[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 79 (Monday, June 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5420-S5421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROBB:
  S. 856. A bill to provide for the adjudication and payment of certain 
claims against the Government of Iraq; to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations.


                      THE IRAQI CLAIMS ACT OF 1997

  Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, nearly 7 years ago President Bush invoked 
emergency economic sanctions against Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait. 
Freezing Iraqi financial assets made sense at the time because it 
prevented Saddam Hussein from funding his war campaign. Now, we need to 
take steps to unwind the sanctions regime to permit payment to United 
States businesses who sold products to Iraq but have never been paid.
  Four years ago this month I introduced legislation--S. 1119, the 
Secured Payment Act of 1993--with 13 bipartisan cosponsors achieving 
that purpose. The bill clarified that certain moneys on deposit in 
United States banks belong to United States companies, not Iraq, and 
therefore should not be subject to the Iraqi assets freeze. Amendment 
language similar to S. 1119 was appended to the last State Department 
Authorization bill following a rollcall vote in the Foreign Relations 
Committee and approved by the full Senate. Unfortunately, the language 
was dropped in conference, leaving this matter unresolved.
  The legislation I am introducing today represents a compromise on 
creating a settlement process for private preinvasion claims. The Iraq 
Claims Act of 1997 I believe takes a progressive step forward in 
disseminating the $1.2 billion in frozen assets.
  First, it vests currently blocked assets in the President. Second, an 
Iraq Claims Fund will be created by the Treasury Department where those 
assets will be deposited. Third, within 2 years of enactment of the 
legislation, payment on private claims--certified by the Foreign Claims 
Settlement Commission--will be made out of the fund. Fourth, after 
payment has been made in full on all private claims, any funds 
remaining shall be made available to satisfy claims of the U.S. 
Government.
  Mr. President, although much of the debate over my previous 
legislation concerned the minutiae of letter of credit law, 
international business transactions, and economic emergency powers, the 
Iraq Claims Act of 1997 lays aside those issues and establishes an 
equitable procedure for considering claims on a prioritized basis. 
While I understand that the administration is working on a proposal for 
similar legislation on Iraq claims, I would encourage the State and 
Treasury Departments to reevaluate their concerns

[[Page S5421]]

about the approach I am proposing. I would submit that this legislation 
is the most suitable, and politically viable, compromise available to 
come to closure on this issue.
  Mr. President, these frozen assets were blocked to prevent Iraq from 
using the funds to support its aggression against Kuwait and its 
allies. That freeze--designed to hurt Iraq--is now hurting American 
companies. Some of those firms were a mere electronic transfer, a 
keystroke on a computer, away from receiving their payments when the 
emergency freeze was imposed. After 7 years, it is time to act 
expeditiously in their favor.
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