They 
cannot be used for anything or to reimburse anybody right now.
  But the bill that we will be discussing in just a few minutes changes 
all that.
  This bill authorizes the United States Foreign Claims Settlement 
Commission to use the $1.2 billion in frozen Iraqi assets to pay 
American claims against the Government of Iraq.
  It also sets up a mechanism by which these claims may be processed 
fairly, and it directs the commission to give first priority, as it 
should, to claims filed by veterans of Operation Desert Storm, victims 
of the U.S.S. Stark attack, and small claimants who can't afford to 
hire expensive attorneys to get their money back.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take a moment to mention an 
amendment I intend to offer later today as authorized by the rule that 
the Clerk just read.
  As we speak about the people who are still paying the price of the 
gulf war, nobody is paying a higher price today than the Iraqi people 
themselves.
  Saddam Hussein has turned his back on the people of Iraq, and with 
sanctions in place, hundreds of thousands of civilians in that country 
are dying today due to a lack of food, water, and basic medicine.

                              {time}  1310

  Mr. Speaker, this is a startling statistic. An estimated 120,000 
children under the age of 5 have died in Iraq in the past 3 years 
alone. Iraq today is a place where mothers see their babies scream in 
agony because operations must be performed without anesthesia. There is 
no anesthesia in the country. It is a place where diabetics lapse into 
comas, there is no insulin. It is a place where children suffering from 
leukemia are routinely sent home from the hospital because there is no 
medicine to provide them care. I intend to offer an amendment to 
address that situation. I will speak to it a little later as this bill 
progresses.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is the right thing to do, it is the right time 
to do it, and I would urge my colleagues to support this rule and to 
support the bill on final passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks, and include extraneous material.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, although this rule was unnecessarily clouded 
by a requirement that proposed amendments be preprinted--it is 
basically an open rule. And for that I would like to commend Chairman 
Moakley, as well as Chairman Hamilton and ranking member Gilman, of the 
Foreign Affairs Committee. While we objected to the preprinting 
requirement as a needless restraint on Members' ability to proposed 
changes to this bill, because of unrelated national events, Members 
with an interest in the Iraq Claims Act of 1993, did in fact have 
additional opportunity to formulate and submit suggested amendments.
  H.R. 3221 provides a measured, technical process to help victims of 
the Persian Gulf war--private and public--recoup some of their serious 
losses. Clearly the available resources--$1.3 billion in frozen Iraqi 
assets--fall far short of covering the estimated $5 billion in total 
claims against the Iraqis resulting from the war. As a result, this 
legislation is only one step toward an equitable prioritization of 
claims against the Iraqi Government. After the war, the United Nations 
established a Commission on Compensation to deal with losses by 
governments, individuals, and corporations stemming from Iraq's 
aggression against Kuwait, violations of international law, and 
inhumane treatment of prisoners. Despite this mandate, though, many 
claims against Iraq stemming from the war do not fall within the 
jurisdiction of the U.N. Commission. Under H.R. 3221, frozen Iraqi 
assets will be liquidated and divided between the Federal Government 
and private claimants whose grievances fall beyond the jurisdiction of 
the U.N. commission. H.R. 3221 rightfully gives preference for 
settlement of such claims to families of U.S. servicemen killed and 
veterans injured during Operation Desert Storm and the attack of the 
U.S.S. Stark. Private companies with business interests in Iraq that 
suffered losses because of the war will also be eligible, once 
veterans' and survivors' claims are settled. Mr. Speaker, Saddam 
Hussein's debt to the international community can never be repaid in 
full. H.R. 3221 will help make amends to some of those who suffered 
because of his insatiable appetite for power and indefensible 
aggression against innocent people. Of course, there remain serious 
consequences of the gulf war, for the Iraqi people who continue to 
suffer under the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein and for the 
American veterans whose lives are forever changed by their service in 
Desert Storm. I strongly support an amendment offered by Mr. Solomon, 
expressing Congress' interest in a U.N. war crimes tribunal, and I 
believe the list of crimes should include Hussein's deliberate attacks 
on the environment. In March 1991, this House passed a resolution 
deploring the blatant degradation of the environment and holding Saddam 
Hussein and his government expressly liable for related damages. At the 
time, we called this the send-the-bill-to-Saddam resolution. Americans 
vividly remember the gruesome images of purposely dumped sludge fouling 
the coastline and black smoke from deliberately torched oil wells 
blocking the Sun. Residents of the region will no doubt suffer long-
term health and economic consequences from this terrible crime--while 
hundreds of American military personnel now report mysterious health 
problems that could relate to toxic exposure during their active duty 
in the Persian Gulf. While the legislation before us today clearly does 
not address all of these lingering problems stemming from the gulf war, 
H.R. 3221 lays the groundwork for settling at least part of our score 
with the Iraqi Government.

  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the rule.

                                  OPEN VERSUS RESTRICTIVE RULES 95TH-103D CONG.                                 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Open rules       Restrictive rules
                      Congress (years)                       Total rules ---------------------------------------
                                                              granted\1\  Number  Percent\2\  Number  Percent\3\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
95th (1977-78).............................................          211     179         85       32         15 
96th (1979-80).............................................          214     161         75       53         25 
97th (1981-82).............................................          120      90         75       30         25 
98th (1983-84).............................................          155     105         68       50         32 
99th (1985-86).............................................          115      65         57       50         43 
100th (1987-88)............................................          123      66         54       57         46 
101st (1989-90)............................................          104      47         45       57         55 
102d (1991-92).............................................          109      37         34       72         66 
103d (1993-94).............................................           60      12         20       48         80 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Total rules counted are all order of business resolutions reported from the Rules Committee which provide for
  the initial consideration of legislation, except rules on appropriations bills which only waive points of     
  order. Original jurisdiction measures reported as privileged are also not counted.                            
\2\Open rules are those which permit any Member to offer any germane amendment to a measure so long as it is    
  otherwise in compliance with the rules of the House. The parenthetical percentages are open rules as a percent
  of total rules granted.                                                                                       
\3\Restrictive rules are those which limit the number of amendments which can be offered, and include so-called 
  modified open and modified closed rules, as well as completely closed rule, and rules providing for           
  consideration in the House as opposed to the Committee of the Whole. The parenthetical percentages are        
  restrictive rules as a percent of total rules granted.                                                        
                                                                                                                
Sources: ``Rules Committee Calendars & Surveys of Activities,'' 95th-102d Cong.; ``Notices of Action Taken,''   
  Committee on Rules, 103d Cong., through Apr. 22, 1994.                                                        


                                                        OPEN VERSUS RESTRICTIVE RULES: 103D CONG.                                                       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Rule                                      Amendments                                                                  
   Rule number date reported      type       Bill number and subject         submitted         Amendments allowed         Disposition of rule and date  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H. Res. 58, Feb. 2, 1993......  MC        H.R. 1: Family and medical     30 (D-5; R-25)..  3 (D-0; R-3)..............  PQ: 246-176. A: 259-164. (Feb. 3,
                                           leave.                                                                       1993).                          
H. Res. 59, Feb. 3, 1993......  MC        H.R. 2: National Voter         19 (D-1; R-18)..  1 (D-0; R-1)..............  PQ: 248-171. A: 249-170. (Feb. 4,
                                           Registration Act.                                                            1993).                          
H. Res. 103, Feb. 23, 1993....  C         H.R. 920: Unemployment         7 (D-2; R-5)....  0 (D-0; R-0)..............  PQ: 243-172. A: 237-178. (Feb.   
                                           compensation.                                                                24, 1993).                      
H. Res. 106, Mar. 2, 1993.....  MC        H.R. 20: Hatch Act amendments  9 (D-1; R-8)....  3 (D-0; R-3)..............  PQ: 248-166. A: 249-163. (Mar. 3,
                                                                                                                        1993).                          
H. Res. 119, Mar. 9, 1993.....  MC        H.R. 4: NIH Revitalization     13 (d-4; R-9)...  8 (D-3; R-5)..............  PQ: 247-170. A: 248-170. (Mar.   
                                           Act of 1993.                                                                 10, 1993).                      
H. Res. 132, Mar. 17, 1993....  MC        H.R. 1335: Emergency           37 (D-8; R-29)..  1(not submitted) (D-1; R-   A: 240-185. (Mar. 18, 1993).     
                                           supplemental Appropriations.                     0).                                                         
H. Res. 133, Mar. 17, 1993....  MC        H. Con. Res. 64: Budget        14 (D-2; R-12)..  4 (1-D not submitted) (D-   PQ: 250-172. A: 251-172. (Mar.   
                                           resolution.                                      2; R-2).                    18, 1993).                      
H. Res. 138, Mar. 23, 1993....  MC        H.R. 670: Family planning      20 (D-8; R-12)..  9 (D-4; R-5)..............  PQ: 252-164. A: 247-169. (Mar.   
                                           amendments.                                                                  24, 1993).                      
H. Res. 147, Mar. 31, 1993....  C         H.R. 1430: Increase Public     6 (D-1; R-5)....  0 (D-0; R-0)..............  PQ: 244-168. A: 242-170. (Apr. 1,
                                           debt limit.                                                                  1993).                          
H. Res. 149 Apr. 1, 1993......  MC        H.R. 1578: Expedited           8 (D-1; R-7)....  3 (D-1; R-2)..............  A: 212-208. (Apr. 28, 1993).     
                                           Rescission Act of 1993.                                                                                      
H. Res. 164, May 4, 1993......  O         H.R. 820: Nate                 NA..............  NA........................  A: Voice Vote. (May 5, 1993).    
                                           Competitiveness Act.                                                                                         
H. Res. 171, May 18, 1993.....  O         H.R. 873: Gallatin Range Act   NA..............  NA........................  A: Voice Vote. (May 20, 1993).   
                                           of 1993.                                                                                                     
H. Res. 172, May 18, 1993.....  O         H.R. 1159: Passenger Vessel    NA..............  NA........................  A: 308-0 (May 24, 1993).         
                                           Safety Act.                                                                                                  
H. Res. 173 May 18, 1993......  MC        S.J. Res. 45: United States    6 (D-1; R-5)....  6 (D-1; R-5)..............  A: Voice Vote (May 20, 1993)     
                                           forces in Somalia.                                                                                           
H. Res. 183, May 25, 1993.....  O         H.R. 2244: 2d supplemental     NA..............  NA........................  A: 251-174. (May 26, 1993).      
                                           appropriations.                                                                                              
H. Res. 186, May 27, 1993.....  MC        H.R. 2264: Omnibus budget      51 (D-19; R-32).  8 (D-7; R-1)..............  PQ: 252-178. A: 236-194 (May 27, 
                                           reconciliation.                                                              1993).                          
H. Res. 192, June 9, 1993.....  MC        H.R. 2348: Legislative branch  50 (D-6; R-44)..  6 (D-3; R-3)..............  PQ: 240-177. A: 226-185. (June   
                                           appropriations.                                                              10, 1993).                      
H. Res. 193, June 10, 1993....  O         H.R. 2200: NASA authorization  NA..............  NA........................  A: Voice Vote. (June 14, 1993).  
H. Res. 195, June 14, 1993....  MC        H.R. 5: Striker replacement..  7 (D-4; R-3)....  2 (D-1; R-1)..............  A: 244-176.. (June 15, 1993).    
H. Res. 197, June 15, 1993....  MO        H.R. 2333: State Department.   53 (D-20; R-33).  27 (D-12; R-15)...........  A: 294-129. (June 16, 1993).     
                                           H.R. 2404: Foreign aid.                                                                                      
H. Res. 199, June 16, 1993....  C         H.R. 1876: Ext. of ``Fast      NA..............  NA........................  A: Voice Vote. (June 22, 1993).  
                                           Track''.                                                                                                     
H. Res. 200, June 16, 1993....  MC        H.R. 2295: Foreign operations  33 (D-11; R-22).  5 (D-1; R-4)..............  A: 263-160. (June 17, 1993).     
                                           appropriations.                                                                                              
H. Res. 201, June 17, 1993....  O         H.R. 2403: Treasury-postal     NA..............  NA........................  A: Voice Vote. (June 17, 1993).  
                                           appropriations.                                                                                              
H. Res. 203, June 22, 1993....  MO        H.R. 2445: Energy and Water    NA..............  NA........................  A: Voice Vote. (June 23, 1993).  
                                           appropriations.                                                                                              
H. Res. 206, June 23, 1993....  O         H.R. 2150: Coast Guard         NA..............  NA........................  A: 401-0. (July 30, 1993).       
                                           authorization.                                                                                               
H. Res. 217, July 14, 1993....  MO        H.R. 2010: National Service    NA..............  NA........................  A: 261-164. (July 21, 1993).     
                                           Trust Act.                                                                                                   
H. Res. 220, July 21, 1993....  MC        H.R. 2667: Disaster            14 (D-8; R-6)...  2 (D-2; R-0)..............  PQ: 245-178. F: 205-216. (July   
                                           assistance supplemental.                                                     22, 1993).                      
H. Res. 226, July 23, 1993....  MC        H.R. 2667: Disaster            15 (D-8; R-7)...  2 (D-2; R-0)..............  A: 224-205. (July 27, 1993).     
                                           assistance supplemental.                                                                                     
H. Res. 229, July 28, 1993....  MO        H.R. 2330: Intelligence        NA..............  NA........................  A: Voice Vote. (Aug. 3, 1993).   
                                           Authority Act, fiscal year                                                                                   
                                           1994.                                                                                                        
H. Res. 230, July 28, 1993....  O         H.R. 1964: Maritime            NA..............  NA........................  A: Voice Vote. (July 29, 1993).  
                                           Administration authority.                                                                                    
H. Res. 246, Aug. 6, 1993.....  MO        H.R. 2401: National Defense    149 (D-109; R-    ..........................  A: 246-172. (Sept. 8, 1993).     
                                           authority.                     40).                                                                          
H. Res. 248, Sept. 9, 1993....  MO        H.R. 2401: National defense    ................  ..........................  PQ: 237-169. A: 234-169. (Sept.  
                                           authorization.                                                               13, 1993).                      
H. Res. 250, Sept. 13, 1993...  MC        H.R. 1340: RTC Completion Act  12 (D-3; R-9)...  1 (D-1; R-0)..............  A: 213-191-1. (Sept. 14, 1993).  
H. Res. 254, Sept. 22, 1993...  MO        H.R. 2401: National Defense    ................  91 (D-67; R-24)...........  A: 241-182. (Sept. 28, 1993).    
                                           authorization.                                                                                               
H. Res. 262, Sept. 28, 1993...  O         H.R. 1845: National            NA..............  NA........................  A: 238-188 (10/06/93).           
                                           Biological Survey Act.                                                                                       
H. Res. 264, Sept. 28, 1993...  MC        H.R. 2351: Arts, humanities,   7 (D-0; R-7)....  3 (D-0; R-3)..............  PQ: 240-185. A: 225-195. (Oct.   
                                           museums.                                                                     14, 1993).                      
H. Res. 265, Sept. 29, 1993...  MC        H.R. 3167: Unemployment        3 (D-1; R-2)....  2 (D-1; R-1)..............  A: 239-150. (Oct. 15, 1993).     
                                           compensation amendments.                                                                                     
H. Res. 269, Oct. 6, 1993.....  MO        H.R. 2739: Aviation            N/A.............  N/A.......................  A: Voice Vote. (Oct. 7, 1993).   
                                           infrastructure investment.                                                                                   
H. Res. 273, Oct. 12, 1993....  MC        H.R. 3167: Unemployment        3 (D-1; R-2)....  2 (D-1; R-1)..............  PQ: 235-187. F: 149-254. (Oct.   
                                           compensation amendments.                                                     14, 1993).                      
H. Res. 274, Oct. 12, 1993....  MC        H.R. 1804: Goals 2000 Educate  15 (D-7; R-7; I-  10 (D-7; R-3).............  A: Voice Vote. (Oct. 13, 1993).  
                                           America Act.                   1).                                                                           
H. Res. 282, Oct. 20, 1993....  C         H.J. Res. 281: Continuing      N/A.............  N/A.......................  A: Voice Vote. (Oct. 21, 1993).  
                                           appropriations through Oct.                                                                                  
                                           28, 1993.                                                                                                    
H. Res. 286, Oct. 27, 1993....  O         H.R. 334: Lumbee Recognition   N/A.............  N/A.......................  A: Voice Vote. (Oct. 28, 1993).  
                                           Act.                                                                                                         
H. Res. 287, Oct. 27, 1993....  C         H.J. Res. 283: Continuing      1 (D-0; R-0)....  0.........................  A: 252-170. (Oct. 28, 1993).     
                                           appropriations resolution.                                                                                   
H. Res. 289, Oct. 28, 1993....  O         H.R. 2151: Maritime Security   N/A.............  N/A.......................  A: Voice Vote. (Nov. 3, 1993).   
                                           Act of 1993.                                                                                                 
H. Res. 293, Nov. 4, 1993.....  MC        H. Con. Res. 170: Troop        N/A.............  N/A.......................  A: 390-8. (Nov. 8, 1993).        
                                           withdrawal Somalia.                                                                                          
H. Res. 299, Nov. 8, 1993.....  MO        H.R. 1036: Employee            2 (D-1; R-1)....  N/A.......................  A: Voice Vote. (Nov. 9, 1993).   
                                           Retirement Act-1993.                                                                                         
H. Res. 302, Nov. 9, 1993.....  MC        H.R. 1025: Brady handgun bill  17 (D-6; R-11)..  4 (D-1; R-3)..............  A: 238-182. (Nov. 10, 1993).     
H. Res. 303, Nov. 9, 1993.....  O         H.R. 322: Mineral exploration  N/A.............  N/A.......................  A: Voice Vote. (Nov. 16, 1993).  
H. Res. 304, Nov. 9, 1993.....  C         H.J. Res. 288: Further CR, FY  N/A.............  N/A.......................  .................................
                                           1994.                                                                                                        
H. Res. 312, Nov. 17, 1993....  MC        H.R. 3425: EPA Cabinet Status  27 (D-8; R-19)..  9 (D-1; R-8)..............  F: 191-227. (Feb. 2, 1994).      
H. Res. 313, Nov. 17, 1993....  MC        H.R. 796: Freedom Access to    15 (D-9; R-6)...  4 (D-1; R-3)..............  A: 233-192. (Nov. 18, 1993).     
                                           Clinics.                                                                                                     
H. Res. 314, Nov. 17, 1993....  MC        H.R. 3351: Alt Methods Young   21 (D-7; R-14)..  6 (D-3; R-3)..............  A: 238-179. (Nov. 19, 1993).     
                                           Offenders.                                                                                                   
H. Res. 316, Nov. 19, 1993....  C         H.R. 51: D.C. statehood bill.  1 (D-1; R-0)....  N/A.......................  A: 252-172. (Nov. 20, 1993).     
H. Res. 319, Nov. 20, 1993....  MC        H.R. 3: Campaign Finance       35 (D-6; R-29)..  1 (D-0; R-1)..............  A: 220-207. (Nov. 21, 1993).     
                                           Reform.                                                                                                      
H. Res. 320, Nov. 20, 1993....  MC        H.R. 3400: Reinventing         34 (D-15; R-19).  3 (D-3; R-0)..............  A: 247-183. (Nov. 22, 1993).     
                                           Government.                                                                                                  
H. Res. 336, Feb. 2, 1994.....  MC        H.R. 3759: Emergency           14 (D-8; R-5; I-  5 (D-3; R-2)..............  PQ: 244-168. A: 342-65. (Feb. 3, 
                                           Supplemental Appropriations.   1).                                           1994).                          
H. Res. 352, Feb. 8, 1994.....  MC        H.R. 811: Independent Counsel  27 (D-8; R-19)..  10 (D-4; R-6).............  PQ: 249-174. A: 242-174. (Feb. 9,
                                           Act.                                                                         1994).                          
H. Res. 357, Feb. 9, 1994.....  MC        H.R. 3345: Federal Workforce   3 (D-2; R-1)....  2 (D-2; R-0)..............  A: VV (Feb. 10, 1994).           
                                           Restructuring.                                                                                               
H. Res. 366, Feb. 23, 1994....  MO        H.R. 6: Improving America's    NA..............  NA........................  A: VV (Feb. 24, 1994).           
                                           Schools.                                                                                                     
H. Res. 384, Mar. 9, 1994.....  MC        H. Con. Res. 218: Budget       14 (D-5; R-9)...  5 (D-3; R-2)..............  A: 245-171 (Mar. 10, 1994).      
                                           Resolution FY 1995-99.                                                                                       
H. Res. 401, Apr. 12, 1994....  MO        H.R. 4092: Violent Crime       180 (D-98; R-82)  68 (D-47; R-21)...........  A: 244-176 (Apr. 13, 1994).      
                                           Control.                                                                                                     
H. Res. 410, Apr. 21, 1994....  MO        H.R. 3221: Iraqi Claims Act..  N/A.............  N/A.......................  .................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--Code: C-Closed; MC-Modified closed; MO-Modified open; O-Open; D-Democrat; R-Republican; PQ: Previous question; A-Adopted; F-Failed.              

