[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 49 (Monday, December 6, 2004)]
[Pages 2878-2879]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on the Issuance of an 
Executive Order Modifying the Scope of the National Emergency Declared 
in Earlier Executive Orders Relating to Iraq

November 29, 2004

Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)

    Consistent with subsection 204(b) of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I 
have issued an Executive Order (the ``order'') in which I modify the 
scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 
22, 2003, expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and 
further modified in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004. I have 
determined that an additional threat exists with respect to which the 
national emergency was declared and expanded in those Executive Orders. 
I have also determined that steps taken in Executive Order 13303 to deal 
with the national emergency declared therein need to be revised in light 
of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1483 of May 22, 2003, and 
1546 of June 8, 2004, respectively. I have enclosed a copy of the order.
    In Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, I found that the threat of 
attachment or other judicial process against the Development Fund for 
Iraq, Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products and interests therein, and 
proceeds, obligations, or any financial instruments of any nature 
whatsoever arising from or related to the sale or marketing thereof, and 
interests therein, obstructed the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the 
restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, and 
the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions 
in Iraq. I determined that this situation constituted an unusual and 
extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the 
United States, and I declared a national emergency to deal with that 
threat.
    Consistent with IEEPA, as amended, (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the 
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 5 of the 
United Nations Participation Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), 
and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, in Executive Order 13303 
I ordered, inter alia, that unless licensed or otherwise authorized 
pursuant to that order, any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, 
execution, garnishment, or other judicial process is prohibited, and 
shall be deemed null and void, with respect to the following:
 (a)         the Development Fund for Iraq, and
 (b)         all Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products, and interests 
            therein, and proceeds, obligations, or any other financial 
            instruments of any nature whatsoever arising from or related 
            to the sale or marketing thereof, and interests therein, in 
            which any foreign country or a national thereof has any 
            interest, that are in the United States, that hereafter come 
            within the United States, or that are or hereafter come 
            within the possession or control of United States persons.
    Consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1483 and 
1546, I have determined that the steps taken in Executive Order 13303 to 
deal with the emergency declared therein need to be revised so that such 
steps do not apply with respect to any final judgment arising out of a 
contractual obligation entered into by the Government of Iraq, including 
any agency or instrumentality thereof, after June 30, 2004, and so that, 
with respect to Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products and interests 
therein, such steps shall apply only until title passes to the initial 
purchaser.
    The new order provides that protections granted by section 1 of 
Executive Order 13303, as well as the protections granted by this order 
to the property of the Central Bank of Iraq, do not apply with respect 
to any final judgment arising out of a contractual obligation entered 
into by the Government of Iraq, including any agency or instrumentality 
thereof, after June 30, 2004.
    In addition, the order modifies section 1 of Executive Order 13303 
to provide that the protections granted therein to all Iraqi petroleum 
and petroleum products, and interests therein, apply only until title 
passes to the initial purchaser.
    Furthermore, I now find that the threat of attachment or other 
judicial process against the assets of the Central Bank of Iraq

[[Page 2879]]

constitutes one of the obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, 
the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, 
and the development of political, administrative, and economic 
institutions in Iraq. I have determined that the scope of the national 
emergency declared in Executive Order 13303, as expanded by Executive 
Order 13315, and modified by Executive Order 13350, be further modified 
to address this threat.
    Consequently, the order modifies the actions taken to address the 
national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303, as expanded by 
Executive Order 13315, and further modified in Executive Order 13350, by 
amending section 1 of Executive Order 13303 to extend the protections 
granted therein against any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, 
execution, garnishment, or other judicial process to any accounts, 
assets, investments, or any other property of any kind owned by, 
belonging to, or held by the Central Bank of Iraq, or held, maintained, 
or otherwise controlled by any financial institution of any kind in the 
name of, on behalf of, or otherwise for the Central Bank of Iraq.
    I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
with the Secretary of State, the authority to take such actions, 
including the promulgation of rules and regulations, to employ all 
powers granted to the President by IEEPA and the UNPA as may be 
necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the 
Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and 
agencies of the United States consistent with applicable law. I have 
directed all agencies of the United States Government to take all 
appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions 
of this order.
     Sincerely,
                                                George W. Bush

Note: Identical letters were sent to J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, and Richard B. Cheney, President of the 
Senate. This letter was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
November 30. An original was not available for verification of the 
content of this letter.