[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 111 (Friday, August 7, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H7418-H7419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RETRIBUTION FOR STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to convey my personal 
sympathies and to say that our heart goes out to the families of the 
Americans who were apparently killed earlier this morning in eastern 
Africa, yet another two terrorist attacks against Americans overseas; 
and to say that, apparently, there

[[Page H7419]]

was a third one planned, which for some reason did not materialize, 
also in the eastern part of Africa.
  To say that once again, that as bad as we feel when these types of 
events happen and as much as we wish that we did not have to deal with 
them, the fact is that we do have to deal with these instances.
  As the chairman of a group of Republicans, I am joined here today by 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) who is also a member of the 
group of Republicans which calls ourselves the Task Force on Terrorism 
and U.N. Conventional Warfare.
  We have studied these types of activities. We have studied the causes 
of them and we have, sadly, become too aware that our government as an 
institution is either unable or unwilling to put in place policies to 
deal with them. I would like to think that we have been unwilling 
rather than unable.
  Let me just recite one example of the kind of thing that leads me to 
that conclusion. In 1996, we passed the Antiterrorism and Effective 
Death Penalty Act of that year. Among other things, it provided that 
victims of terrorism and their families could sue States who sponsor 
terrorism.
  In the case of one individual who was killed, it happened to be in 
Gaza in the West Bank, a young lady by the name of Alysa Flatow, who 
was an American citizen studying in Israel, was killed by a car bomb. 
It sounds familiar.
  Pursuant to the act that we passed in 1996, her family had the right 
to sue in American courts to recover damages which they did, and they 
were granted a judgment by the judge in U.S. District Court here in 
Washington, D.C., a judgment for $247 million against the State of Iran 
who, through various accounts, had transferred monies to the Islamic 
Jihad who carried out this attack.
  Here on the floor this week, and 2 weeks ago, members of the Task 
Force on Terrorism had to fight against the State Department to pass 
another amendment to another law to enable the Flatow family to collect 
their judgment.
  In other words, our State Department and our Justice Department was 
fighting against our efforts to help the Flatow family cause a price to 
be paid by Iran, the sponsor of this terrorist act. In other words, our 
government was protecting the rights of the State of Iran rather than 
the rights of the Flatow family and the rights of every Member of this 
House who voted for the Antiterrorism Act of 1996.
  There has to be a price to pay. Ronald Reagan knew there had to be a 
price to pay. He told Qadhafi that there would be a price to pay, and 
there was a price to pay. The Libyans have been silent ever since on 
these subjects.
  Our State Department must take note that, in the case of Khobar 
Tours, there was no price to pay. In the case of these two latest 
explosions, we will go through the process of grieving. We will go 
through the process of cleaning up the embassies. We will go through 
the process of some kind of a cursory investigation.
  Unless our policies change, there will be no price to pay. Those who 
cause these types of actions must know that there is not only a price 
to pay, but that America will cause a heavy price to be paid.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding to me. I want 
to thank him first for being the Chairman of the Task Force on 
Terrorism and U.N. Conventional Warfare. I know he has got a lot of 
things to do as a member of the Committee on National Security and 
chairman of the Joint Economic Committee. But this is a very important 
area.
  I agree with the gentleman very strongly that, when we have a State-
sponsored terrorism where assets and resources are funneled to 
terrorists to kill people around the world, in many cases Americans, it 
only makes sense to deter that type of State action, whether it is Iraq 
or Iran or Libya or others, to deter those States from putting the full 
force and effect of their State treasury into terrorist activities.
  The way we do that is by hitting them in the pocketbook. That means 
when we have a judgment, taking assets; that means freezing assets 
where you can; that means hurting them economically around the world.
  We do need to have the full cooperation of our own State Department 
to do that. That is really the only way we can establish a policy of 
deterrence.

                          ____________________