  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from 
New York [Mr. Solomon], the ranking member of the Committee on Rules, 
who has an important amendment to this bill.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this rule and the legislation that it 
brings to the floor. At the appropriate time, the gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Bonior] and I will offer two separate amendments 
concerning the atrocities that continue to be inflicted on the Iraqi 
people. And if we think things are bad with what is going on in Bosnia 
and in other flash points around this world, in Turkestan and 
Azerbaijan and Georgia and many of the former Soviet republics, let us 
remember what continues to go on in Iraq.
  I support the Bonior amendment and urge all Members on both sides of 
the aisle to support it. It is so terribly important, the message and 
help it delivers.
  As for my own amendment, it simply lists the most serious and abusive 
of actions by Saddam Hussein and his regime during the Persian Gulf 
crisis and continuing right to today. It calls on the President of the 
United States to request the United Nations to establish a war crimes 
tribunal to hold Saddam Hussein and other officials in his regime 
accountable for their atrocities.
  Mr. Speaker, all decent people throughout the world were appalled by 
the brutality of Saddam Hussein's invasion and occupation of Kuwait. 
Our memories are still vivid when we recall the atrocities committed by 
Iraqi forces against the people of Kuwait. We are still repulsed by 
Saddam Hussein's cynical use of so-called human shields as a means of 
protecting his important military facilities against threatened 
attacks. And we still recoil at the recollection of indiscriminate 
Iraqi missile attacks against innocent unarmed civilians in Israel and 
Saudi Arabia.
  Mr. Speaker, the final chapter in Saddam Hussein's bloody history has 
not yet been written. I remain hopeful, indeed, very confident, that 
the day will come when Saddam Hussein has to face the bar of justice, 
when he has to face the court of world opinion. As a way of continuing 
to keep the pressure on his regime, I urge the establishment of a war 
crimes tribunal. Let the process of organizing the evidence begin now. 
And let us continue to keep the moral outrage of the civilized world 
focused on these atrocities. Surely, the day will come when Saddam 
Hussein and his henchmen are held accountable.
  My amendment simply expresses the sense of this Congress that the 
President should request the United Nations to establish a tribunal to 
charge this war criminal for his crimes against humanity. I urge 
Members to please support the amendment when it comes up.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman], the ranking member of the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman of the 
Rules Committee, the Honorable John Joseph Moakley, the distinguished 
ranking minority member, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon], and 
the distinguished minority floor manager, Porter Goss from Florida, for 
their efforts in bringing this resolution to the floor. It should 
provide Members on both sides of the aisle with the opportunity to 
consider and amend H.R. 3221, the Iraq Claims Act of 1993, reported out 
of the Foreign Affairs Committee on November 20, 1993.
  I agree with Chairman Hamilton on the importance of this legislation 
and the need for its prompt consideration by the House. We need to 
establish a fair and orderly system of adjudicating the claims of 
United States nationals against Iraq.
  The $1.2 billion in frozen Iraqi assets is far outweighed by the $5 
billion in total claims by the United States Government, individuals 
and companies.
  The bill authorizes the vesting of these frozen Iraqi assets to pay 
claims that are not within the jurisdiction of the U.N. Compensation 
Commission and authorizes the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to 
administer and allocate any funds received from the U.N. Commission.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the Iraq 
Claims Act.

                              {time}  1320

  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Roth], a member of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs.
  Mr. ROTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Florida for yielding 
time to me.
  This legislation originated in our Subcommittee on Economic Policy, 
Trade and Environment and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for 
the rule and for the bill.
  As has been said here a number of times, there are about $5 billion 
in American claims which have been pending for years against Iraq. And 
we are holding about $1.2 billion in Iraqi assets, which we seized at 
the time of the gulf war. This legislation will allow these frozen 
assets to be distributed as partial settlement to these longstanding 
American claims. And the important part of this legislation is since 
these claims are far more than the seized assets, this bill sets up a 
Government Commission to make partial settlements.
  The Commission would determine the most equitable basis for 
allocating favorable and available assets. The bill sets a priority for 
resolving the claims of American service people at the head of the 
line. This is why I think this legislation is so important. Those 
injured in the U.S.S. Stark attack and those injured in the gulf war 
would be first in line.
  Other claimants, including the U.S. businesses and U.S. Government, 
would also receive settlements. In my view, it is long past time when 
we can help the American soldiers, American businesses, and American 
taxpayer recover as much from Iraq as possible. Unless we pass this 
legislation, these claimants face a free-for-all in court. Let me 
repeat that. Unless we pass this legislation, these claimants face a 
free-for-all in court, where the winners will be determined by those 
with the best lawyers, not the best claim. That is why I am so 
determined that our service people are at the head of the line when 
these claims are allocated. That is why our subcommittee wrote this 
bill, and that is why the House should pass this bill today.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ROTH. I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I just want to commend the gentleman from 
Wisconsin for his work on this issue and so many others, trying to work 
out a responsible solution, as I think we have. And it could not have 
been done without his help.
  Mr. ROTH. I thank the chairman of the committee for those kind words. 
Let me say that the chairman is too modest because the chairman is the 
one that put this legislation to the Congress, and we appreciate his 
working with us in doing that.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter], another distinguished member of 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield 5 
minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter].
  (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kindness and 
courtesy in this respect.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member rises to support the rule. First, I would 
like to say that I completely support one goal of this legislation to 
fully compensate those United States armed servicemen, or their 
families, who were injured in the Stark attack or bravely fought in the 
Persian Gulf war and were either injured or killed in that war. 
However, the unprecedented step by the U.S. Department of Treasury to 
compensate those servicemen out of a pool of frozen assets--some of 
which is owed to U.S. commercial and Government interests--has created 
some very inequitable results. And it is important to recognize that 
such payment to servicemen, who are not abused POW's, from frozen enemy 
assets is indeed, apparently, a precedent-setting step. Unfortunately, 
our Government failed in the United Nations to have our United States 
servicemen, or their families, compensated from Iraqi oil revenues 
collected by the U.N. Commission as they should have been. Therefore, I 
fully understand the need and desire to utilize other funds for this 
very important and necessary purpose. Nevertheless, the United States 
should still pursue the U.N. option.
  I strongly object to the way the Treasury Department has handled this 
matter. It seems only fair and equitable that the United States 
Treasury Department should not prohibit the relatively small number of 
United States exporters--who have actually shipped goods to Iraq before 
the embargo--from collecting payment owed to them by the Iraqis when 
the Iraqis authorized payment. This was not the way Treasury treated 
exporters in a similar circumstance with respect to frozen Iranian 
assets. United States exporters who shipped goods to Iran prior to the 
embargo were paid, and United States exporters who shipped goods to 
Iraq prior to the embargo should be paid--especially if the Iraqis had 
also authorized payment from their assets abroad. In addition, I am 
concerned that current Treasury Department regulations will add 
substantial noncommercial costs to U.S. exporters in the future by 
forcing them to purchase expensive, confirmed letters of credit for 
much of their export financing. These noncommercial costs will damage 
our competitive stance with foreign competitors.
  The U.S. Treasury Department could avoid the inequities locked in 
place by this legislation by reexamining its current regulations. It 
should do so. I believe that a permanent policy should be developed 
which would permit both U.S. exporters and their financing institutions 
to understand and rely upon set rights and obligations when a 
Presidential freeze of foreign assets occurs.
  This Member attempted to develop a compromise amendment to this 
legislation which would more equitably distribute limited assets to all 
claimants including: U.S. armed servicemen, victims of the Stark 
incident, the U.S. Government, and all commercial claimants. 
Unfortunately, it is clear that the fundamental source of the 
inequitable distribution of limited assets lies first in Treasury 
Department regulations.
  Therefore, this Member believes it would be appropriate for the 
Treasury Department to carefully reexamine its current regulations and 
attempt to resolve the inequities created by existing regulations. I 
would suggest that for reasons of equity, and as a message to Treasury 
to go back and do their job properly.
  Mr. Speaker, the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets 
Control has not responsibly administered the assets which were blocked 
pursuant to Executive order by President Bush. Unfortunately, the 
Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control more 
responsibly administered the assets which were blocked pursuant to 
Executive order by President Bush. Unfortunately, the Office of Foreign 
Assets Control and a man who apparently operates like an arrogant 
little tin god, Mr. Richard Newcomb, has administered these blocked 
funds in a haphazard and inequitable manner:
  First, OFAC intended to allow exporters to be paid out of blocked 
assets. OFAC's original policy for releasing blocked Iraqi assets 
(General License No. 7, August 15, 1990) authorized the issuance of 
licenses to permit payment from a blocked account for all exporters who 
shipped goods to Iraq prior to the embargo.
  Then, OFAC limited this authority (General License No. 7, October 18, 
1990) to U.S. banks for goods shipped based on letters of credit issued 
or confirmed by U.S. banks. This is a radical departure from OFAC 
policy with regard to frozen Iranian assets which were paid to 
exporters who shipped under all letters of credit.
  As of March 3, 1994, OFAC has--despite its objections to piecemeal 
distribution of blocked Iraqi assets--issued 444 specific licenses 
allegedly authorizing the release of assets frozen by the Executive 
orders including the following:
  First, a CCC payment of $450 million to Gulf International Bank, a 
Middle Eastern bank partly owned by the Government of Iraq, and 
reportedly involved in financing embargo-busting activities.
  Second, release of frozen assets to Saalim Noman, the reputed head of 
Iraq's military procurement network in the United States.
  Third, release of $16 million from frozen Iraqi assets to a major 
political contributor (see Statement of the honorable former senior 
Senator from Colorado, Senator Tim Wirth, 138 Congressional Record 
S15731, September 30, 1993).
  Fourth, transfer of more than $107 million from blocked Iraqi 
accounts in United States banks to the United Nations.
  Mr. Speaker, the Office of Foreign Assets Control has plenty of 
precedent to permit U.S. exporters to receive full payment for their 
transactions, yet they have instead permitted disreputable individuals 
and entities which have allegedly engaged in embargo busting activities 
to erode claims that are entitled by this legislation to be awarded to 
U.S. veterans, U.S. businesses, and other individuals.
  Mr. Speaker, in light of these allegations against the Department of 
the Treasury, this Member demands that the Treasury Department's 
inspector general investigate these important allegations. Because Mr. 
Richard Newcomb and the Office of Foreign Assets Control will not 
provide the details on who has received licenses from his perch atop 
this apparently unaccountable agency within the Treasury Department, 
this Member believes such allegations at least, must be considered as 
possibly true until proven false.
  Mr. Speaker, to remedy these aforementioned abuses and 
inexcusable practices of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, an 
amendment I have drafted merely places those U.S. exporters who shipped 
goods prior to August 2, 1990, in a similar status but still below that 
which the Office of Foreign Assets Control has elected to confer on 
U.S. banks who issued or confirmed letters of credit to U.S. exporters. 
It seems only fair and equitable to this Member that the United States 
Treasury Department should not prohibit United States exporters--who 
have actually shipped goods to Iraq before the embargo--from collecting 
payment owed to them by the Iraqis when the Iraqis authorized payment.

  Mr. Speaker, without the amendment I have drafted, this legislation 
will preclude us from reversing an administrative policy that will 
adversely impact U.S. commerce, U.S. exporters, and the financing of 
international commercial transactions. Without the Bereuter amendment, 
H.R. 3221 would deter U.S. exporters from selling goods to foreign 
countries where the threat of hostilities--which is increasingly 
common--could cause them to lose everything if funds payable to them 
become subject to a blocking order in a U.S. financial institution.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, this Member has today endured one of the 
more damaging and irresponsible descriptions of an amendment which I 
hope to offer. A ``Dear Colleague'' which was circulated prior to 
consideration of this legislation grossly and unfairly characterizes 
this Member's amendment by associating it with attempts to place 
commercial claims before the legislation's priority designation of 
payment for members of the Armed Forces, victims of U.S.S. Stark, and 
other individuals. Clearly, this Member's proposed amendment does not 
affect H.R. 3221's priority designation of those claims. In fact, this 
Member took extra caution and care to ensure that H.R. 3221's priority 
designation be left unaffected.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, in regard to a letter circulated to Members of 
Congress by a bank which claims that my proposed amendment ``violates 
established principles of commercial law,'' this Member would like to 
state that my proposed amendment does nothing to change letter of 
credit law, and in fact, maintains current legal distinctions between 
confirmed letters of credit and advised letters of credit. Under 
current Treasury Regulations U.S. financial institutions have been 
reimbursed from frozen Iraqi assets after paying out of their own 
funds, confirmed letters of credit. The proposed Bereuter amendment 
does not permit unconfirmed letters to be paid out of frozen Iraqi 
funds. Rather, it places exporters who shipped under unconfirmed 
letters of credit firmly behind those exporters who shipped under 
confirmed letters of credit--which are even ahead of veterans claims--
and firmly behind the priority claims of members of the U.S. Armed 
Forces, their families, and victims of the U.S.S. Stark.
  Therefore, the drafted Bereuter amendment, as published in the Record 
on page H 2839, April 26, 1994, does nothing to create extra 
obligations for U.S. financial institutions who finance international 
commercial transactions. The drafted Bereuter amendment was aimed at 
promoting U.S. exports and U.S. financing of export transactions; it 
intentionally avoided creating extra obligations for U.S. financial 
institutions.

                              {time}  1330

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 410 provides, as we have 
heard this afternoon, for the consideration of H.R. 3221, the Iraqi 
Claims Act. This is, as has been stated, a simple open rule that 
provides 1 hour of general debate and makes in order any amendment 
printed in the Congressional Record.
  The rule allows the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter], who has 
just spoken, to offer an en bloc amendment which modifies portions of 
the bill not yet read for amendment. The bill waives clause 7 of rule 
XXI for an amendment offered by the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Solomon] relating, as he so aptly described, to the war crimes issue 
and Saddam Hussein, and for an amendment that I intend to offer 
relating to humanitarian assistance.
  Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit, with or without 
instructions. I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the bill, 
Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I yield 
back the balance of the time, and I move the previous question on the 
resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McNulty). Pursuant to House Resolution 
410 and rule XXIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of 
the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the 
bill, H.R. 3221.

                              {time}  1334


                     in the committee of the whole

  Accordingly the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 
3221) to provide for the adjudication of certain claims against the 
Government of Iraq with Ms. Eshoo in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as having 
been read the first time.
  Under the rule, the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton] will be 
recognized for 30 minutes, and the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] 
will be recognized for 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton].
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. HAMILTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, first let me express appreciation to 
those Members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs who have worked 
very diligently on this amendment and on this bill, the gentleman from 
Connecticut [Mr. Gejdenson] and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. 
Roth], the chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic 
Policy, Trade and Environment of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 
the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman], the ranking member of the 
committee.
  Madam Chairman, I just want to say also a word of appreciation to the 
gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter]. He may offer an amendment a 
little later on with which I disagree, but I have enormous respect for 
him, and I have appreciated the dialog I have had with him as we have 
tried to work our way through this complicated issue. I know that from 
the start of this process he has been very uncomfortable about any 
amendment which would put certain companies before veterans in terms of 
access to the limited Iraqi assets available to settle claims.
  The committee has been in a position of not knowing until this 
morning, when Tuesday's Congressional Record was available, precisely 
what amendments would be in order. Over the last several weeks some 
companies have sought to reorder the process of claims adjudication, 
and have wanted their claims paid first. We have had to prepare for 
that eventuality.

