[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 116 (Thursday, July 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9623-S9624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Levin, and Mr. Lautenberg):
  S. 1839. A bill to require periodic reports on claims related to acts 
of terrorism against Americans perpetrated or supported by the 
Government of Libya; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today I introduce, along with Senators 
Levin and Lautenberg, a piece of legislation which I hope will help the 
American victims of Libyan terrorism and their families move one step 
closer to receiving justice for the terrible crimes committed against 
them. Our legislation requires the administration to submit to Congress 
twice yearly reports on the status of the outstanding legal claims by 
these American victims and their families against the government of 
Libya. It also requires the administration to explain its own efforts 
on their behalf.
  I believe it is in the United States' strategic interest to develop 
better relations with Libya. Colonel Qaddafi renounced terrorism and 
dismantled Libyan weapons of mass destruction programs. We need to 
demonstrate to the rogue regimes of the world that there is a path back 
to the civilized community of nations. Libya is an important country in 
its own right as a gateway between Europe and Africa, as a country 
which shares a border with the Darfur region of Sudan, and as an OPEC 
member.
  But for this relationship to advance, we need to come to terms with 
the past. Several hundred Americans have been killed by Libyan 
terrorism and scores more have been injured. The Libyan regime has 
accepted responsibility for the heinous Pan Am 103 bombing, which 
killed 270 Americans. That admission also helped pave the way to the 
negotiations that led to Libya's renunciation of its support for 
terrorism and its WMD programs. But the families of the victims of Pan 
Am 103 are still waiting for the final settlement of their case. Last 
year, the Libyan government agreed to terms with the victims of the La 
Belle discotheque bombing in Germany. But they have since refused to 
honor the previously agreed upon terms. Other victims of Libyan terror 
are still waiting for justice. Their cases may be smaller in scale, but 
pain that the victims and their families have suffered is no less real.
  The victims and families deserve to know what their government is 
doing on their behalf to settle these cases. Colonel Qaddafi needs to 
understand that the way forward needs to account for the past. And the 
State Department needs to begin to develop a coherent vision for what 
we hope to achieve in the Libyan--American relationship.
  This piece of legislation we offer is modest, but I believe that it 
can help us to make progress in each of these three aspects.
  Lastly, I would like to say a few words about the human rights 
conditions inside Libya. Yes, Americans are interested in Libya's 
external behavior.

[[Page S9624]]

But we are also concerned about the human rights conditions within 
Libya. I am relieved that the death sentence of the six Bulgarian 
nurses and Palestinian doctor accused of infecting Libyan children with 
HIV has been commuted. But the case against them is preposterous, as 
confirmed by rigorous investigations into the allegations by UNESCO and 
the World Health Organization. That they remain in jail is outrageous.
  For more than 3 years, years, I have been calling for the release of 
Fathi Eljahmi, a courageous democracy advocate with serious health 
problems whose only crime is to speak truth to power. I again call on 
the Libyan government to release Mr. Eljahmi.

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