[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 71 (Wednesday, June 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S5607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE OF LIBYAN CREDENTIALS

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 504 submitted earlier 
today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 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 Discoteque bombings.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to 
the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The resolution (S. Res. 504) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              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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