  Fortunately, we are not confronted with an amendment which seeks to 
pay certain companies with claims before veterans, so I simply want to 
commend the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter] for the care he has 
given in drafting his amendment, so that veterans do not operate at a 
disadvantage. However, while the problem of the veterans has been 
removed, if his amendment is offered, I will, of course, oppose it.
  First, Madam Chairman, let me explain the bill. H.R. 3221 provides 
the necessary authority to establish, maintain, and ultimately 
terminate a fair and orderly system for adjudicating the claims of 
United States nationals against Iraq. In other claims situations, the 
U.S. Government has not started the claims process until it has reached 
a government-to-government settlement.
  With Iraq, of course, there is no reasonable prospect of reaching 
such a settlement. For this reason, the United States needs the 
authority this bill provides to invest and then use the proceeds from 
frozen Iraqi assets under United States control to provide awards to 
United States citizens and claimants.
  There are serious negative repercussions if we do not approve this 
legislation. We need to be very clear about one point. It is not at all 
likely that everyone with claims against Iraq will be reimbursed in 
full for their loss. In fact, it is likely that no one will be 
reimbursed in full. There is simply not enough money to go around. It 
is estimated that there will be approximately $4 to $5 billion in 
individual, business, and government claims. There is approximately 
$1.2 billion in frozen Iraqi assets in this country, so we need to try 
to ensure a process that is fair and equitable for settling outstanding 
claims.
  The bill before us is directed towards two goals. It sets up a system 
for dealing with the claims of U.S. nationals that predate the gulf 
war, but gives priority to veterans with gulf war claims; and, second, 
it sets up a structure for handling funds the United States may receive 
from the U.N. Commission. The U.N. Commission is handling most claims 
that result from Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
  A word about the bill further. The bill authorizes the United States 
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to administer and, if necessary, 
to allocate funds received from the U.N. Commission.

                              {time}  1340

  The U.N. Commission plans to use Iraqi oil exports to provide 
compensation to foreign governments, individuals, and corporations that 
have suffered direct loss, damage, or injury as a result of Iraq's 
unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
  The U.N. Commission's mandate includes providing compensation to 
prisoners of war who suffered losses or injuries due to treatment that 
violated international humanitarian law.
  The U.N. Commission will not hear claims of United States servicemen 
who may have suffered losses in the course of their duty during the 
Iraq war. For this reason, these servicemen are given special priority 
under the U.S. Commission procedures.
  Madam Chairman, the bill authorizes the U.S. Commission to pay claims 
that are not within the jurisdiction of the U.N. Commission.
  In other words, the U.S. Commission will handle other losses suffered 
by U.S. claimants, such as prewar debts and obligations, injury claims 
of seamen on the U.S.S. Stark, and death and injury claims of Operation 
Desert Storm veterans.
  Madam Chairman, the U.N. Commission is up and running. Filing 
deadlines for claimants with the U.N. Commission have been set. The 
United States needs a structure in place to accommodate the U.N. 
process.
  Since we will not be able to reach settlement with Iraq, claimants 
deserve to have their claims heard while the evidence of their losses 
is still fresh.
  Madam Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this important piece 
of legislation.
  Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 3221, the Iraq 
Claims Act of 1993, reported out of the Foreign Affairs Committee on 
November 20, 1993.
  I would like to thank the distinguished chairman of our Foreign 
Affairs Committee, the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton] and his 
staff, as well as the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules, 
the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Moakley], and the ranking member 
of the Rules Committee, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon], for 
their cooperation and support in bringing this bill to the floor today 
under an open rule.
  Also, I want to pay tribute to all the minority members of the 
committee who helped to shape this legislation and influence its 
consideration particularly Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Leach, and Mr. Bereuter.
  I fully agree with Chairman Hamilton on the importance of this 
legislation and the need for creating a fair and equitable procedure 
and framework for American claims not within the jurisdiction of the 
U.N. Compensation Commission.
  This legislation provides a fair and orderly system for satisfying 
the claims of United States nationals, companies and the United States 
against Iraq as a result of the August 2, 1990, invasion of Kuwait.
  The Iraq Claims Act follows the standard procedure utilized in the 
past to provide compensation of Americans in similar circumstances.
  The bill authorizes the President to use the $1.2 billion of Iraqi 
assets frozen in 1990 to award payments on the estimated $3.1 billion 
of pre-August 2 claims and $2.3 billion post-invasion claims.
  It would permit the available compensation to be allocated equitably 
among all claimants including individuals, Desert Storm and Desert 
Shield veterans, and commercial claimants.
  This bill authorizes the vesting of these frozen Iraqi assets to pay 
claims that are not within the jurisdiction of the U.N. Compensation 
Commission and authorizes the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to 
administer and allocate any funds received from the U.N. Commission.
  The U.N. Commission plans to reuse revenues generated from Iraqi oil 
exports to provide compensation to foreign governments, individuals, 
and corporations that have suffered damage or injury as a result of 
Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
  Other losses suffered by U.S. claimants, including any unpaid pre-war 
commercial debts and obligations, injury claims of the crew members of 
the U.S.S. Stark and death and injury claims of Operation Desert Storm 
veterans, fall outside of the U.N. jurisdiction. This legislation will 
ensure that these claims will be adjudicated by the U.S. Commission.
  In our review of this legislation, many members expressed concern 
with the limited jurisdiction of the U.N. Commission, particularly over 
the fact that this commission will not consider the war-related claims 
of service personnel from any Nation unless such personnel were 
prisoners of war who were mistreated.
  To the extent that the members of our Armed Forces in the Desert 
Storm and Desert Shield operations are not fully compensated, our 
Government should continue to hold Iraq accountable. At such time as we 
reestablish normal relations with that country, we should seek payment 
in full for the balance of these claims.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support final passage of this 
important legislation.
  Madam Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. 
Leach].
  (Mr. LEACH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. LEACH. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  Madam Chairman, I rise to follow some of the concerns of the 
distinguished chairman of the committee and to simply stress that with 
regard to at least the principal amendment that is going to be offered 
from this side, that it is with some reluctance that I express some 
skepticism.
  Madam Chairman, I think one should always recognize that care has to 
be given so that law is written with precedent in mind, with the 
understanding that the best law has the widest general applicability 
and the most dubious statute is particularist in nature. The amendment 
to be offered later has the effect of advantaging some and 
disadvantaging others in the assertion of claims. It also has the 
effect of overturning, after the fact, legal precedent.
  Madam Chairman, I personally have very little doubt that the 
gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter] is entirely correct in 
expressing concerns about the allocation of the $1.2 billion in frozen 
assets which are currently available to dispense, however, about $5 
billion in expected claims are being considered. But moving one group 
of creditors to the head of the line, as deserving as they may be, 
pushes other equally deserving creditors to the back of the line. And 
so with the greatest reluctance, I would stress that even though the 
particular group that is in effect has some very heartrending 
circumstances, there are other groups that also have heartrending 
circumstances from an economic perspective and that in the name of 
fairness and equitability, the best reliance for this Congress is 
established law.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LEACH. I am delighted to yield to the gentleman from Nebraska.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding and 
I wonder if he would not admit that this difficultly about assessing 
the claims of one claimant class against another could be best handled 
by an administrative agency discharging their duties in a fashion that 
is consistent with previous precedents that have been established such 
as during the Iranian conflict?
  Mr. LEACH. Madam Chairman, I think the gentleman has a fair point, 
but I would not take it too far.
  Madam Chairman, one of the reasons that one should be careful about 
taking it too far, in the Iranian circumstance there was a surplus of 
frozen assets compared to claims. In this circumstance, there is a 
sparsity of frozen assets in relation to claims and so it was 
relatively easy to make an accommodation in that circumstance and not 
quite as easy in this particular one.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield again?
  Mr. LEACH. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Nebraska.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Chairman, that is certainly true, but the 
gentleman is aware of the fact that the U.S. Government failed to make 
its case convincingly with the United Nations so that in fact the 
claims for a substantial number of our claimants could have been paid 
for out of Iraqi oil proceeds which is entirely appropriate, true?
  Mr. LEACH. Madam Chairman, it would have been far better for this 
country if our Government had made that claim. We are dealing with a 
circumstance that exists, not one that we would prefer to be the case.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield further?
  Mr. LEACH. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Nebraska.
  Mr. BEREUTER. This gentleman is very, very reluctant to offer an 
amendment like I have drafted on the floor, even though we put veterans 
in the preferred first priority status where they ought to be. But when 
we have OFAC, this is the body within the Treasury Department 
responsible for these kinds of claims matters, failing to discharge 
their duty in a consistent fashion and making arbitrary distinctions 
that are inconsistent with precedent, a Member really has no other 
alternative but to come to the committee and then to the House floor to 
try to get some kind of realistic and acceptable action out of the 
administrative agency that ought to be handling this. And I think that 
is what this gentleman intends.
  Mr. LEACH. Madam Chairman, I say to the gentleman, I respect very 
much what the gentleman has in mind, but I would also say that the fact 
that this particular institution, and in my comments I made reference 
to the fact that I thought the gentleman had some fair points in this 
regard, may have been capricious does not mean that, therefore, greater 
capriciousness is the reward for that group that happens to have the 
brightest and the most astute Member of Congress advocating their case.

                              {time}  1350

  And what we have here is one of the finest, most reputable, and 
esteemed Members of our body who has come to the defense of one group 
of creditors, and I respect that more than anything, but I think the 
public interest should be for a general approach of the law than a 
particular interest.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 8 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Kanjorski].
  (Mr. KANJORSKI asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Chairman, I rise today with regret, because I 
think the world of our chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He 
has been my candidate for many things in this Congress in the past and 
probably will be in the future.
  In going over the report language and the language in the bill today, 
in the last section, the Congress does address the statement of policy, 
and it says that it is a sense of the Congress that individuals who 
have served in the armed forces of Iraq during the Persian Gulf 
conflict should not be admitted into the United States as refugees 
under the Immigration and Naturalization Act. That would be fine except 
it also says, ``except in exceptional circumstances.'' The bill does 
not say what those exceptional circumstances are.
  Reading on, the bill says, ``until all claims certified under section 
2(b) of this act shall have been paid in full.'' Well, there are two 
real considerations to me more as a matter of conscience. One, we do 
not sell American refugee status or citizenship to anybody, 
particularly those people who fight against American fighting men and 
women. And two, I do not think we should tie freedom to economic 
claims. I think they are so distinguishable, that if that is the sense 
of this Congress, I am embarrassed to say I am a Member of this 
Congress.
  I have prepared and am introducing today a bill that would clearly 
say to the Immigration Service and State Department of the United 
States, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no refugee of Iraqi 
descent who served in the Iraqi Army during the conflict in Iraq should 
be admitted into the United States under any circumstances. As we turn 
down Haitians, and as we turn down freedom fighters all over the world, 
can we say that we are going to take care of soldiers who fought 
against the United States? I think that is unconscionable.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KANJORSKI. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Illinois.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Chairman, I concur with what the gentleman has 
stated.
  I, however, would state that several months ago when it was 
discovered that Iraqi POW's who were finding their way to this country, 
we made inquiry of the Sate Department, and the State Department now 
changed its position, so only those ex-Iraqi POW's who did not fire 
shots at us and who assisted the United States in the effort would be 
allowed to come to this country as refugees.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Chairman, I understand that, but I saw the 
newscasts when a thousand or so men were in the field waiting to come 
to the United States, and the State Department of the United States and 
the Immigration Service of the United States said these are prisoners 
of war who cannot go home because they are threatened; that they have 
asked for political refugee status, and under the existing laws the 
Congress has passed, they are entitled to it.
  I just want it very clear that if we did pass laws like that in the 
past which are being applied by our State Department or Immigration 
Service in such a way, we should change those laws. This is not to say 
that I would send people back to Iraq to suffer. We went to war for the 
benefit of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and other Middle Eastern countries. 
They certainly should have the ability to hold soldiers until Iraq 
becomes a free nation again or at least until their lives are not 
threatened.
  It is not a responsibility for the United States to fill up this 
country with people who say, ``I cannot go home for various political 
reasons''; that we have got to bring them over here in preference over 
other world citizens who are major contributors and true believers in 
freedom and democracy and willing to fight for it. These people did not 
fight for it.
  Mr. MANZULLO. I concur with everything the gentleman said. But I 
would state, based upon the outrage just expressed, we took that 
outrage, approached the State Department, and the State Department has 
officially changed its policy to limit the number of POW's coming in.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Fine, but we do not know what that change is going to 
be.
  Mr. MANZULLO. The change is in the report.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. I read the report. It said they will change their 
policy and take into account different considerations. I do not know 
what those are. Until we know what the considerations are, and they are 
spelled out, the policy is wrong.
  Mr. MANZULLO. The considerations are in the report. The 
considerations state very clearly that No. 1, any ex-Iraqi POW who 
comes to this country could not have fired any shots at this country. 
No. 2, he would have had to substantially aid this country in efforts 
to defeat.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Did you address the 500 that are here? Are they going 
back?
  Mr. MANZULLO. What we asked was the policy be halted immediately 
because there were no specific guidelines.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. What about those that are already here? What are we 
doing with the 500 that are here?
  Mr. MANZULLO. Well, they are already here now. We cannot help that.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. We can change the law and send them back.
  Mr. MANZULLO. I would work with the gentleman on any reasonable laws 
to change it.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. I will challenge my friends on the Republican side. I 
have sat here for years hearing motions to recommit on issues, on fine, 
fundamental things. We cannot offer recommittal on this side. But I 
challenge a Republican to offer a recommittal.
  I prepared the language. I will tell you, if you put it up to a vote 
on this floor, if it does not pass overwhelmingly, then we ought to all 
go home and apologize to our constituents.
  I am challenging the Republicans to find one conscientious Member on 
the Republican side to offer a motion to recommit so we can change this 
sense-of-the-Congress language. It does not need to be so harsh that we 
deny anybody refugee status.
  Mr. MANZULLO. If the gentleman will yield further, it was the 
Republicans that found the problem going on, and it was the Republican 
Party that worked in the committee in a bipartisan.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. This is no partisan issue. I drafted a bill, but I 
seek to make no partisan issue of it. I am asking the Republican 
minority who say they never have a chance, to find one of your Members 
that will stand up in objection to this bill and make a motion to 
recommit and let us vote on this floor whether it is the sense of 
Congress to let these refugees in.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KANJORSKI. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Indiana.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, the gentleman from Pennsylvania was 
courteous enough a moment ago to show me his amendment, a new motion to 
recommit. I had not seen it before.
  I do not have any doubt at all that he needs to be commended for the 
principle that is stated in the amendment. None of us, I think, are 
comfortable with the idea of welcoming as refugees into this country 
Iraqi soldiers who fought against us.
  Now, I told the gentleman from Pennsylvania that I would try to work 
with him on it. This raises questions of refugee policies that are 
outside the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  I do not know whether this motion to recommit is subject to a point 
of order or not, but it may be. But I think it is a very serious 
question that he has raised.
  I also think, on the basis of my understanding of the problem, that 
it is not quite as simple as the language that this recommittal motion 
would suggest. In other words, there were many Iraqi soldiers who 
deserted. There were many who came over through our enticement. There 
were some Iraqi soldiers who helped us.
  I just do not want to have blanket language without providing for 
some exceptions.
  But the gentleman raises a very valid point, and I do want to try to 
work with him, as I have tried to work with the gentleman from 
Illinois, who was very interested in this matter in the committee, in 
order to reach a satisfactory conclusion. I commend him for calling it 
to our attention.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Reclaiming my time, I thank the chairman very much. I 
have a friend from Pennsylvania in our delegation. He is a freshman, 
and he fought against the Iraqis in the gulf war, and I would doubt 
that he feels comfortable with the idea that in the thousands of 
prisoners in the field, some would have the ability to assert refugee 
status, and that they would get preference over all refugees around the 
world.
  I would invite my fellow Member, if he would like, to comment on this 
subject.
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Madam Chairman, would the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KANJORSKI. I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut [Mr. 
Gejdenson].
  Mr. GEJDENSON. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Chairman, I would like to say what happened here is that the 
U.S. Military, in trying to protect American lives, said that if some 
of the Iraqis helped us, we would then repay them by giving them an 
opportunity to come to the United States.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Reclaiming my time, that may have been General 
Schwarzkopf's position, but it is not this Member of Congress, and I do 
not think it represents the position of the American people. I think we 
have every right in the world to protect them, we should say to Saudi 
Arabia, Kuwait: ``We sent our boys, we lost our lives. Do you mean you 
can't take care of this prisoner problem in the Middle East?''
  Madam Chairman, I call upon my colleague, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania, from just below my district in Easton-Allentown-
Bethlehem, the Honorable Paul McHale, who served in the Persian Gulf. 
He resigned his seat in the house of representatives of the Assembly of 
Pennsylvania and honorably went to the Middle East and offered his life 
in the defense of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, and to 
help get freedom in Iraq.
  I would like his opinion of what we are passing on here today.
  Mr. McHALE. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KANJORSKI. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. McHALE. I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time to speak.
  Madam Chairman, I had not anticipating to speak on this issue. I was 
not aware that it would be debated at some length. In light of the fact 
that it is, I want to associate myself fully with the remarks of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Kanjorski].
  Madam Chairman, I remember what it was like on the morning of 
February 24, 1991, when brave soldiers and marines prepared to walk 
into an enemy minefield. And I remember what it was like that evening 
and for the next several evenings as thousands of Iraqi prisoners were 
captured. Yes, at that point they were defenseless, and, yes, at that 
point they were willing to cooperate. But a few hours earlier they were 
prepared to kill Americans.
  I find it outrageous that those who have taken up arms in opposition 
to our country have now been invited to have permanent residency status 
within our Nation. That is a disgrace. We owe more than that to our 
comrades who died on the battlefield. Brave young Americans, knowing 
full well what the danger was, put their lives on the line, walked into 
those minefields, and in some cases sacrificed their blood and their 
lives. I do not want to hear State Department doublespeak on this 
issue. I do not want to hear we are only admitting those who did not 
pull a trigger. Those who took up arms are morally and politically 
accountable for their actions, and in light of the fact that they were 
prepared to kill Americans, I do not want to admit them to our shores. 
We owe more than that to those who sacrificed their lives. I fully 
agree with the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Kanjorski]. This issue 
has been debated at length for at least 6 months. It is time to make it 
clear that in the past war and in any future war, those who take up 
arms against the United States will not be welcome in our country.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Manzullo], a member of our Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  Mr. MANZULLO. I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me.
  Madam Chairman, the United States of America has a penchant for 
putting American troops in harm's way, bleating the trumpets of 
victory, and then finding out that we lost the peace at the negotiating 
table. This time, the gulf war victory was shattered by the outrageous 
actions of the United Nations.
  As part of the United Nations peace effort to conclude the gulf war, 
the U.N. Security Council adopted on April 8, 1991 Resolution 687 to 
provide compensation for damages caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. 
The resolution states that Iraq was liable under international law 
``for any direct loss, damage * * * or injury to foreign governments, 
nationals and corporations, as a result of Iraq's unlawful invasion and 
occupation of Kuwait.'' The United Nations established a compensation 
commission to administer these claims, based on a 30-percent tax on all 
future Iraqi oil shipments.
  I discovered that this fund could not be used to pay for the war 
injuries to soldiers, or survivors of deceased veterans, of the Allied 
Coalition Armed Forces who fought Saddam Hussein. The United States 
delegation to the Governing Council, according to a letter I received 
from the State Department, fought very hard to have the claims of these 
soldiers included in this fund.
  The letter stated:

       All members of the Allied Coalition Armed Forces, or their 
     survivors, should be able to file claims for death or injury 
     suffered in the course of military actions against Iraq . . . 
     [The U.S. delegation to the Governing Council] argues that 
     these individuals had been sent into harm's way to combat 
     aggression on behalf of the United Nations and thus they were 
     at least as deserving as any other claimant . . . No other 
     government supported the U.S. position.

