[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 45 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONFISCATING AND VESTING CERTAIN IRAQI PROPERTY--MESSAGE FROM THE 
          PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 108-51)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed:
To the Congress of the United States:
  Pursuant to section 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic 
Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) (IEEPA), and section 301 of the National 
Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631, I hereby report that I have taken 
additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in 
Executive Order 12722 of August 2, 1990, by exercising my statutory 
authority to confiscate and vest certain property of the Government of 
Iraq and its agencies, instrumentalities, or controlled entities.
  Consistent with section 203(a)(1)(C) of IEEPA, 50 U.S.C. 
1702(a)(1)(C), as added by section 106 of the USA PATRIOT ACT, Public 
Law 107-56, I have ordered that certain blocked funds held in the 
United States in accounts in the name of the Government of Iraq, the 
Central Bank of Iraq, Rafidain Bank, Rasheed Bank, or the State 
Organization for Marketing Oil are hereby confiscated and vested in the 
Department of the Treasury. I have made exceptions for any such funds 
that are subject to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations or 
the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, or that enjoy equivalent 
privileges and immunities under the laws of the United States, and are 
or have been used for diplomatic or consular purposes. In addition, 
such amounts that, as of the date of the order, are subject to post-
judgment writs of execution or attachment in aid of execution of 
judgments pursuant to section 201 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act 
of 2002 (Public Law 107-297) are not being vested, provided that, upon 
satisfaction of the judgments on which such writs are based, any 
remainder of such excepted amounts shall, without further action, be 
confiscated and vested.
  I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury authority to 
undertake all other action of the President and all functions of the 
President set forth in section 203(a)(1)(C) of IEEPA with respect to 
any and all property of the Government of Iraq, including its agencies, 
instrumentalities, or controlled entities, and to take additional 
steps, including the promulgation of rules and regulations as may be 
necessary to carry out the purposes of this order.
  I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued, which is 
effective immediately.
  I have exercised these authorities in furtherance of Executive Orders 
12722 and 12724 with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to 
our national security and foreign policy posed by the policies and 
actions of the Government of Iraq. I intend that such vested property 
should be used to assist the Iraqi people and to assist in the 
reconstruction of Iraq, and have determined that such use would be in 
the interest of and for the benefit of the United States.
  The power to vest assets of a foreign government with which the 
United States is engaged in armed hostilities is one that has been 
recognized for many decades. This power is being used here because it 
is clearly in the interests of the United States to have these funds 
available for use in rebuilding Iraq and launching that country on the 
path to speedy economic recovery. In addition, this authority is being 
invoked in a limited way, designed to minimize harm to third parties 
and to respect existing court orders as much as possible.
                                                      Geroge W. Bush.  
The White House, March 20, 2003.

                          ____________________