[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 71 (Wednesday, June 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5602-S5605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 504 EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
 PRESIDENT SHOULD NOT ACCEPT THE CREDENTIALS OF ANY REPRESENTATIVE OF 
 THE GOVERNMENT OF LIBYA WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED UNDERSTANDING THAT THE 
  GOVERNMENT OF LIBYA WILL CONTINUE TO WORK IN GOOD FAITH TO RESOLVE 
 OUTSTANDING CASES OF UNITED STATES VICTIMS OF TERRORISM SPONSORED OR 
SUPPORTED BY LIBYA, INCLUDING THE SETTLEMENT OF CASES ARISING FROM THE 
           PAN AM FLIGHT 103 AND LABELLE DISCOTHEQUE BOMBINGS

  Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. Graham Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Clinton, 
Mr. Reid, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Biden, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Levin, Mr. Kerry, 
Ms. Stabenow. Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Dodd, Mr. 
Bingaman, Mr. Allen, Ms. Collins, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Burr, Mr. Salazar, 
Mr. DeMint, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Reed, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Kohl, 
Mr. Hatch, Mr. Coleman, and Mr. Rockefeller) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, in light of the recent announcement to 
remove Libya from the State Department's list of state sponsors of 
terror, I rise today to submit a resolution expressing the sense of the 
Senate that the Libyan Government should meet the terms of its 
financial commitment to the families of the victims of the Pan Am 
flight 103 bombing and other acts of terror supported by Libya before 
the President accepts credentials of any representative of the 
Government of Libya. I am pleased that Senators Graham, Menendez, 
Clinton, Kennedy, Biden, Lieberman, Levin, Kerry, Stabenow, Mikulski, 
Schumer, Boxer, Dodd, Bingaman, Allen, Collins, Burr, Salazar, DeMint, 
Lincoln, Dorgan, Reed, DeWine, Kohl, Reid, and Santorum have agreed to 
cosponsor my resolution.
  In May 2002, Libya made an unequivocal commitment to compensate the 
families who lost loved ones in the Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, 
Scotland, which killed 270 people, including 189 Americans. To date, 
Libya has not resolved these claims in full, particularly the last 
installment of compensation that is to be paid to each family upon 
Libya's removal from the list of state sponsors of terror. Now that the 
Secretary of State has announced Libya's removal from the list, the 
U.S. must ensure that Libya honors its commitment.
  Before the U.S. normalizes its relationship with the Government of 
Libya, it is crucial that we underscore our expectation that Libya will 
fully honor its commitment to all these American families. The 
resolution also exhorts the President to press the Government of Libya 
to make a good faith

[[Page S5605]]

effort to resolve other outstanding cases involving U.S. victims of its 
state-sponsored terrorism, including the 1986 bombing of the La Belle 
Discotheque in Berlin, Germany, that killed two American soldiers and 
wounded dozens of others.
  I am pleased that the Senate is considering this important resolution 
and urge its immediate adoption.

                              S. Res. 504

       Whereas there has not been a resolution of the claims of 
     members of the United States Armed Forces and other United 
     States citizens who were injured in the April 6, 1986, 
     bombing of the LaBelle Discotheque in Berlin, Germany, and 
     the claims of family members of the service men and women 
     killed in that bombing or the resolution of other outstanding 
     cases of United States victims of terror sponsored or 
     supported by Libya;
       Whereas, on December 21, 1988, terrorists from Libya bombed 
     Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 
     people, including 189 Americans;
       Whereas, on May 29, 2002, the Government of Libya offered 
     to pay up to $2,700,000,000 to settle claims by the families 
     of the 270 people killed aboard Pan Am Flight 103, 
     representing $10,000,000 for each victim of the Pan Am Flight 
     103 bombing;
       Whereas, on August 15, 2003, Libya's Ambassador to the 
     United Nations, Ahmed Own, submitted a letter to the United 
     Nations Security Council formally accepting ``responsibility 
     for the action of its officials'' in relation to the 
     Lockerbie bombing;
       Whereas, on September 12, 2003, the United Nations lifted 
     sanctions against Libya, thereby enabling the first trigger 
     of the agreement between the Government of Libya and the 
     families of the victims of the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 
     for a payment of $4,000,000 per victim that has been paid to 
     the victims' families;
       Whereas, on September 24, 2004, the United States lifted 
     most economic sanctions against Libya, thereby enabling the 
     second trigger of the agreement between the Government of 
     Libya and the families of the victims of the attack on Pan Am 
     Flight 103 for an additional payment of $4,000,000 per victim 
     that has been paid to the victims' families;
       Whereas, on May 15, 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza 
     Rice announced the determination of President George W. Bush 
     to rescind the designation of Libya on the list of state 
     sponsors of terrorism, thereby enabling the third trigger of 
     the agreement between the Government of Libya and the 
     families of the victims of the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 
     for a final payment of $2,000,000 per victim;
       Whereas, on May 15, 2006, Secretary of State Rice announced 
     the reestablishment of full diplomatic relations with the 
     Government of Libya, ending 26 years of isolation; and
       Whereas the agreement between the Government of Libya and 
     the families of the victims of the attack on Pan Am Flight 
     103 incorporated a timeline for payment of the full 
     $2,700,000,000 that has not been met even though all of the 
     other conditions for such payment have been satisfied.
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) it remains an important priority for further 
     improvement in the relations between the United States and 
     Libya that the Government of Libya make a good faith effort 
     to resolve all outstanding claims of United States victims of 
     terrorism sponsored or supported by Libya;
       (2) it is in the best interests of the long-term 
     relationship between the United States and Libya that final 
     payment be made to the families of the victims of the attack 
     on Pan Am Flight 103; and
       (3) the President should not accept the credentials of any 
     representative of the Government of Libya without the 
     expressed understanding that the Government of Libya will 
     continue to work in good faith to resolve outstanding cases 
     of United States victims of terrorism sponsored or supported 
     by Libya, including the settlement of cases arising from the 
     Pan Am Flight 103 and LaBelle Discotheque bombings.

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