  On June 26, 1992, the Governing Council decided that only those 
veterans who were prisoners of war and who suffered Geneva convention 
rights violations would be able to use the fund to help pay for their 
injuries. Thus, some nations serving on the United Nations Security 
Council who were not even involved in the allied war effort against 
Saddam Hussein, such as China, determined that American soldiers and 
their survivors could not charge Iraq the cost of their injuries. I 
enclose the full letter for the record.
  The only fund available to the soldiers or their survivors is the 
Iraqi Claims Fund, which consists of $1.2 billion in frozen Iraqi 
assets. That claims fund, however, has a limit of $100,000 per soldier 
or survivor. There were 396 U.S. soldiers killed and some 2,000 injured 
in the gulf war. In addition, an additional 8,000 veterans have been 
treated by VA hospitals for physiological injuries arising out of the 
war. Needless to say, the Iraqi Claims Fund could easily be depleted by 
veterans' claims. Plus, the fund will be used to settle United States 
Government contact and property claims against Iraq and unpaid contract 
obligations to American companies.
  Over a period of time, Kuwait will have its property damage claims by 
Iraq paid through the United Nations Compensation Fund. However, United 
States veterans of the war, or the survivors, will have to look at the 
meager $1.2 billion Iraq Claim Fund or regular veterans' benefits to 
pay for injuries or death claims.
  This is not right. Saddam Hussein someday will be shipping oil and 
will not be responsible one bit for injuries to soldiers, or survivors 
of soldiers, who battled his armies. Saddam Hussein will not have to 
pay for the injuries caused when one of his SCUD's landed on the 
American transportation division from Pennsylvania.
  I am pleased that the committee inserted report language at my 
request to express this outrage. I fully agree with the committee that 
the United States should continue to hold Iraq accountable for 
uncompensated veterans' claims.
  It is time that we stop the process of having American soldiers shed 
their blood on foreign soil only to have the peace accords dictated by 
nations whose efforts were minimal.


                                     U.S. Department of State,

                                 Washington, DC, October 25, 1993.
     Hon. Donald Manzullo,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Manzullo: This letter responds to your request, in 
     connection with the proposed Iraq Claims Act, for background 
     on the eligibility of members of the United States Armed 
     Forces to file claims against Iraq before the U.N. 
     Compensation Commission (UNCC).
       On June 26, 1992, the Governing Council of the Commission 
     adopted Decision 11 (S/AC.26/1992/11) (enclosed), under which 
     members of the Allied Coalition Armed Forces who engaged in 
     military operations against Iraq are ineligible to file 
     claims, unless they were prisoners of war and were mistreated 
     in violation of international humanitarian law. You asked for 
     an explanation of how the Governing Council arrived at this 
     decision.
       At the end of the Persian Gulf War, the U.N. Security 
     Council adopted Resolution 687 (enclosed), which in paragraph 
     16 confirmed Iraq's liability under international law ``for 
     any direct loss, damage . . . or injury to foreign 
     Governments, nationals and corporations, as a result of 
     Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait.'' The 
     Security Council went on to establish a fund to pay 
     compensation to eligible claimants and set up the Commission 
     to administer the fund. It was left to the Governing Council 
     of the Commission, composed of the fifteen member states of 
     the Security Council, to determine the specific criteria for 
     eligible claims, consistent with the terms of the resolution.
       From the outset, the U.S. delegation to the Governing 
     Council's first session (July 23-August 2, 1991) argued 
     vigorously that all members of the Allied Coalition Armed 
     Forces, or their survivors, should be able to file claims for 
     death or injury suffered in the course of military actions 
     against Iraq. We argued that these individuals had been sent 
     into harm's way to combat aggression on behalf of the United 
     Nations and thus they were at least as deserving as any other 
     claimant. We said such persons were clearly ``nationals'' 
     covered by paragraph 16 of Resolution 687 and deserved to be 
     compensated for their losses. However, other governments 
     objected strenuously to the U.S. position, arguing that 
     national governments should be responsible for compensating 
     members of their armed forces, there were no clear 
     international precedents for such compensation, and inclusion 
     here would exceed the mandate of the Commission. No other 
     government supported the U.S. position, and the matter was 
     put off for later consideration (Decision 1, paragraph 7) 
     (enclosed).
       At the Governing Council's fifth session (March 16-20, 
     1992), another government introduced a proposal, supported by 
     the U.S. delegation, to clarify that prisoners of war who had 
     been mistreated in violation of international humanitarian 
     law were eligible for compensation, under established 
     international precedents. Again there were serious objections 
     from several governments even to this more limited proposal. 
     The matter was again postponed in favor of further study.
       Finally, at the Council's sixth session (June 22-26, 1992), 
     consensus was reached on adoption of Decision 11 (enclosed), 
     which clarifies that prisoners of war who were mistreated are 
     eligible to submit claims to the Commission. The U.S. 
     delegation continued to argue that all members of the Allied 
     Coalition Armed Forces who suffered direct loss, damage or 
     injury as a result of Iraq's invasion and occupation of 
     Kuwait were entitled to make claims under Resolution 687. 
     There was no support from any other Council member for the 
     U.S. position. Other delegations continued to disagree, based 
     on the reasons set forth above. In the end, other members of 
     the Council would accept a provision stating that prisoners 
     of war were eligible to claim compensation before the 
     Commission on the basis of mistreatment only if the provision 
     also clearly excluded all other claims by members of Allied 
     Coalition Forces. Under the circumstances, and taking into 
     account the importance of reaffirming the special status and 
     protection to be accorded prisoners of war under 
     international humanitarian law, the decision was the best 
     result that could be obtained. The Department of Defense 
     informed us that their priority was to increase international 
     recognition of the status and rights of prisoners of war, and 
     requested that the U.S. delegation support this decision.
       Compensation for other members of the U.S. Armed Forces 
     remains a matter for national legislation. Thus, we hope you 
     will support adoption of the proposed Iraq claims 
     legislation.
       I hope we have been responsive to your concerns. Please 
     contact us if we can be of further assistance.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Wendy R. Sherman,
                         Assistant Secretary, Legislative Affairs.

       Enclosures: 1. Resolution 687; 2. UNCC Decision 1; 3. UNCC 
     Decision 11.

        United Nations Security Council--Resolution 687 (1991)*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Footnotes at end of article.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


 adopted by the Security Council at its 2981st meeting, on 3 April 1991

       Recalling its resolution 660 (1990) of 2 August 1990, 661 
     (1990) of 6 August 1990, 662 (1990) of 9 August 1990, 664 
     (1990) of 18 August 1990, 665 (1990) of 25 August 1990, 666 
     (1990) of 13 September 1990, 667 (1990) of 16 September 1990, 
     669 (1990) of 24 September 1990, 670 (1990) of 25 September 
     1990, 674 (1990) of 29 October 1990, 667 (1990) of 28 
     November 1990, 678 (1990) of 29 November 1990 and 686 (1991) 
     of 2 March 1991.
       Welcoming the restoration to Kuwait of its sovereignty, 
     independence and territorial integrity and the return of its 
     legitimate Government.
       Affirming the commitment of all Member States to the 
     sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence 
     of Kuwait and Iraq, and noting the intention expressed by the 
     member States cooperating with Kuwait under paragraph 2 of 
     resolution 678 (1990) to bring their military presence in 
     Iraq to an end as soon as possible consistent with paragraph 
     8 of resolution 686 (1991).
       Reaffirming the need to be assured of Iraq's peaceful 
     intentions in the light of its unlawful invasion and 
     occupation of Kuwait.
       Taking note of the letter sent by the minister for Foreign 
     Affairs of Iraq on 27 February 1991\1\ and those sent 
     pursuant to resolution 686 (1991).\2\
       Noting that Iraq and Kuwait, as independent sovereign 
     States, signed at Baghdad on 4 October 1963 ``Agreed Minutes 
     Between the State of Kuwait and the Republic of Iraq 
     Regarding the Restoration of Friendly relations, Recognition 
     and Related Matters'', thereby recognizing formally the 
     boundary between Iraq and Kuwait and the allocation of 
     islands, which were registered with the United Nations in 
     accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United 
     Nations and in which Iraq recognized the independence and 
     complete sovereignty of the State of Kuwait within its 
     borders as specified and accepted in the letter of the Prime 
     Minister of Iraq dated 21 July 1932, and as accepted by the 
     Ruler of Kuwait in his letter dated 10 August 1932.
       Conscious of the need for demarcation of the said boundary.
       Conscious also of the statements by Iraq threatening to use 
     weapons in violation of its obligations under the Geneva 
     Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of 
     Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of 
     Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 
     June 1925,\3\ and of its prior use of chemical weapons and 
     affirming that grave consequences would follow any further 
     use by Iraq of such weapons.
       Recalling that Iraq has subscribed to the Declaration 
     adopted by all States participating in the Conference of 
     States Parties to the 1925 Geneva Protocol and Other 
     Interested States, held in Paris from 7 to 11 January 1989, 
     establishing the objective of universal elimination of 
     chemical and biological weapons.
       Recalling also that Iraq has signed the Convention on the 
     Prohibition of the Development. Production and Stockpiling of 
     Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their 
     Destruction, of 10 April 1972.\4\
       Noting the importance of Iraq ratifying this Convention.
       Noting moreover the importance of all States adhering to 
     this Convention and encouraging its forthcoming Review 
     Conference to reinforce the authority, efficiency and 
     universal scope of the convention.
       Stressing the importance of an early conclusion by the 
     Conference on Disarmament of its work on a Convention on the 
     Universal Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and of universal 
     adherence thereto.
       Aware of the use by Iraq of ballistic missiles in 
     unprovoked attacks and therefore of the need to take specific 
     measures in regard to such missiles located in Iraq.
       Concerned by the reports in the hands of Member States that 
     Iraq has attempted to acquire materials for a nuclear-weapons 
     programme contrary to its obligations under the Treaty on the 
     Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1 July 1968,\5\
       Recalling the objective of the establishment of a nuclear-
     weapons-free zone in the region of the Middle East,
       Conscious of the threat that all weapons of mass 
     destruction pose to peace and security in the area and of the 
     need to work towards the establishment in the Middle East of 
     a zone free of such weapons,
       Conscious also of the objective of achieving balanced and 
     comprehensive control of armaments in the region,
       Conscious further of the importance of achieving the 
     objectives noted above using all available means, including a 
     dialogue among the States of the region,
       Noting that resolution 686 (1991) marked the lifting of the 
     measures imposed by resolution 661 (1990) in so far as they 
     applied to Kuwait,
       Noting that despite the progress being made in fulfilling 
     the obligations of resolution 686 (1991), many Kuwaiti and 
     third country nationals are still not accounted for and 
     property remains unreturned,
       Recalling the International Convention against the Taking 
     of Hostages,\6\ opened for signature at New York on 18 
     December 1979, which categorizes all acts of taking hostages 
     as manifestations of international terrorism,
       Deploring threats made by Iraq during the recent conflict 
     to make use of terrorism against targets outside Iraq and the 
     taking of hostages by Iraq,
       Taking note with grave concern of the reports of the 
     Secretary-General of 20 March 1991\7\ and 28 March 1991,\8\ 
     and conscious of the necessity to meet urgently the 
     humanitarian needs in Kuwait and Iraq.
       Bearing in mind its objective of restoring international 
     peace and security in the area as set out in recent 
     resolutions of the Security Council,
       Conscious of the need to take the following measures acting 
     under Chapter VII of the Charter,
       1. Affirms all thirteen resolutions noted above, except as 
     expressly changed below to achieve the goals of this 
     resolution, including a formal cease-fire;


                                   A

       2. Demands that Iraq and Kuwait respect the inviolability 
     of the international boundary and the allocation of islands 
     set out in the ``Agreed Minutes Between the State of Kuwait 
     and the Republic of Iraq Regarding the Restoration of 
     Friendly Relations, Recognition and Related Matters'', signed 
     by them in the exercise of their sovereignty at Baghdad on 4 
     October 1963 and registered with the United Nations and 
     published by the United Nations in document 7063, United 
     Nations, Treaty Series, 1964:
       3. Calls upon the Secretary-General to lend his assistance 
     to make arrangements with Iraq and Kuwait to demonstrate the 
     boundary between Iraq and Kuwait, drawing on appropriate 
     material, including the map transmitted by Security Council 
     document S/22412 and to report back to the Security Council 
     within one month;
       4. Decides to guarantee the inviolability of the above-
     mentioned international boundary and to take as appropriate 
     all necessary measures to that end in accordance with the 
     Charter of the United Nations;


                                   B

       5. Requests the Secretary-General, after consulting with 
     Iraq and Kuwait, to submit within three days to the Security 
     Council for its approval a plan for the immediate deployment 
     of a United Nations observer unit to monitor the Khor 
     Abdullah and a demilitarized zone, which is hereby 
     established, extending ten kilometres into Iraq and five 
     kilometres into Kuwait from the boundary referred to in the 
     ``Agreed Minutes Between the State of Kuwait and the Republic 
     of Iraq Regarding the Restoration of Friendly Relations, 
     Recognition and Related Matters'' of 4 October 1963; to deter 
     violations of the boundary through its presence in and 
     surveillance of the demilitarized zone; to observe any 
     hostile or potentially hostile action mounted from the 
     territory of one State to the other; and for the Secretary-
     General to report regularly to the Security Council on the 
     operations of the unit, and immediately if there are serious 
     violations of the zone or potential threats to peace;
       6. Notes that as soon as the Secretary-General notifies the 
     Security Council of the completion of the deployment of the 
     United Nations observer unit, the conditions will be 
     established for the Member States cooperating with Kuwait in 
     accordance with resolution 678 (1990) to bring their military 
     presence in Iraq to an end consistent with resolution 686 
     (1991);


                                   C

       7. Invites Iraq to reaffirm unconditionally its obligations 
     under the Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in 
     War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of 
     Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 
     June 1925, and to ratify the Convention on the Prohibition of 
     the Development, Production and Stockpiling of 
     Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on 
     Their Destruction, of 10 April 1972;
       8. Decides that Iraq shall unconditionally accept the 
     destruction, removal, or rendering harmless, under 
     international supervision, of:
       (a) All chemical and biological weapons and all stocks of 
     agents and all related subsystems and components and all 
     research, development, support and manufacturing facilities;
       (b) All ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 
     kilometres and related major parts, and repair and production 
     facilities;
       9. Decides, for the implementation of paragraph 8 above, 
     the following:
       (a) Iraq shall submit to the Secretary-General, within 
     fifteen days of the adoption of the present resolution, a 
     declaration of the locations, amounts and types of all items 
     specified in paragraph 8 and agree to urgent, on-site 
     inspection as specified below;
       (b) The Secretary-General, in consultation with the 
     appropriate Governments and, where appropriate, with the 
     Director-General of the World Health Organization, within 
     forty-five days of the passage of the present resolution, 
     shall develop, and submit to the Council for approval, a plan 
     calling for the completion of the following acts within 
     forty-five days of such approval:
       (i) The forming of a Special Commission, which shall carry 
     out immediate on-site inspection of Iraq's biological, 
     chemical and missile capabilities, based on Iraq's 
     declarations and the designation of any additional locations 
     by the Special Commission itself;
       (ii) The yielding by Iraq of possession to the Special 
     Commission for destruction, removal or rendering harmless, 
     taking into account the requirements of public safety, of all 
     items specified under paragraph 8(a) above, including items 
     at the additional locations designated by the Special 
     Commission under paragraph 9(b)(i) above and the destruction 
     by Iraq, under the supervision of the Special Commission, of 
     all its missile capabilities, including launchers, as 
     specified under paragraph 8(b) above;
       (iii) The provision by the Special Commission of the 
     assistance and cooperation to the Director-General of the 
     International Atomic Energy Agency required in paragraphs 12 
     and 13 below;
       10. Decides that Iraq shall unconditionally undertake not 
     to use, develop, construct or acquire any of the items 
     specified in paragraphs 8 and 9 above and requests the 
     Secretary-General, in consultation with the Special 
     Commission, to develop a plan for the future ongoing 
     monitoring and verification of Iraq's compliance with this 
     paragraph, to be submitted to the Security Council for 
     approval within one hundred and twenty days of the passage of 
     this resolution;
       11. Invites Iraq to reaffirm unconditionally its 
     obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of 
     Nuclear Weapons of 1 July 1968;
       12. Decides that Iraq shall unconditionally agree not to 
     acquire or develop nuclear weapons or nuclear-weapons-usable 
     material or any subsystems or components or any research, 
     development, support or manufacturing facilities related to 
     the above; to submit to the Secretary-General and the 
     Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency 
     within fifteen days of the adoption of the present resolution 
     a declaration of the locations, amounts, and types of all 
     items specified above; to place all of its nuclear-weapons-
     usable materials under the exclusive control, for custody and 
     removal, of the International Atomic Energy Agency, with the 
     assistance and cooperation of the Special Commission as 
     provided for in the plan of the Secretary-General discussed 
     in paragraph 9(b) above; to accept, in accordance with the 
     arrangements provided for in paragraph 13 below, urgent on-
     site inspection and the destruction, removal or rendering 
     harmless as appropriate of all items specified above; and to 
     accept the plan discussed in paragraph 13 below for the 
     future ongoing monitoring and verification of its compliance 
     with these undertakings;
       13. Requests the Director-General of the International 
     Atomic Energy Agency, through the Secretary-General, with the 
     assistance and cooperation of the Special Commission as 
     provided for in the plan of the Secretary-General in 
     paragraph 9(b) above, to carry out immediate on-site 
     inspection of Iraq's nuclear capabilities based on Iraq's 
     declarations and the designation of any additional locations 
     by the Special Commission; to develop a plan for submission 
     to the Security Council within forty-five days calling for 
     the destruction, removal, or rendering harmless as 
     appropriate of all items listed in paragraph 12 above; to 
     carry out the plan within forty-five days following approval 
     by the Security Council; and to develop a plan, taking into 
     account the rights and obligations of Iraq under the Treaty 
     on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1 July 1968, 
     for the future ongoing monitoring and verification of Iraq's 
     compliance with paragraph 12 above, including an inventory of 
     all nuclear material in Iraq subject to the Agency's 
     verification and inspections to confirm that Agency 
     safeguards cover all relevant nuclear activities in Iraq, to 
     be submitted to the Security Council for approval within one 
     hundred and twenty days of the passage of the present 
     resolutions;
       14. Takes note that the actions to be taken by Iraq in 
     paragraphs 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the present resolution 
     represent steps towards the goal of establishing in the 
     Middle East a zone free from weapons of mass destruction and 
     all missiles for their delivery and the objective of a global 
     ban on chemical weapons;


