[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   OPERATION PROVIDE COMFORT IN IRAQ

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LAMAR S. SMITH

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 20, 1998

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today regarding a very 
important bipartisan issue that will need to be addressed in the 106th 
Congress, that is compensating the families of the Americans who were 
killed on April 14, 1994 while serving in Operation Provide Comfort 
over Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been very disappointed by the Pentagon's handling 
of this issue and their refusal to treat fairly the families of the 
American service personnel who were killed on this incident. I have 
several constituents whose loved one was killed in this incident and I 
am disappointed that the Department of Defense has not treated them 
more fairly.
  On April 14, 1994, 15 Americans, 14 military personnel and 1 
civilian, and 11 foreign nationals, were killed when two Army Black 
Hawk helicopters, were shot down over the ``No Fly zone'' in Iraq by 
two Air Force F-15's. According to the General Accounting Office, this 
loss of life resulted from 130 separate mistakes by the Air Force and 
the Army. After this incident, the Department of Defense made $100,000 
ex gratia payments to the families of the foreign nationals in addition 
to the other death benefits they received from their own countries. 
While making these payments to the foreign families, the Administration 
was unwilling to give the same treatment to the next of kin of the 
Americans.
  My subcommittee held a hearing on this issue on June 18, 1998 and 
heard from both the Pentagon and the families. Before the hearing, I 
requested the Pentagon be prepared to answer whether authority exists 
under current law to compensate the families at the same level as the 
foreign families. During their testimony, the Pentagon was unable to 
provide a credible answer for why they did not treat the Americans in 
the same matter as the foreign families. First, they could not answer 
whether they had the authority to make the payments to the Americans, 
then after the hearing, when the Department did provide the 
Subcommittee with a response they did not answer the direct question 
posed. Rather than providing a statutory bar to payment under Section 
127 of Title 10, the Department's response discusses ``limitations that 
have historically been applied'' and ``compelling reasons against 
making such payments''.
  It would appear that historical applications and compelling reasons 
were compromised when the Department chose to make ex gratia payments 
to the families of foreign nationals killed in the same incident with 
Americans. By doing so, the Department has placed the Government in the 
position of appearing to value foreign nationals lives more than 
American lives.
  It is clear that some remedy must be affected to rectify the 
inequities created by the actions taken by the Department in this 
incident. Our service personnel deserve to be treated better. I have 
been working with Congressmen Collins, Conyers, and Watt of North 
Carolina to fashion a bipartisan solution to this problem.
  The Subcommittee did not have time to act this year, but we will 
revisit this issue next year. I hope that the Pentagon will correct 
this injustice and make the payments to the families without Congress 
having to take action. However, if the Administration is not willing to 
act, the Immigration and Claims Subcommittee will consider legislation 
in the 106th Congress to give the American families the same treatment 
as the foreign families received.

                          ____________________