[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 108 (Monday, July 22, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H8034-H8035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REPORT ON DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO 
  LIBYA--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 
                                104-248)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, without 
objection, referred to the Committee on International Relations and 
ordered to be printed.

To the Congress of the United States:
  I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since my last 
report of January 22, 1996, concerning the national emergency with 
respect to Libya that was declared in Executive Order No. 12543 of 
January 7, 1986. This report is submitted pursuant to section 401(c) of 
the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c); section 204(c) of the 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (``IEEPA''), 50 U.S.C. 
1703(c); and section 505(c) of the International Security and 
Development Cooperation Act of 1985, 22 U.S.C. 2349aa-9(c).
  1. On January 3, 1996, I renewed for another year the national 
emergency

[[Page H8035]]

with respect to Libya pursuant to IEEPA. This renewal extended the 
current comprehensive financial and trade embargo against Libya in 
effect since 1986. Under these sanctions, all trade with Libya is 
prohibited, and all assets owned or controlled by the Libyan Government 
in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons 
are blocked.
  2. There have been no amendments to the Libyan Sanctions Regulations, 
31 C.F.R. Part 550 (the ``Regulations''), administered by the Office of 
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury, since 
my last report on January 22, 1996.
  3. During the current 6-month period, OFAC reviewed numerous 
applications for licenses to authorize transactions under the 
Regulations. Consistent with OFAC's ongoing scrutiny of banking 
transactions, the largest category of license approvals (91) concerned 
requests by non-Libyan persons or entities to unblock transfers 
interdicted because of what appeared to be Government of Libya 
interests. Three licenses were issued for the expenditure of funds and 
acquisition of goods and services in the United States by or on behalf 
of accredited persons and athletes of Libya in connection with 
participation in the 1996 Paralympic Games. One license was issued to 
authorize a U.S. company to initiate litigation against an entity of 
the Government of Libya.

  4. During the current 6-month period, OFAC continued to emphasize to 
the international banking community in the United States the importance 
of identifying and blocking payments made by or on behalf of Libya. The 
Office worked closely with the banks to assure the effectiveness of 
interdiction software systems used to identify such payments. During 
the reporting period, more than 129 transactions potentially involving 
Libya were interdicted, with an additional $7 million held blocked as 
of May 15.
  5. Since my last report, OFAC collected eight civil monetary 
penalties totaling more than $51,000 for violations of the U.S. 
sanctions against Libya. Two of the violations involved the failure of 
banks to block funds transfers to Libyan-owned or Libyan-controlled 
banks. Two other penalties were received from corporations for export 
violations, including one received as part of a plea agreement before a 
U.S. district judge. Four additional penalties were paid by U.S. 
citizens engaging in Libyan oilfield-related transactions while another 
30 cases involving similar violations are in active penalty processing.
  On February 6, 1996, a jury sitting in the District of Connecticut 
found two Connecticut businessmen guilty on charges of false 
statements, conspiracy, and illegally diverting U.S.-origin technology 
to Libya between 1987 and 1993 in violation of U.S. sanctions. On May 
22, 1996, a major manufacturer of farm and construction equipment 
entered a guilty plea in the United States District Court for the 
Eastern District of Wisconsin for Libyan sanctions violations. A three-
count information charged the company with aiding and abetting the sale 
of construction equipment and parts from a foreign affiliate to Libya. 
The company paid $1,810,000 in criminal fines and $190,000 in civil 
penalties. Numerous investigations carried over from prior reporting 
periods are continuing and new reports of violations are being pursued.

  6. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 6-month 
period from January 6 through July 6, 1996, that are directly 
attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities conferred by the 
declaration of the Libyan national emergency are estimated at 
approximately $730,000. Personnel costs were largely centered in the 
Department of the Treasury (particularly in the Office of Foreign 
Assets Control, the Office of the General Counsel, and the U.S. Customs 
Service), the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce.
  7. The policies and actions of the Government of Libya continue to 
pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and 
foreign policy of the United States. In adopting United Nations 
Security Council Resolution 883 in November 1993, the Security Council 
determined that the continued failure of the Government of Libya to 
demonstrate by concrete actions its renunciation of terrorism, and in 
particular its continued failure to respond fully and effectively to 
the requests and decisions of the Security Council in Resolutions 731 
and 748, concerning the bombing of the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 flights, 
constituted a threat to international peace and security. The United 
States will continue to coordinate its comprehensive sanctions 
enforcement efforts with those of other U.N. member states. We remain 
determined to ensure that the perpetrators of the terrorist acts 
against Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 are brought to justice. The families of 
the victims in the murderous Lockerbie bombing and other acts of Libyan 
terrorism deserve nothing less. I shall continue to exercise the powers 
at my disposal to apply economic sanctions against Libya fully and 
effectively, so long as those measures are appropriate, and will 
continue to report periodically to the Congress on significant 
developments as required by law.

                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, July 22, 1996.

                          ____________________