                                   d

       15. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the 
     Security Council on the steps taken to facilitate the return 
     of all Kuwaiti property seized by Iraq, including a list of 
     any property that Kuwait claims has not been returned or 
     which has not been returned intact;


                                   E

       16. Reaffirm that Iraq, without prejudice to the debts and 
     obligations of Iraq arising prior to 2 August 1990, which 
     will be addressed through the normal mechanisms, is liable 
     under international law for any direct loss, damage, 
     including environmental damage and the depletion of natural 
     resources, or injury to foreign Governments, nationals and 
     corporations, as a result of Iraq's unlawful invasion and 
     occupation of Kuwait;
       17. Decides that all Iraqi statements made since 2 August 
     1990 repudiating its foreign debt are null and void, and 
     demands that Iraq adhere scrupulously to all of its 
     obligations concerning servicing and repayment of its foreign 
     debt;
       18. Decides also to create a fund to pay compensation for 
     claims that fall within paragraph 16 above and to establish a 
     Commission that will administer the fund;
       19. Directs the Secretary-General to develop and present to 
     the Security Council for decision, no later than thirty days 
     following the adoption of the present resolution, 
     recommendations for the fund to meet the requirement for the 
     payment of claims established in accordance with paragraph 18 
     above and for a programme to implement the decisions in 
     paragraphs 16, 17 and 18 above, including: administration of 
     the fund; mechanisms for determining the appropriate level of 
     Iraq's contribution to the fund based on a percentage of the 
     value of the exports of petroleum and petroleum products from 
     Iraq not to exceed a figure to be suggested to the Council by 
     the Secretary-General, taking into account the requirements 
     of the people of Iraq, Iraq's payment capacity as assessed in 
     conjunction with the international financial institutions 
     taking into consideration external debt service, and the 
     needs of the Iraqi economy; arrangements for ensuring that 
     payments are made to the fund; the process by which funds 
     will be allocated and claims paid; appropriate procedures for 
     evaluating losses, listing claims and verifying their 
     validity and resolving disputed claims in respect of Iraq's 
     liability as specified in paragraph 16 above; and the 
     composition of the Commission designated above;


                                   F

       20. Decides, effective immediately, that the prohibitions 
     against the sale or supply to Iraq of commodities or 
     products, other than medicine and health supplies, and 
     prohibitions against financial transactions related thereto 
     contained in resolution 661 (1990) shall not apply to 
     foodstuffs notified to the Security Council Committee 
     established by resolution 661 (1990) concerning the situation 
     between Iraq and Kuwait or, with the approval of that 
     Committee, under the simplified and accelerated ``no-
     objection'' procedure, to materials and supplies for 
     essential civilian needs as identified in the report of the 
     Secretary-General dated 20 March 1991,\9\ and in any further 
     findings of humanitarian need by the Committee;
       21. Decides that the Security Council shall review the 
     provisions of paragraph 20 above every sixty days in the 
     light of the policies and practices of the Government of 
     Iraq, including the implementation of all relevant 
     resolutions of the Security Council, for the purpose of 
     determining whether to reduce or lift the prohibitions 
     referred to therein:
       22. Decides that upon the approval by the Security Council 
     of the programme called for in paragraph 19 above and upon 
     Council agreement that Iraq has completed all actions 
     contemplated in paragraphs 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 above, the 
     prohibitions against the import of commodities and products 
     originating in Iraq and the prohibitions against financial 
     transactions related thereto contained in resolution 661 
     (1990) shall have no further force or effect;
       23. Decides that, pending action by the Security Council 
     under paragraph 22 above, the Security Council Committee 
     established by resolution 661 (1990) shall be empowered to 
     approve, when required to assure adequate financial resources 
     on the part of Iraq to carry out the activities under 
     paragraph 20 above, exceptions to the prohibition against the 
     import of commodities and products originating in Iraq;
       24. Decides that, in accordance with resolution 661 (1990) 
     and subsequent related resolutions and until a further 
     decision is taken by the Security Council, all States shall 
     continue to prevent the sale or supply, or the promotion or 
     facilitation of such sale or supply, to Iraq by their 
     nationals, or from their territories or using their flag 
     vessels or aircraft, of:
       (a) Arms and related materiel of all types, specifically 
     including the sale or transfer through other means of all 
     forms of conventional military equipment, including for 
     paramilitary forces, and spare parts and components and their 
     means of production, for such equipment;
       (b) Items specified and defined in paragraphs 8 and 12 
     above not otherwise covered above;
       (c) Technology under licensing or other transfer 
     arrangements used in the production, utilization or 
     stockpiling of items specified in subparagraphs (a) and (b) 
     above;
       (d) Personnel or materials for training or technical 
     support services relating to the design, development, 
     manufacture, use, maintenance or support of items specified 
     in subparagraphs (a) and (b) above;
       25. Calls upon all States and international organizations 
     to act strictly in accordance with paragraph 24 above, 
     notwithstanding the existence of any contracts, agreements, 
     licences or any other arrangements;
       26. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with 
     appropriate Governments, to develop within sixty days, for 
     the approval of the Security Council, guidelines to 
     facilitate full international implementation of paragraphs 24 
     and 25 above and paragraph 27 below, and to make them 
     available to all States and to establish a procedure for 
     updating these guidelines periodically;
       27. Calls upon all States to maintain such national 
     controls and procedures and to take such other actions 
     consistent with the guidelines to be established by the 
     Security Council under paragraph 26 above as may be necessary 
     to ensure compliance with the terms of paragraph 24 above, 
     and calls upon international organizations to take all 
     appropriate steps to assist in ensuring such full compliance;
       28. Agrees to review its decisions in paragraphs 22, 23, 24 
     and 25 above, except for the items specified and defined in 
     paragraphs 8 and 12 above, on a regular basis and in any case 
     one hundred and twenty days following passage of the present 
     resolution, taking into account Iraq's compliance with the 
     resolution and general progress towards the control of 
     armaments in the region;
       29. Decides that all States, including Iraq, shall take the 
     necessary measures to ensure that no claim shall lie at the 
     instance of the Government of Iraq, or of any person or body 
     in Iraq, or of any person claiming through or for the benefit 
     of any such person or body, in connection with any contract 
     or other transaction where its performance was affected by 
     reason of the measures taken by the Security Council in 
     resolution 661 (1990) and related resolutions;


                                   g

       30. Decides that, in furtherance of its commitment to 
     facilitate the repatriation of all Kuwaiti and third country 
     nationals, Iraq shall extend all necessary cooperation to the 
     International Committee of the Red Cross, providing lists of 
     such persons, facilitating the access of the International 
     Committee of the Red Cross to all such persons wherever 
     located or detained and facilitating the search by the 
     International Committee of the Red Cross for those Kuwaiti 
     and third country nationals still unaccounted for;
       31. Invites the International Committee of the Red Cross to 
     keep the Secretary-General apprised as appropriate of all 
     activities undertaken in connection with facilitating the 
     repatriation or return of all Kuwaiti and third country 
     nationals or their remains present in Iraq on or after 2 
     August 1990;


                                   H

       32. Requires Iraq to inform the Security Council that it 
     will not commit or support any act of international terrorism 
     or allow any organization directed towards commission of such 
     acts to operate within its territory and to condemn 
     unequivocally and renounce all acts, methods and practices of 
     terrorism;


                                   I

       33. Declares that, upon official notification by Iraq to 
     the Secretary-General and to the Security Council of its 
     acceptance of the provisions above, a formal cease-fire is 
     effective between Iraq and Kuwait and the Member States 
     cooperating with Kuwait in accordance with resolution 678 
     (1990);
       34. Decides to remain seized of the matter and to take such 
     further steps as may be required for the implementation of 
     the present resolution and to secure peace and security in 
     the area.


                               footnotes

     *S. Res. 687 (1991)--reissued for technical reasons.
     \1\S/22275, annex.
     \2\S/22273, S/22276, S/22320, S/22321 and S/22330.
     \3\League of Nations, Treaty Series, vol. XCIV (1929), No. 
     2138.
     \4\General Assembly resolution 2826 (XXVI), annex.
     \5\General Assembly resolution 2373 (XXII).
     \6\General Assembly resolution 34/146.
     \7\S/22366.
     \8\S/22409.
     \9\S/22366.
                                  ____


     First Session of the Governing Council of the United Nations 
                        Compensation Commission


           Criteria for Expedited Processing of Urgent Claims

       1. The following criteria will govern the submission of the 
     most urgent claims pursuant to resolution 687 (1991) for the 
     first categories to be considered by the Commission. It 
     provides for simple and expedited procedures by which 
     Governments may submit consolidated claims and receive 
     payments on behalf of the many individuals who suffered 
     personal losses as a result of the invasion and occupation of 
     Kuwait. For a great many persons these procedures would 
     provide prompt compensation in full; for others they will 
     provide substantial interim relief while their larger or more 
     complex claims are being processed, including those suffering 
     business losses.
       2. These criteria are without prejudice to future Council 
     decisions with respect to criteria for other categories of 
     claims, which will be approved separately as promptly as 
     possible, with expert advice from Commissioners as may be 
     required.
       3. The following criteria are not intended to resolve every 
     issue that may arise with respect to these claims. Rather, 
     they are intended to provide sufficient guidance to enable 
     Governments to prepare consolidated claims submissions. It 
     will likely be necessary for the Council to make further 
     decisions on the processing of claims after receiving expert 
     advice where needed.
       4. Each Government may submit one or more consolidated 
     claims for each category established by the Council. Thus, 
     each Government may make separate consolidated submissions 
     covering claims in each of the categories set forth below; 
     and it may later submit separate consolidated claims for each 
     additional category to be established by the Council.
       5. The Council will promptly establish criteria for 
     additional categories of claims, to permit consolidated 
     submissions by Governments for all losses covered by 
     paragraph 16 of resolution 687 (1991). Business losses of 
     individuals may be part of consolidated claims under the 
     expedited procedures set forth below. The Council will 
     provide further advice on an urgent basis as to the types of 
     business losses eligible for consideration under the 
     expedited procedures. Business losses of corporations and 
     other legal entities will be covered in other criteria to be 
     established. The Council will also separately consider claims 
     on behalf of third parties, such as Governments, insurance 
     companies, relief agencies and employers, which have made 
     payments or provided relief to persons suffering compensable 
     losses.
       6. The Council will consider promptly, after receiving 
     expert advice, the circumstances in which claims for mental 
     pain and anguish may be admitted, the amounts to be awarded, 
     and the limits to be imposed thereon.
       7. The Council will separately examine the question of the 
     eligibility or otherwise of claims by or in respect of 
     members of the allied coalition armed forces; the Executive 
     Secretary will have available, inter alia, the provisions of 
     the relevant national legislation of the Governments 
     concerned.
       8. The Commission will process the claims in the initial 
     categories in paragraphs 10 to 16 on an expedited basis. 
     While decisions on the precise method of processing these 
     claims will be made at a later stage, the following steps are 
     contemplated. As the claims are received they would be 
     submitted to a panel of Commissioners for review within a set 
     time limit. If, as expected, the volume of claims in these 
     categories is large, the Commissioners would be instructed to 
     adopt expedited procedures to process them, such as checking 
     individual claims on a sample basis, with further 
     verification only if circumstances warranted. The 
     Commissioners would be asked to report to the Council on the 
     claims received and the amount recommended for the claims 
     submitted by each Government. The council would then decide 
     on the total amount to be allocated to each government. To 
     the extent necessary, the Council would seek expert advice 
     (for example, on what constitutes serious personal injury) at 
     any stage of the process.
       9. As contributions are made to the Fund, the Council will 
     allocate those funds among the various categories of claims. 
     If resources of the Fund are insufficient with respect to all 
     claims processed to date, pro rata payments would be made to 
     Governments periodically as funds become available. The 
     Council will decide on the priority for payment of various 
     categories of claims.


                        payment of fixed amounts

       10. These payments are available with respect to any person 
     who, as a result of Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation 
     of Kuwait: (a) departed from Iraq or Kuwait during the period 
     of 2 August 1990 to 2 March 1991; (b) suffered serious 
     personal injury; or (c) whose spouse, child or parent died.
       11. In the case of departures, $2,500 will be provided 
     where there is simple documentation of the fact and date of 
     departure from Iraq or Kuwait. Documentation of the actual 
     amount of loss will not be required. Claims submitted under 
     this procedure for departure from Iraq or Kuwait cannot be 
     resubmitted for a greater amount in any other category. If 
     the loss in question was greater than $2,500 and can be 
     documented, it may instead be submitted under paragraph 14 
     and in other appropriate categories.
       12. In addition, in the case of serious personal injury not 
     resulting in death, $2,500 will be provided where there is 
     simple documentation of the fact and date of the injury; and 
     in the case of death, $2,500 will be provided where there is 
     simple documentation of the death and family relationship. 
     Documentation of the actual amount of loss resulting from the 
     death or injury will not be required. If the actual loss in 
     question was greater than $2,500, these payments will be 
     treated as interim relief, and claims for additional amounts 
     may also be submitted under paragraph 14 and in other 
     appropriate categories.
       13. These amounts are payable cumulatively where more than 
     one situation applies with respect to a particular person. 
     However, no more than $10,000 will be paid for death, and no 
     more than $5,000 for departure, with respect to any one 
     family (consisting of any person and his or her spouse, 
     children and parents).


 consideration of claims for up to $100,000 of actual losses per person

       14. These payments are available with respect to death or 
     personal injury, or losses of income, support, housing or 
     personal property, or medical expenses or costs of departure, 
     as a result of Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of 
     Kuwait. The Commission will give expedited priority 
     consideration to claims for such losses up to $100,000 per 
     person.
       15. (a) Such claims must be documented by appropriate 
     evidence of the circumstances and the amount of the claimed 
     loss. The evidence required will be the reasonable minimum 
     that is appropriate under the circumstances involved, and a 
     lesser degree of documentary evidence would ordinarily be 
     required for smaller claims, such as those below $20,000.
       (b) If the loss in question was greater than $100,000, 
     claims for additional amounts may also be submitted in other 
     appropriate categories. Criteria for the submission of claims 
     in excess of $100,000 will be approved separately. Claims 
     larger than $100,000 may be submitted in their entirety at a 
     later date under those separate procedures, or the first 
     $100,000 may be submitted at this time and the remainder 
     separately.
       16. Compensation will not be provided for losses suffered 
     as a result of the trade embargo and related measures, nor 
     will costs of attorneys' fees or other expenses for claims 
     preparation be compensated under this category. Any 
     compensation, whether in funds or in kind, already received 
     from any source will be deducted from the total amount of 
     losses suffered.


             requirements applicable under both categories

       17. Claims will not be considered on behalf of Iraqi 
     nationals who do not have bona fide nationality of any other 
     State.
       18. Claims must be for death, personal injury or other 
     direct loss to individuals as a result of Iraq's unlawful 
     invasion and occupation of Kuwait. This will include any loss 
     suffered as a result of:
       (a) military operations or threat of military action by 
     either side during the period 2 August 1990 to 2 March 1991;
       (b) departure from or inability to leave Iraq or Kuwait (or 
     a decision not to return) during that period;
       (c) actions by officials, employees or agents of the 
     Government of Iraq or its controlled entities during that 
     period in connection with the invasion or occupation;
       (d) the breakdown of civil order in Kuwait or Iraq during 
     that period; or
       (e) hostage-taking or other illegal detention.
       19. Claims will be submitted by Governments. Each 
     Government will normally submit claims on behalf of its 
     nationals; each Government may, in its discretion, also 
     submit the claims of other persons resident in its territory. 
     In addition, the Council may request an appropriate person, 
     authority or body to submit claims on behalf of persons who 
     are not in a position to have their claims submitted by a 
     Government. Each Government shall make one or more 
     consolidated submissions of all such claims for each 
     category. The Council encourages the submission of such 
     claims within six months from the date on which the Executive 
     Secretary circulates to Governments the claims forms 
     described below; and the Commission will thereupon give 
     consideration to such claims as provided herein. The Council 
     will consider at a later time be period within which all such 
     claims must be submitted.
       20. Each consolidated claim must include:
       (a) a signed statement by each individual covered 
     containing:
       (i) his or her name and address, and any passport number or 
     other identifying national number;
       (ii) for claims under paragraph 14, the amount, type, and 
     reason for each element of the loss, and any compensation, 
     whether in funds or in kind already received from any source 
     for the claim asserted;
       (iii) any documents evidencing the matters set forth in the 
     definition of each category, as well as the items set forth 
     in the preceding subparagraph; and
       (iv) his or her affirmation that the foregoing information 
     is correct, and that no other claim for the same loss has 
     been submitted to the Commission;
       (b) the affirmation of the Government submitting the claim 
     that, to the best of the information available to it, the 
     individuals in question are its nationals or residents, and 
     the affirmation of the Government or of the person, authority 
     or body as referred to in paragraph 19 that it has no reason 
     to believe that the information stated is incorrect.
       21. The Executive Secretary (or a Commissioner) will 
     prepare and the Executive Secretary will distribute a 
     standard form for submission of claims within each category, 
     incorporating the above elements in a clear and concise 
     manner. Except as may otherwise be agreed between the 
     Executive Secretary and the Government in question, claims 
     will be submitted to the Executive Secretary by Governments 
     or by persons, authorities or bodies as referred to in 
     paragraph 19 on the standard form and must include the 
     information in an official language of the United Nations. 
     Each Government may adopt such procedures as it finds 
     appropriate in preparing its consolidated claim. The 
     Executive Secretary (or a Commissioner) will be available to 
     answer questions or provide assistance to any Governments 
     which may request it.

United Nations Compensation Commission Governing Council Sixth Session 
                        Geneva, June 22-26, 1992


     decision taken by the governing council of the United Nations 
compensation commission at its sixth session, 27th meeting held on June 
    26, 1992--Eligibility for Compensation of Members of the Allied 
                         Coalition Armed Forces

       The Governing Council decides that members of the Allied 
     Coalition Armed Forces are not eligible for compensation for 
     loss or injury arising as a consequence of their involvement 
     in Coalition military operations against Iraq, except if the 
     following three conditions are met:
       (a) the compensation is awarded in accordance with the 
     general criteria already adopted; and
       (b) they were prisoners of war as a consequence of their 
     involvement in Coalition military operations against Iraq in 
     response to its unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait; 
     and
       (c) the loss or injury resulted from mistreatment in 
     violation of international humanitarian law (including the 
     Geneva Conventions of 1949).

  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his remarks, 
and I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Livingston].
  (Mr. LIVINGSTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. LIVINGSTON. Madam Chairman, I rise today in strong support of 
efforts to revise our current Iraqi prisoner of war [POW] resettlement 
policy.
  It is difficult to imagine that the Government is currently 
resettling our former enemies--not in prisons--but in neighborhoods 
across the country. Just think, when the administration was cutting 
military and veterans' benefits it was, and is presently, providing 
rent assistance, job placement, medical care, and cash subsidies to our 
former enemy. It is expected that some 4,600 Iraqis will be admitted 
into the United States this year alone--costing the American taxpayers 
$32 million--approximately $7,000 per Iraqi.
  Section 10 of the ``Iraqi Claims Act'' expresses the sense of the 
Congress that no former Iraqi POW's should be admitted to the United 
States except in exceptional circumstances. I support this provision 
and hope it is adopted by the House.
  In response to the resettlement of Iraqi POW's in the United States, 
I personally introduced H.R. 3173 on September 29, 1993, which will 
prevent our former enemy from immigrating into the United States. I 
believe that former Iraqi POW's should not be permitted to immigrate to 
the United States except in extreme cases.
  But I would like to stress those extreme cases where they have 
assisted the United States or the United Nations forces during the 
Persian Gulf conflict and when it can be shown they did not commit or 
participate in any war crimes.
  Certainly, if they helped us, whether by intelligence efforts or 
what, if you get in there and win one of the most lopsided victories in 
history and the army can say that they were assisting us in the 
process, I do not see how we could turn our back on those people.
  Madam Chairman, I strongly support section 10 and urge my colleagues 
to cosponsor my bill, H.R. 3173. While the enactment of this sense of 
Congress is an important first step only, the passage of my bill will 
actually stop the administration from resettling more Iraqi prisoners-
of-war in the United States.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana for 
his remarks.
  I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Gallegly], a member of our Committee on Foreign Affairs.

                              {time}  1410

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Madam Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3221, 
which puts Congress on record in opposing further resettlement in this 
country of Iraqi prisoners of war who fought and killed our brave men 
and women during the Persian Gulf conflict. This language, which I 
offered, responds directly to wide-scale outrage at a policy that is 
clearly out of touch with mainstream America. Today, I am very 
gratified to tell the hundreds of individuals who have contacted me 
that, by adopting this legislation, Congress is saying ``no'' to a 
policy that would resettle Iraqi prisoners of war in the United States, 
with full benefits, at a cost to U.S. taxpayers of approximately $70 
million.
  The original rationale behind the resettlement of Iraqi's and their 
families was the belief that these POW's could face imprisonment or 
even execution by the government of Saddam Hussein if they returned to 
Iraq. Many were deserters who fled their units in fear for their lives 
in the hours and days before the American led coalition forces sliced 
through the Iraqi lines. However, nowhere and at no time did the United 
States ever promise resettlement. As my good friend and colleague, Jan 
Meyers from Kansas, stated during committee consideration, ``the help 
promised to Iraqi deserters was to feed them and not to shoot them.''
  The bottom line is clear: It is an insult to all Americans for our 
Government to take on this responsibility--forsaking our own people and 
particularly our own veterans, whose entitlements are being steadily 
eroded. The U.S. Government has no business putting enemy soldiers 
ahead of some 9 million unemployed Americans, and 250,000 homeless 
American veterans, including veterans of Operation Desert Storm.
  I have been astounded by the outpouring of telephone calls and 
letters from across the Nation pleading for an end to this ludicrous 
policy.
  Madam Chairman, I am proud to say that Congress, with the passage of 
this bill, can tell our constituents, can tell our young men and women 
who have served in the Armed Forces--and can tell ourselves--that we 
have listened and we have responded by officially opposing any further 
resettlement of Iraqi POW's.
  I urge my colleagues' support for this legislation.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. GALLEGLY. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Chairman, I listened to the plea and the 
argument of the gentleman from California [Mr. Gallegly]. But then, as 
I understand it, he is not going to offer a motion to recommit so that 
these people cannot come in. He is only going to support this little 
weak, wimpy statement----
  Mr. GALLEGLY. If----
  Mr. KANJORSKI. It is the sense of the Congress----
  Mr. GALLEGLY. To respond to the gentleman, my bill originally 
eliminated--if the gentleman would let me finish, my bill----
  The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Gallegly] has expired.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 additional minute to the 
gentleman from California.
  Mr. GALLEGLY. Madam Chairman, the bill I offered in the form of a 
germane amendment that is now in the text of this----
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Is this the gentleman's bill that is in this 
legislation?
  If this were the gentleman's bill, just a sense of the Congress, we 
would only be wishing the State Department would not do the things that 
they are doing. It would not cost us $7,000 a year, an Iraqi; $30,000--
--
  Mr. GALLEGLY. That is correct, inasmuch as this is in a foreign 
affairs bill----
  Mr. KANJORSKI. We could----
  Mr. GALLEGLY. Be in the judiciary, but I could not get the bill heard 
in----
  Mr. KANJORSKI. We could argue the proposition though that, if it is 
only a sense of the Congress and if the gentleman does not agree to 
offer this motion to recommit, which would make it--notwithstanding any 
other law they cannot do it----
  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Kanjorski----
  Mr. KANJORSKI. The gentleman does not favor----
  Mr. GALLEGLY. I have the commitment from the chairman of the 
Committee on the Judiciary, where this should be held, that he will 
bring this up and hear it, and that is the appropriate place to put 
more teeth into----
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Why do we not put more teeth in until we define and 
describe what we are doing? We have got how many thousand Iraqi 
refugees in this country now? They are costing us $30 million a year. 
When we finally get a bill to the Committee on the Judiciary and any 
other committee that may be necessary 5 years from now, we may be in 
the next war.
  The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Gallegly] has expired.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Montgomery].
  (Mr. MONTGOMERY asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 3221, 
especially to the extent that it would give Persian Gulf war veterans 
or their survivors first priority in filing claims against frozen Iraqi 
assets for injuries or deaths resulting from their participation in the 
war against Iraq.
  I understand that potential claims against these assets may exceed $5 
billion. Since there are only about $1.2 billion in frozen assets, it 
is only right that, if any group of injured parties should be 
compensated by the Iraqi Government, it should be those who fought and 
suffered injury to defeat the forces of Saddam Hussein in the 
liberation of Kuwait.
  I would remind my colleagues that, to the extent that these veterans 
have suffered injury, disability, or death while serving in the Armed 
Forces, we have a comprehensive benefits system in place that is 
administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The vast majority 
of disabilities suffered by these veterans already result in benefit 
entitlements from the U.S. Government. The bill would not infringe on 
any veteran's right to receive benefits from the VA, but it does 
incorporate certain offset provisions that could reduce the amount of 
an award provided under this bill.
  Madam Chairman, we do not know how many veterans may benefit by this 
bill. However, we believe that it may benefit some Persian Gulf 
veterans whose illnesses have not yet been linked to service and, to 
the degree that it puts veterans at the head of the line, we should 
support it.
  I commend the distinguished chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee 
for bringing this measure to the floor and for his strong commitment to 
the well-being of our Nation's veterans.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Lancaster].
  (Mr. LANCASTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. LANCASTER. Madam Chairman, a number of United States exporters, 
acting entirely lawfully and with the encouragement of the United 
States Government, engaged in commercial sales of their products to 
Iraq before our trade embargo against that country. The exporters 
actually shipped their goods, and Iraq received them. Iraq authorized 
its financial agents in this country to pay these particular debts, but 
before payment could be delivered, hostilities broke out and the United 
States Government ordered all Iraqi assets frozen. They remain so 
today, and the exporters have never been paid.
  Among the companies caught in this situation are tobacco exporters 
from North Carolina. The North Carolina exporters in my area felt they 
had fully protected their financial interests by having letters of 
credit issued, a system of payment used routinely in commercial 
transactions and never before having been abrogated in any trade 
setting except, I believe, in some Nigerian transactions several years 
ago.
  The gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter] believes, as do I, that 
these companies deserve to have a higher priority against the frozen 
Iraqi assets than should other commercial claimants. Unfortunately, HR. 
3221 as reported from committee lumps all commercial claimants 
together.
  The committee's bill deliberately gives the highest priority to 
claims from individuals who served in the U.S. armed services during 
the Persian Gulf war. The amendment offered by the gentleman from 
Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter], which I understand will not be offered, would 
not disturb the bill's emphasis on compensation of Persian Gulf war 
veterans. The Bereuter amendment would make the bill fairer to those 
companies, including the exporters from North Carolina who, in good 
faith, completed their part of a commercial contract, but have yet to 
receive their payment. I regret that it will not be offered but hope 
that this issue will be addressed in the future.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. McHale].
  Mr. McHALE. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. 
Hamilton] for yielding this time to me.
  Madam Chairman, I have now had the opportunity to review section 10 
of this bill in some detail. I find this to be a bone in the throat of 
every gulf war veteran.
  Immediately prior to the gulf war, Madam Chairman, I stood in the 
chow line in northeastern Saudi Arabia, and I happened to look at the 
helmet of the marine who stood in front of me in that line, and in the 
handwriting that marines from time to time put on their helmet covers 
this young marine had written, quote, ``It's not about oil,'' end of 
quote.
  As I see in here today, Madam Chairman, I would remind my colleagues 
that it is not about money.
  I have heard a description of section 10 that simply does not conform 
to the language printed on the piece of paper. ``Exceptional 
circumstances'' is not defined. There is no recognition of those who 
aided American forces or, perhaps, did not pull a trigger. It is simply 
a broad generic term, exceptional circumstances, and worse than that, 
immediately after that phrase it states, and I quote, ``Until all 
claims certified under section 2b of this act have been paid in full,'' 
which is to say, once money has changed hands, it is perfectly 
acceptable, even without exceptional circumstances, to allow those who 
took up arms in opposition to the United States to be brought into our 
country.
  Madam Chairman, if we vote for this today, it is a slap in the face 
to every gulf war veteran who put his or her life on the line for our 
country. Those who raised arms in opposition to the United Sates, 
before or after the bills are paid, should not be allowed to come into 
our country, and, under truly exceptional circumstances, where mercy 
should be shown, where in an isolated individual case an Iraqi soldier 
clearly did aid American forces, perhaps after he had no choice in 
doing so, then it seems to me that our allies in that fight, perhaps 
Saudi Arabia, or those who provided aid and comfort to our enemy, 
perhaps Jordan, should provide an appropriate residency for those who 
seek asylum. But how can we pass section 10 and go home to our 
constituents, those who served in the gulf war, and say to them, ``It 
was about oil, it is about money, and, as soon as bills are paid, your 
former enemies will be allowed to be your next-door neighbors''.
  Madam Chairman, I find that to be disgraceful, and under any 
circumstances, from now until the day I leave this Chamber, I will 
oppose the contents of section 10.

                              {time}  1420

  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 additional 
minute, to the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Manzullo].
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Chairman, let me say that I agree 100 percent 
with the remarks of the previous speaker. I would call the attention of 
the body to page 16, the minority and dissenting views in the full 
report of the Iraqi Claims Act of 1993. In there it states that because 
of the outrage that has just been expressed by the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania, going back almost a year ago, we started working with the 
State Department, so that the policy of the State Department has come 
to a situation now where the language that appears on page 16 is their 
former policy. In other words, only those ex-Iraqi POW's and ex-Iraqi 
soldiers who, No. 1, did not fire on United States personnel and, No. 
2, gave tangible assistance to the allied forces in terms of 
reconnaissance and things of that nature, unless they meet those 
criteria, they would not be allowed to settle in the United States. 
Anybody who gave tangible assistance to Saddam Hussein would be in a 
position to be in harm's way, and that would be the situation.
  Mr. McHALE. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Manzullo] 
has expired.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 additional minute to the 
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Manzullo].
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding more 
time.
  The gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. McHale] has some further remarks 
to make, and I yield to him in order that he may complete his remarks.
  Mr. McHALE. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his 
extraordinary courtesy under the circumstances where he and I obviously 
have a different position on the pending piece of legislation.
  The gentleman has accurately quoted from the minority report. What I 
would stress to my colleague is that the language which he cites 
appears nowhere in H.R. 3221.
  H.R. 3221, which is the relevant legislation now before the House, 
simply says that under exceptional circumstances, not defined, even 
before the claims are paid, individuals who took up arms against the 
United States may be brought into our country. That is a legal issue. 
The language in H.R. 3221 simply does not conform to the minority 
report which the gentleman quotes.
  But more importantly, in the real world of a battlefield, 
particularly in armored and mechanized conflict, there is absolutely no 
way to tell who has or who has not overtly engaged in hostile 
activities. The war in the gulf was fought at a distance of 2,000 to 
3,000 meters where antiarmor weapons were fired at one another. Very 
little infantry conflict occurred. We simply do not know, nor does 
anyone else, who actually fired during the course of the war.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  I want to try to clarify what the committee position is. I think the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. McHale] has stated the language 
accurately. We did try to wrestle with this question of exceptional 
circumstances, but I think the important point to make is really a 
point that is in agreement with the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and 
that is that as a matter of United States policy, the committee 
believes that any individual who served in the Iraqi Armed F orces 
should not be admitted to the United States as a refugee. We believe 
that should be the policy. Those who have spoken against this section 
believe that should be the policy.
  The differences arise over this phrase that we put into the language 
of the bill, ``except in exceptional circumstances,'' and we tried to 
define that in the committee report, which would be part of the 
legislative language, and we made two exceptions. One of them was the 
active involvement in the rebellion against Saddam Hussein at the 
request of the United States, or forced enlistment in the armed forces 
of an ethnic or religious minority--and there are several, of course, 
in Iraq.
  The second exception was an Iraqi soldier who provided tangible 
assistance to the United States or coalition forces during the Persian 
Gulf war. I do not know if we have exactly the right language here with 
respect to these exceptions, but the committee, with the help of the 
gentleman from Illinois and the gentleman from California, worked very, 
very hard to get the right language, and I am quite prepared to work 
further on it.
  I did want to try to clarify the language of the committee here, but 
the basic point is that we are all in agreement, and that is that as a 
matter of policy an individual who served in the forces of the country 
of Iraq should not be admitted to the United States as a refugee.
  Madam Chairman, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. McHale] has 
asked for 1 additional minute, and I will yield that to him before I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McHALE. Madam Chairman, I thank both gentlemen for their 
extraordinary courtesy.
  The point I want to make goes beyond the question of how we are to 
define exceptional circumstances. If we are to be intellectually honest 
on this issue, we must recognize that under the language of H.R. 3221, 
once the crimes are satisfied in full, the issue of exceptional 
circumstances becomes moot. Under the language of H.R. 3221, once the 
claims are paid and certified, the issue of exceptional circumstances 
is no longer to be applied. At that point those who took up arms 
against the United States are to be admitted wholly independent of the 
question of exceptional circumstances.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Chairman, if the gentleman would yield, that is 
not how the language reads. It has never been the intent of the 
committee, because the committee chairman in a bipartisan manner worked 
extremely diligently to make sure the things the gentleman just said 
would come to pass.
  Mr. McHALE. Madam Chairman, I do not doubt the gentleman's intent. I 
am reading the language of the legislation. This says, ``except in 
exceptional circumstances, until all claims certified under section 
2(b) of this Act have been paid in full.'' The language is clear.
  Mr. MANZULLO. After the ``circumstances,'' there is a comma.
  The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. 
McHale] has expired.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Manzullo].
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Chairman, I yield to the chairman of the 
committee, who, I think, can give us a succinct description as to 
exactly what happened.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I think the point to be made here under the language the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania is pointing out is that we have, we estimate, $1.2 
billion available. As nearly as we can estimate, we have claims well in 
excess of $5 billion, so the claims are not going to be certified in 
full.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Chairman, I strongly support H.R. 3221, the Iraqi 
Claims Act. I urge the House to approve this vital legislation.
  The purpose of H.R. 3221 is to provide a fair and orderly system for 
adjudicating the claims of United States nationals against Iraq. Such 
claims include losses, damage, or injury suffered by individuals and 
corporations as a result of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait or 
events preceding the invasion.
  The bill authorizes the United States Foreign Claims Settlement 
Commission to use available Iraqi assets under United States control to 
pay valid claims. For most American claimants, these frozen assets are 
the only current means of obtaining reimbursement from the Iraqi 
Government.
  I particularly want to express my support for the Bonior amendment 
expressing the sense of Congress that we should immediately provide 
basic medical assistance through nongovernmental and international 
organizations to the people of Iraq, who continue to suffer under the 
oppressive policies of Saddam Hussein. The amendment also calls on the 
administration to seek reimbursement for the cost of such aid from 
Iraqi assets.
  Passage of H.R. 3221 is the right thing to do. I urge the House to 
approve this legislation.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
  Pursuant to the rule, the amendment in the nature of a substitute 
printed in the bill shall be considered by sections as an original bill 
for the purpose of amendment, and each section is considered as read.
  No amendment to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute 
is in order unless printed in the portion of the Congressional Record 
designated for that purpose in clause 6 of rule XXIII.
  The amendment by the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter] relating 
to certain commercial claims may amend portions of the bill not yet 
read for amendment.
  After disposition of all other amendments to the committee 
substitute, it shall be in order to consider the following amendments 
in this order:
  First, the amendment by the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] 
relating to humanitarian assistance; and
  Second, the amendment by the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon] 
relating to war crimes.
  After disposition of those amendments, no further amendment to the 
committee substitute is in order.
  The Clerk will designate section 1.
  The text of section 1 is as follows:

                               H.R. 3221

       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 Claims Act of 1993''.

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 1?
  If not, the Clerk will designate section 2.
  The text of section 2 is as follows:

     SEC. 2. ADJUDICATION OF CLAIMS.

       (a) Certain Claims Within the Jurisdiction of UN 
     Commission.--The United States Commission is authorized to 
     receive and determine the validity and amounts of any claims 
     referred to it by the Secretary of State with respect to 
     which the United States has received lump-sum payments from 
     the United Nations Commission.
       (b) Other Claims Against Iraq.--The United States 
     Commission is authorized to receive and determine the 
     validity and amounts of any claims by nationals of the United 
     States against the Government of Iraq that are determined by 
     the Secretary of State to be outside the jurisdiction of the 
     United Nations Commission.
       (c) Decision Rules.--In deciding claims under subsection 
     (a) or (b), the United States Commission shall apply, in the 
     following order--
       (1) in the case of claims under subsection (a), relevant 
     decisions of the United Nations Security Council and the 
     United Nations Commission;
       (2) applicable substantive law, including international 
     law; and
       (3) applicable principles of justice and equity.
       (d) Priority Claims.--Before deciding any other claim 
     against the Government of Iraq, the United States Commission 
     shall, to the extent practical, decide all pending non-
     commercial claims of members of the United States Armed 
     Forces and other individuals arising out of Iraq's invasion 
     and occupation of Kuwait or out of the 1987 attack on the USS 
     Stark.
       (e) Applicability of International Claims Settlement Act.--
     To the extent they are not inconsistent with the provisions 
     of this Act, the provisions of title I (other than section 
     2(c)) and title VII of the International Claims Settlement 
     Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1621-1627 and 1645-1645o) shall apply 
     with respect to claims under this Act and the funds 
     established pursuant to sections 3(a) and 3(c).

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 2?
  If not, the Clerk will designate section 3.
  The text of section 3 is as follows:

     SEC. 3. CLAIMS FUNDS.

       (a) UN Commission Claims Funds.--The Secretary of the 
     Treasury is authorized to establish in the Treasury of the 
     United States one or more funds (hereinafter in this Act 
     referred to as the ``UN Commission Claims Funds'') for 
     payment of claims under section 2(a). The Secretary of the 
     Treasury shall cover into the UN Commission Claims Funds such 
     amounts as are allocated to such funds pursuant to subsection 
     (b)(1).
       (b) Allocation of Funds Received From UN Commission.--The 
     Secretary of State shall allocate funds received by the 
     United States from the United Nations Commission, in the 
     manner the Secretary determines appropriate, between--
       (1) the UN Commission Claims Funds; and
       (2) funds established under the authority of the paragraphs 
     under the heading ``TRUST FUNDS'' in the Act entitled ``An 
     Act making appropriations for the diplomatic and consular 
     service for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen 
     hundred and ninety-seven'', approved February 26, 1896 (22 
     U.S.C. 2668a).
       (c) Iraq Claims Fund.--The Secretary of the Treasury is 
     authorized to establish in the Treasury of the United States 
     a fund (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ``Iraq 
     Claims Fund'') for payment of claims under section 2(b). The 
     Secretary of the Treasury shall cover into the Iraq Claims 
     Fund such amounts as are allocated to such fund pursuant to 
     subsection (d).
       (d) Allocation of Proceeds From Iraqi Asset Liquidation.--
       (1) In general.--The President shall allocate funds 
     resulting from the liquidation of assets pursuant to section 
     4 in the manner the President determines appropriate between 
     the Iraq Claims Fund and such other accounts as are 
     appropriate for the payment of claims of the United States 
     Government, subject to the limitation in paragraph (2).
       (2) Limitation.--The amount allocated pursuant to this 
     subsection for payment of claims of the United States 
     Government may not exceed the amount which bears the same 
     relation to the amount allocated to the Iraq Claims Fund 
     pursuant to this subsection as the sum of all certified 
     claims of the United States Government bears to the sum of 
     all claims certified under section 2(b). As used in this 
     paragraph, the term ``certified claims of the United States 
     Government'' means those claims of the United States 
     Government which are determined by the Secretary of State to 
     be outside the jurisdiction of the United Nations Commission 
     and which are determined to be valid, and whose amount has 
     been certified, under such procedures as the President may 
     establish.

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 3?
  If not, the Clerk will designate section 4.
  The text of section 4 is as follows:

     SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO VEST IRAQI ASSETS.

       The President is authorized to vest and liquidate as much 
     of the assets 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.) as may 
     be necessary to satisfy claims under section 2(b), as well as 
     claims of the United States Government against Iraq which are 
     determined by the Secretary of State to be outside the 
     jurisdiction of the United Nations Commission.

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 4?
  If not, the Clerk will designate section 5.
  The text of section 5 is as follows:

     SEC. 5. REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES OF PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.

       (a) Deduction.--In order to reimburse the United States 
     Government for its expenses in administering the Iraq claims 
     program and this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
     deduct--
       (1) 1.5 percent of any amount covered into the UN 
     Commission Claims Funds or the Iraq Claims Fund; and
       (2) 1.5 percent of any amount the Secretary of State 
     receives from the United Nations Commission that is not 
     covered into the UN Commission Claims funds and that is not 
     in payment of a claim of the United States Government.
       (b) Deductions Treated as Miscellaneous Receipts.--Amounts 
     deducted pursuant to subsection (a) shall be deposited in the 
     Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts.

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 5?
  If not, the Clerk will designate section 6.
  The text of section 6 is as follows:

     SEC. 6. PAYMENTS.

       (a) In General.--The United States Commission shall certify 
     to the Secretary of the Treasury each award made pursuant to 
     section 2. The Secretary of the Treasury shall make payment, 
     out of the appropriate fund established pursuant to section 
     3(a) or 3(c), in the following order of priority to the 
     extent funds are available in such fund:
       (1) Payments of $10,000 or the principal amount of the 
     award, whichever is less.
       (2) For each claim that has priority under section 2(d), 
     payment of a further $90,000 toward the unpaid balance of the 
     principal amount of the award.
       (3) Payments from time to time in ratable proportions on 
     account of the unpaid balance of the principal amounts of all 
     awards according to the proportions which the unpaid balance 
     of such awards bear to the total amount in the appropriate 
     claims fund that is available for distribution at the time 
     such payments are made.
       (4) After payment has been made of the principal amounts of 
     all such awards, pro rata payments on account of accrued 
     interest on such awards as bear interest.
       (5) After payment has been made in full of all the awards 
     payable out of a fund established pursuant to section 3(a) or 
     3(c), any funds remaining in that fund shall be transferred 
     to the other claims fund established pursuant to section 3(a) 
     or 3(c), except that any funds received by the United States 
     from the United Nations Commission shall be so transferred 
     only to the extent not inconsistent with requirements of the 
     United Nations Commission.
       (b) Unsatisfied Claims.--Payment of any award made pursuant 
     to this Act 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.

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 6?
  If not, the Clerk will designate section 7.
  The text of section 7 is as follows:

     SEC 7. RECORDS.

       (a) Transfer to Commission.--The head of any Executive 
     agency may transfer or otherwise make available to the United 
     States Commission such records and documents relating to 
     claims authorized to be adjudicated by this Act as may be 
     required by the United States Commission in carrying out its 
     functions under this Act.
       (b) Public Disclosure.--Section 552 of title 5 of the 
     United States Code (commonly referred to as the ``Freedom of 
     Information Act'') shall not apply with respect to records 
     that, as determined by the Secretary of State, are required 
     under the rules and decisions of the United Nations 
     Commission to be withheld from public disclosure.

  The Chairman, are there any amendments to section 7?
  If not, the Clerk will designate section 8.
  The text of section 8 is as follows:

     SEC 8. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS; DISPOSITION OF UNUSED FUNDS.

       (a) Statute of Limitations.--Any demand or claim of payment 
     on account of an award that is certified under the Iraq 
     claims program shall be barred one year after the publication 
     date of the notice required by subsection (b).
       (b) Publication of Notice.--
       (1) In general.--At the end of the 9-year period specified 
     in paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Treasury shall publish 
     a notice in the Federal Register detailing the statute of 
     limitations provided for subsection (a) and identifying the 
     claim numbers and awardee names of unpaid certified claims.
       (2) Publication date.--The notice required by paragraph (1) 
     shall be published 9 years after the latter of--
       (A) the last date on which the Secretary of the Treasury 
     covers into any of the UN Commission Claims Funds, or into 
     any fund described in section 3(b)(2), amounts allocated to 
     that fund pursuant to section 3(b); or
       (B) the last date on which the Secretary of the Treasury 
     covers into the Iraq Claims Fund amounts allocated to that 
     fund pursuant to section 3(d).
       (c) Disposition of Unused Funds.--
       (1) Disposition.--At the end of the 2-year period beginning 
     on the publication date of the notice required by subsection 
     (b), the Secretary of the Treasury shall dispose of all 
     unused funds described in paragraph (2) as follows:
       (A) By making additional payments pursuant to the Iraq 
     claims program.
       (B) By depositing in the Treasury of the United States as 
     miscellaneous receipts any such funds that are not used for 
     such additional payments.
       (2) Unused funds.--The unused funds referred to in 
     paragraph (1) are--
       (A) any remaining balance in the UN Commission Claims Funds 
     or in the Iraq Claims Funds, including the amount of any 
     unpaid certified claim under the Iraq claims program; and
       (B) any remaining balance in any fund referred in section 
     3(b)(2) to the extent such balance reflects amounts deposited 
     pursuant to that section.

                              {time}  1430

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 8? If not, the 
Clerk will designate section 9.
  The text of section 9 is as follows:

     SEC 9. DEFINITIONS.

       As used in this Act--
       (1) the term ``Government of Iraq'' includes agencies, 
     instrumentalities, and controlled entities (including public 
     sector enterprises) of that government;
       (2) the term ``Executive agency'' has the meaning given 
     that term by section 105 of title 5, United States Code;
       (3) the term ``Iraq claims program'' means the claims whose 
     adjudication is provided for in this Act and any other claims 
     that are within the jurisdiction of the United Nations 
     Commission;
       (4) the term ``United Nations Commission'' means United 
     Nations Compensation Commission established pursuant to the 
     United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 (1991); and
       (5) the term ``United States Commission'' means the Foreign 
     Claims Settlement Commission of the United States.

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 9? If not, the 
Clerk will designate section 10.
  The text of section 10 is as follows:

     SEC 10. ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES AS REFUGEES OF 
                   INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES OF 
                   IRAQ DURING THE PERSIAN GULF CONFLICT.

       (a) Statement of Policy.--It is the sense of the Congress 
     that individuals who have served in the armed forces of Iraq 
     during the Persian Gulf conflict should not be admitted to 
     the United States as refugees under the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act except in exceptional circumstances until all 
     claims under section 2(b) of this Act have been paid in full.
       (b) Persian Gulf Conflict Defined.--For purposes of this 
     section, the term ``Persian Gulf conflict'' means the period 
     beginning on August 2, 1990, and ending on February 27, 1991.

  The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 10? If not, it is 
in order to consider the amendment of the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. 
Bonior].


                    amendment offered by mr. bonior

  Mr. BONIOR. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Bonior: On page 12, after line 15, 
     add the following:

     SEC. 11. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
       (1) Saddam Hussein has been condemned by the international 
     community for his unwillingness to take the steps necessary 
     to provide for the basic humanitarian needs of the Iraqi 
     people;
       (2) dire shortages of food, medicine, and basic medical 
     supplies (including insulin, anesthetics, and antibiotics) 
     have resulted in a continuing humanitarian disaster in Iraq, 
     including massive human suffering and the death of hundreds 
     of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians during the past 4 
     years;
       (3) This humanitarian tragedy is occurring throughout Iraq;
       (4) the United States has a long history of providing 
     humanitarian assistance to alleviate human suffering in many 
     parts of the world; and
       (5) the United States Agency for International Development 
     has the authority under chapter 9 of part I of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to international disaster 
     assistance) and other provisions of law to provide assistance 
     to address humanitarian needs throughout Iraq.
       (b) Statement of Congressional Policy.--It is the sense of 
     the Congress that--
       (1) the United States should immediately provide additional 
     humanitarian assistance, particularly medicine and medical 
     supplies, to alleviate the humanitarian disaster throughout 
     Iraq;
       (2) such assistance should be provided through independent 
     nongovernmental organizations and through international 
     organizations so that this desperately needed assistance can 
     reach all areas of need, in particular those outside the 
     United Nations protected areas; and
       (3) the costs of such assistance should be reimbursed from 
     any available Iraqi resources, including the Iraqi assets 
     that have been blocked pursuant to the International 
     Emergency Economic Powers Act so long as such reimbursement 
     does not reduce the amount paid on those priority claims of 
     members of the United States Armed Forces and other described 
     in section 2(d) of this Act and does not delay payment on 
     those claims.

  Mr. BONIOR (during the reading). Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous 
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the 
Record.
  The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BONIOR. Madam Chairman, there is a great deal of tragedy 
occurring in the world today.
  Places like Bosnia, Haiti, and Rwanda capture our attention each and 
every night, and we mourn the loss of life in each of those places.
  But ever since CNN and all the foreign correspondents left Baghdad 3 
years ago, we haven't paid much attention to Iraq.
  But 3 years after the gulf war ended, one of the great humanitarian 
tragedies of our time is occurring in Iraq today.
  Estimates are that 120,000 children under the age of 5 have died in 
Iraq in the past 3 years alone.
  Iraq today is a place where mothers see their babies scream in agony 
because operations must be performed without anesthesia.
  It is a place where diabetics lapse into comas because there is no 
insulin.
  A place where children suffering from leukemia are routinely sent 
home from hospitals because there is no medicine to provide them care.
  Three years after international sanctions were levied on the people 
of Iraq, hundreds of thousands of civilians in that country are dying 
today due to a lack of food, water, and basic medicine.
  Make no mistake about it, Madam Chairman, Saddam Hussein and Saddam 
Hussein alone bears responsibility for this tragedy. He continues to 
turn a blind eye to the suffering of his own people.
  And at this point, I suppose we could just throw up our hands, turn a 
blind eye, point a finger at Saddam, and say we tried.
  But I believe we are a better nation than that, Madam Chairman.
  I believe we have a continuing responsibility as a compassionate 
nation to provide humanitarian relief to the mothers and children who 
are dying in Iraq today.
  And the fact is, we do not have to send in troops to do it.
  There are independent organizations in place right now--organizations 
like Oxfam, and CARE, and UNICEF, and the World Health Organization, 
and the Chaldean community, and Red Crescent, and other Moslem relief 
organizations--who are administering some relief to the people of Iraq 
as we speak.
  But their combined efforts meet less than 5 percent of the needs of 
the Iraqi people. Any medicine we could send would go a long way toward 
ending the suffering in Iraq.
  Yet current United States policy prohibits Iraq from purchasing 
medicine here, even with assets still in Iraq.
  This amendment simply expresses the sense of the Congress that the 
United States should immediately provide medicine to Iraqi citizens 
through these nongovernmental and international organizations, 
particularly in those areas outside the U.N.-protected area.
  It says that this aid should be provided through already-appointed 
disaster assistance funds or other sources.
  And it says that we should seek reimbursement for this aid from any 
Iraqi resources--including the $1.2 billion in frozen assets--but in a 
way that does not reduce or delay payment to claims filed by United 
States veterans of the Persian Gulf war, and the U.S.S. Stark.
  Anything we can do would go a long way toward alleviating the 
suffering of the people of Iraq.
  And what could be more galling to Saddam Hussein than the money he 
sees as his, and for his use alone, go to the people he continues to 
oppress.
  And Madam Chairman, what could be more in line with the point 
President Bush made time and time again during the gulf war: that we 
did not wage war against the civilian population of Iraq.
  They were not our enemy.
  And now, there are concrete steps we can and must take to save the 
lives of people caught up in a war that was none of their doing, and 
which none of them wanted.
  Saddam Hussein may do nothing to help his own suffering people. But 
we are a better nation than that.
  And I do not believe that we, in good conscience, can stand by and do 
nothing.
  Madam Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment.
  Madam Chairman, I just want to thank the distinguished whip, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior], for his amendment. I think the 
gentleman has pointed to a very real problem. The humanitarian 
suffering in Iraq has been enormous, and the gentleman has put his 
finger on it.
  Madam Chairman, this is a good amendment, and we accept it.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the last word and I rise 
in support of the amendment.
  Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the Bonior amendment that 
expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should 
provide immediate assistance through nongovernmental organizations to 
alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.
  As this resolution point out, shortages of medicine and food exist 
throughout Iraq. Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi Government continue to 
maintain a virtual embargo against the Kurds in the north and the Shia 
Arabs in the south and, as a result, humanitarian supplies go only to 
regime supporters and the military.
  The U.N. sanctions regime, in contrast, exempts medicine and, in the 
case of foodstuffs, requires only that the Sanctions Committee be 
notified of food shipments. The committee also routinely considers and 
approves requests to send supplies for essential civilian needs. 
Regrettably, the supplies only seem to reach the so-called U.N.-
protected areas.
  This amendment would attempt to meet the humanitarian crisis 
throughout the entire country. I urge its adoption.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of 
words.
  Madam Chairman, I strongly support the amendment offered by my good 
colleague from the Committee on Rules, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. 
Bonior].
  Madam Chairman, at the time of the Persian Gulf crisis, President 
Bush said many times that America had no argument with the people of 
Iraq. President Clinton has reiterated that same point. Indeed, I think 
that it could be said that the American people have never borne any 
personal animosity toward the Iraqi people.

                              {time}  1440

  Our problem continues to be with the dictatorial regime of Saddam 
Hussein, a tyrant who is utterly without a shred of conscience, a man 
who has inflicted unspeakable suffering on this own people.
  The amendment by the gentleman from Michigan is terribly, terribly 
important. Our country has a long history of offering a helping hand to 
the people of other countries. I hope that the initiative being made 
today by the gentleman from Michigan will result in some very necessary 
humanitarian assistance reaching the people of Iraq who have suffered 
so much and, indeed, who continue to suffer today under unmerciful 
atrocities by this tyrant.
  Madame Chairman, I strongly urge support of the Bonior amendment, as 
well as the one I will be offering immediately after adoption of the 
pending amendment. I will offer a sense-of-Congress amendment which 
would ask the United Nations to create a war crimes tribunal to charge 
Saddam Hussein with atrocities against human beings in neighboring 
countries and amongst his own people.
  I urge support of the Bonior amendment.
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Madam Chairman, in the aftermath of the gulf war, 
the Government of Iraq has been responsible for terrible acts of 
repression and neglect for its citizens. The many victims include 
children, the elderly, the sick, and Iraq's religious minorities.
  Rather than addressing its suffering and needy citizens, the Iraqi 
Government has chosen to spend its scarce money elsewhere, including 
the construction of a tower to honor Saddam Hussein.
  The Iraqi Government has a lot of debts to pay; debts to our service 
men and women, American business people, as well as the Iraqi citizens 
who remain victims of their own Government.
  The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior].
  The amendment was agreed to.


                    amendment offered by mr. solomon

  Mr. SOLOMON. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Solomon:
       On Page 12, after line 2, insert the following:

     SEC. 11. PROSECUTION OF SADDAM HUSSEIN AND OTHER MEMBERS OF 
                   THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT FOR WAR CRIMES.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
       (1) as ordered by Saddam Hussein, Iraq engaged in 
     unprovoked aggression in its conquest and occupation of 
     Kuwait;
       (2) the Iraqi occupation force treated Kuwaiti citizens 
     barbarously;
       (3) Saddam Hussein used American and European civilians as 
     ``human shields'' in an attempt to protect strategic 
     facilities throughout Iraq and directed that captured 
     American and allied prisoners of war be used for the same 
     purposes;
       (4) Saddam Hussein ordered his military to launch missile 
     attacks against innocent civilians in Israel and Saudi 
     Arabia; and
       (5) former President Bush and President Clinton rightly 
     warned Saddam Hussein and Iraqi Government officials that 
     they would be held responsible for any abuses they have 
     caused.
       (b) Establishment of Tribunal.--The Congress urges the 
     President to request the United Nations to establish a 
     tribunal to charge Saddam Hussein and other responsible Iraqi 
     Government officials for war crimes, acts of aggression, and 
     crimes against humanity they have committed.

  Mr. SOLOMON (during the reading). Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous 
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the 
Record.
  The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
New York?
  There was no objection.


            modification of amendment offered by mr. solomon

  Mr. SOLOMON. Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendment be modified to comport with page and line numbering in the 
Union Calendar No. 236 version of this bill.
  The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will report the modification.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Modification of amendment offered by Mr. Solomon: In the 
     instructions, strike ``line 2,'' and insert ``line 15.''

  The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the modification is agreed to.
  There was no objection.
  The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon] is recognized 
for 5 minutes in support of his amendment, as modified.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Madam Chairman, my amendment to this bill is short, 
simple, and to the point. I trust it will be noncontroversial. It 
simply expresses the sense of Congress that the President should 
request that the United Nations establish a tribunal to charge Saddam 
Hussein and other responsible Iraqi officials for war crimes, acts of 
aggression, and crimes against humanity.
  Madam Chairman, this amendment's simplicity does not detract from its 
importance. This amendment, along with the excellent amendment of the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] concerning the humanitarian 
situation in Iraq, will send a strong message to the rest of the world 
that the United States Congress has not forgotten the heinous crimes 
that Saddam Hussein has committed and continues to commit against his 
own people, the people of Kuwait, the people of Israel and, frankly, of 
all of the people throughout the Middle East. If he is allowed to 
continue, the list of victims will be even longer than that.
  Madam Chairman, I do not need to remind anyone here today about just 
how abominable this man's crimes have been. Let me just talk about a 
few for the record.
  This war criminal, Saddam Hussein, gassed his own citizens in 1988. 
He engaged in unprovoked aggression against the peaceful country of 
Kuwait in 1990. He then proceeded to mass troops on the Saudi Arabian 
border and, while subjecting Kuwait's citizens to unbelievable 
barbarous cruelty, which Members all remember, this war criminal took 
Americans and European civilians hostage and used them as human 
shields.
  During the war, he launched missile attacks against civilians in 
neighboring countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia.
  As the war was winding down, he lit hundreds of oil wells on fire, 
destroying millions of dollars of wealth and releasing incalculable 
levels of poison into our atmosphere, seriously affecting not only 
innocent women and children and others who could not help themselves 
but American soldiers serving there as well. Our soldiers are this very 
day suffering from the illnesses caused by that environmental debacle.
  After the war, Madam Chairman, he unleashed brutal attacks against 
his own population, the Kurds and others in the north and the Shiites 
in the south.

  Madam Chairman, after World War II, the civilized world did the right 
thing and brought the Nazi criminals to justice. Even if the number of 
Saddam's victims may not approach those of Hitler's millions, the 
crimes of Saddam Hussein and his accomplices are just as heinous and 
those heinous crimes continue right today.
  Even if we do not see them on the front pages of the newspapers, even 
if we do not see them on the nightly newscasts, they are there. And 
they are just as bad as what is happening in Bosnia today and, in many 
cases, even worse. The cruelty and barbarity of Saddam Hussein knows no 
bounds.
  Madam Chairman, this unspeakable dictator must be brought to justice. 
I urge my colleagues to support this amendment overwhelmingly, to show 
the support of this Congress to go on record as favoring this course of 
action.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SOLOMON. I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana [Mr. 
Hamilton], one of the most respected Members of this House and chairman 
of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Madam Chairman, I rise for the purpose of commending 
the gentleman for this amendment. It is a very, very worthy amendment.
  He has made an excellent, eloquent statement in support of it. We 
support it wholeheartedly.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman very, very much.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SOLOMON. I yield to the gentleman from New York, the ranking 
Republican on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  Mr. GILMAN. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to rise in strong support of 
the amendment being offered by our good friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon].
  This amendment urges the President to request that the United Nations 
establish a tribunal to charge Saddam Hussein and other responsible 
Iraqi Government officials with war crimes and other crimes against 
humanity. We cannot forgive or forget those atrocities committed 
against Kuwaiti and Iraqi civilians alike.
  Those officials who ordered the deliberate attacks against civilians 
in neighboring Isreal and in Saudi Arabia must know that they are going 
to ultimately be held responsible. And lest anyone think that we can 
simply close the book on Iraq and turn our attention to other areas of 
the world, the United Nations has recently declared that Iraq has not 
met its obligations toward Kuwait and third country nationals it 
detained during the war. Iraq continues its refusal to cooperate with 
the International Committee of the Red Cross in accounting for more 
than 600 missing individuals.
  Accordingly, I urge our colleagues to adopt the Solomon amendment, 
thereby keeping the spotlight focused on this outlaw regime that 
refuses to adhere to the norms of international behavior.
  Mr. STUMP. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SOLOMON. I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.
  (Mr. STUMP asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. STUMP. Madam Chairman, I understand that there is bipartisan 
support for the bill, and a number of veteran service organizations 
support it.
  Personally, however, I am concerned that the bill sets up a precedent 
for compensating veterans from a pool of our enemy's assets.
  Except in the instance of POW abuse, I am informed that this has 
never been done before.
  It is a precedent that upon careful examination, I believe, is not as 
good as it may first appear.
  One almost wonders whether it creates a lottery situation for 
veterans contingent upon whether the soldier's call to arms will be in 
a rich country or poor one.
  I sympathize with my colleague's desire to incorporate some form of 
relief to veterans in this bill.
  However, these veterans should be fully compensated for their 
sacrifices in the Persian Gulf war, as is the case with other veterans, 
under the current programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  Clearly the Foreign Affairs Committee intends to recognize the 
problems faced by some of those who return from the Persian Gulf war.
  The Veterans' Affairs Committee has also done this by expediting 
legislation to give priority treatment in Department of Veterans 
Affairs facilities to veterans who were exposed to toxic or 
environmental hazards during their service in the Persian Gulf war.
  To the degree this bill puts veterans first in line for compensation 
from Iraq, it helps make up for the inadequacies of the Clinton budget 
for veterans and the VA.
  But I would rather have members of the Foreign Affairs Committee 
pushing for greater VA funding, than providing for individual veterans.
  We are well aware that the administration's VA budget falls short of 
what is required for veterans in nearly every category.
  The Committee on Veterans' Affairs bipartisan report to the Committee 
on the Budget justly puts it this way:

       In striking contrast to the needs which VA faces in fiscal 
     year 1995 and beyond, the administration requested a level of 
     funding substantially below what is needed to maintain 
     current services to veterans.

  I hope that we would not again seek to use this type of compensation 
mechanism in the future.
  It is our Nation's obligation to care for the soldier who answers 
this country's call and for surviving family members and that is where 
it should remain.
  The compensation regime contemplated in the Iraq Claims Act of 1993 
stands in stark contrast to that provided to veterans of the Somalian 
effort, yet their sacrifice is no less.
  Shouldn't Congress look to find a more inclusive and equitable 
approach consistent for all veterans?
  With a budget of nearly $1.5 trillion, there should be ample room for 
Congress to meet the Nation's obligation to its veterans.
  The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon], as modified.
  The amendment, as modified, was agreed to.
  The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the Committee amendment in the 
nature of a substitute, as amended.
  The Committee amendment in the nature of a substitute, as amended, 
was agreed to.
  The CHAIRMAN. Under the rule, the Committee rises.

                              {time}  1450

  Accordingly, the Committee rose, and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
Kleczka) having assumed the chair, Ms. Eshoo, Chairman of the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that that 
Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3221) to 
provide for the adjudication of certain claims against the Government 
of Iraq, pursuant to House Resolution 410, reported the bill back to 
the House with an amendment adopted by the Committee of the Whole.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is 
ordered.
  Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment to the committee 
amendment in the nature of a substitute adopted by the Committee of the 
Whole? If not, the question is on the amendment.
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.


               motion to recommit offered by mr. manzullo

  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill?
  Mr. MANZULLO. I am opposed to the bill in its present form, Mr. 
Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to 
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. MANZULLO moves to recommit the bill (H.R. 3221) to the 
     Committee on Foreign Affairs, with instructions to report the 
     bill back to the House forthwith, with the following 
     amendment:
       Strike section 10(a) and insert the following:
       ``(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, 
     individuals who have served in the armed forces of Iraq 
     during the Persian Gulf conflict may not be admitted to the 
     United States as refugees under the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act.''.


                             point of order

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I object to the motion to recommit and 
make a point of order against it.
  Mr. Speaker, I think the motion to recommit is not germane, because 
as I understand it, and I have not had the opportunity to see it, but I 
was trying to listen very carefully. As I understand it, it tries to 
change the basic immigration law that is the law of the land. I 
therefore think it should be subject to a point of order as not 
germane.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does any other Member care to be heard on 
the point of order?
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I join with the distinguished chairman of 
the Committee in raising the issue that this is a nongermane amendment.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. 
Manzullo] wish to be heard on the point of order?
  Mr. MANZULLO. I wish to be heard on the point of order, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, under these very exceptional circumstances 
as to this rough language that was found in this bill as brought to the 
house by the gentleman from Pennsylvania, I think it would be in the 
best order and in the best interests of the American public to defeat 
this bill in final passage and sent it back to the full Committee on 
Foreign Affairs to redo the language.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does any other Member wish to be heard on 
the point of order?
  Mr. KANJORSKI. I wish to be heard on the point of order, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I want to join my colleague on the 
Republican side, and compliment him for rising to the occasion to offer 
our motion to recommit. We join him in that.
  I agree, I think it is very unfortunate that we have had to come to 
this point. Perhaps it is part of all of our faults, and certainly not 
the fault of the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He knew 
least of this of anyone here.
  Very clearly, I want to state to my colleagues that are going to be 
called to vote on this bill that if we send this out there, we are 
saying that ``you can buy refugee status in the United States if you 
have worn a uniform and fired on American troops,'' and it is going on 
and will continue to go on, and we will have no way to stop it until 
years down the road, when finally this body or someone else does.
  I urge all my colleagues on all sides, in honor of the people that 
have served in the Gulf----
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman should restrict his statements 
to the point of order.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. The point of order is that it is most unfortunate that 
my colleagues on either side have raised the point of order. I think 
the motion to recommit is very clear, what the intention of this 
Congress should be. I have urged my colleagues, if possible, that they 
relinquish their point of order so we can have an up-and-down vote on 
the true meaning in the language of the motion to recommit.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does any other Member desire to be heard on 
the point of order?
  If not, the Chair is prepared to rule.
  The gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton] makes a point of order that 
the amendment contained in the motion to recommit with instructions is 
not germane. The test of germaneness in this situation is to measure 
the amendment against the bill in its perfected form. The bill, as 
amended, appears to confine changes in law to those within the 
jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  While section 10 does express the sense of Congress relating to Iraqi 
refugees, the bill does not change the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
other laws relating to admission of refugees, or contain other matter 
within the jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Since the amendment would change immigration law and the bill would 
not, the Chair sustains the point of order.


               motion to recommit offered by Mr. manzullo

  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to 
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Manzullo moves to recommit the bill (H.R. 3221) to the 
     Committee on Foreign Affairs, with instructions to report the 
     bill back to the House forthwith, with the following 
     amendment: Strike section 10(a) and insert the following:

     SEC. 10. ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES AS REFUGEES OF 
                   INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES OF 
                   IRAQ DURING THE PERSIAN GULF CONFLICT.

       (a) Statement of Policy.--It is the sense of the Congress 
     that individuals who have served in the armed forces of Iraq 
     during the Persian Gulf conflict should not be admitted to 
     the United States as refugees under the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act except in exceptional circumstances.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The motion to recommit is debatable for 10 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Manzullo], the 
author of the motion, for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. MANZULLO. I yield to the gentleman from Indiana.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I asked the gentleman to yield just to 
clarify that the gentleman is accepting the language of the bill as the 
committee has reported it, except that the gentleman is striking the 
words on line 21, beginning with the word ``until,'' and the balance of 
that sentence, is that correct?
  Mr. MANZULLO. That is line 10, beginning at line 10, through the 
remainder of the bill.
  Mr. HAMILTON. I apologize. We are reading from different bills.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is striking the words ``until all claims 
certified under section 2(b) of this Act have been paid in full,'' is 
that correct?
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, that is correct. It is beginning on line 
10, the word ``until'' through the end of line 11.
  Mr. HAMILTON. The gentleman is retaining subsection (b)?
  Mr. MANZULLO. That is correct.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, we accept that on this side.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. 
Hamilton], the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs. I especially want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
[Mr. Kanjorski], who fought in the Persian Gulf war.

  Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this motion to recommit is simply to make 
it clear once and for all that there are very limited circumstances 
under which a former Iraqi ex-POW can make his way to the United States 
under refugee status. By sending this back on a motion to recommit, 
this will have the effect of removing from it the time element frame 
with which the gentleman from Pennsylvania had concern.
  His concern was as follows: That he initially agrees with the fact 
that individuals who have served in the Iraqi Army in the Persian Gulf 
conflict should be admitted to the United States as refugees under only 
very, very limited circumstances. Those limited circumstances are set 
forth in the committee report. The gentleman was concerned that the 
phrase that we have just stricken, ``until all claims certified,'' 
meant that once all claims certified had been paid, then the door would 
be open to any ex-Iraqi POW, and I thank the gentleman for that.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does any Member rise in opposition to the 
motion to recommit?
  If not, the question is on the motion to recommit.
  The motion to recommit was agreed to.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the instructions of the House, 
I report the bill, H.R. 3221, back to the House with an amendment.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment: Strike section 10(a) and insert the following:

     SEC. 10. ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES AS REFUGEES OF 
                   INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES OF 
                   IRAQ DURING THE PERSIAN GULF CONFLICT.

       (a) Statement of Policy.--It is the sense of the Congress 
     that individuals who have served in the armed forces of Iraq 
     during the Persian Gulf conflict should not be admitted to 
     the United States as refugees under the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act except in exceptional circumstances.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. No debate is in order on the amendment.
  The question is on the amendment.
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.

                              {time}  1500

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kleczka). The question is on the passage 
of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 398, 
nays 5, not voting 29, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 146]

                               YEAS--398

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allard
     Andrews (ME)
     Andrews (NJ)
     Andrews (TX)
     Applegate
     Archer
     Armey
     Bacchus (FL)
     Bachus (AL)
     Baesler
     Baker (CA)
     Baker (LA)
     Ballenger
     Barca
     Barcia
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bateman
     Becerra
     Beilenson
     Bentley
     Bereuter
     Berman
     Bevill
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blackwell
     Bliley
     Blute
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boucher
     Brewster
     Brooks
     Browder
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bunning
     Burton
     Buyer
     Byrne
     Callahan
     Camp
     Canady
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carr
     Castle
     Chapman
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clinger
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coleman
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (IL)
     Collins (MI)
     Combest
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Coppersmith
     Costello
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crapo
     Cunningham
     Danner
     Darden
     de la Garza
     Deal
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                                NAYS--5

     Filner
     Holden
     Kanjorski
     Klink
     McHale

                             NOT VOTING--29

     Barlow
     Bryant
     Calvert
     Clay
     Condit
     DeFazio
     DeLauro
     Derrick
     English
     Ford (MI)
     Ford (TN)
     Frost
     Goodlatte
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     Grandy
     Huffington
     Istook
     Kyl
     Lloyd
     Murphy
     Murtha
     Pelosi
     Quinn
     Rush
     Slattery
     Stokes
     Volkmer
     Vucanovich
     Washington

                              {time}  1523

  Mr. HOLDEN and Mr. FILNER changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mr. CAMP and Mr. COX changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________