I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2241 

To provide for the settlement of certain claims against Iraq by victims 

of torture and terrorism. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 4, 2009 

Mr. SESTAK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the settlement of certain claims against Iraq 

by victims of torture and terrorism. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equitable Compensa5 tion for American Victims of Torture Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE AND TER7 RORISM. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) During the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, 

10 Americans serving in the United States Armed 


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1 Forces were captured, became Prisoners of War 

2 (POWs), and were subsequently tortured, beaten, 

3 starved, hooked to electrical shock devices, and sub4 jected to other horrendous acts by Saddam Hus5 sein’s regime. 

6 (2) CBS News reporter Bob Simon and cam7 eraman Roberto Alvarez were kidnapped while on 

8 assignment during the 1991 Gulf War and were held 

9 and tortured, along with the American POWs. 

10 (3) Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 

11 August 1990, many United States citizens were de12 tained by Iraq, beaten, subjected to cruel, inhumane 

13 and degrading treatment, confined under deplorable 

14 conditions, and used as ‘‘human shields’’ for the 

15 avowed purpose of preventing the United States and 

16 its coalition allies from using military force to lib17 erate Kuwait. 

18 (4) At the time these acts occurred, the Depart19 ment of State had classified Iraq as a state sponsor 

20 of terrorism. 

21 (5) The brave American POWs and American 

22 civilian hostages have suffered long-term physical, 

23 emotional, and mental damage as a result of this 

24 brutal, state-sponsored torture and terrorism. 


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1 (6) When the American POWs returned home 

2 after the Gulf War ended, they were given a hero’s 

3 welcome by then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, 

4 who told them, ‘‘Your country is opening its arms to 

5 greet you’’. 

6 (7) During the 1991 Gulf War, the Congress 

7 unanimously passed resolutions condemning the bru8 tal treatment by the Government of Iraq of captured 

9 United States service members, demanding that the 

10 Government of Iraq abide by the Geneva Convention 

11 regarding the treatment of prisoners of war, and 

12 stating an intention to hold Iraq accountable for the 

13 torture of American POWs. 

14 (8) In 1996, Congress passed an amendment to 

15 the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) provi16 sions of title 28, United States Code, so that torture 

17 victims like the American POWs and the American 

18 ‘‘human shield’’ victims from the Gulf War could 

19 seek compensation for their injuries from terrorist 

20 countries, including Iraq. 

21 (9) On April 4, 2002, 17 Gulf War POWs and 

22 their families filed claims in the United States Dis23 trict Court for the District of Columbia seeking com24 pensation for damages related to their torture and 

25 abuse by the Government of Iraq. The POWs inVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:05 May 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2241.IH H2241

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1 cluded Colonel Clifford Acree, USMC (Ret.); Lieu2 tenant Colonel Craig Berryman, USMC (Ret.); 

3 Former Staff Sergeant Troy Dunlap, U.S. Army; 

4 Colonel David Eberly, USAF (Ret.); Lieutenant 

5 Colonel Jeffrey D. Fox, USAF (Ret.); Chief War6 rant Officer 5 Guy Hunter, USMC (Ret.); Sergeant 

7 David Lockett, U.S. Army; Colonel H. Michael Rob8 erts, USAF; Colonel Russell Sanborn, USMC; Cap9 tain Lawrence Randolph Slade, USN (Ret.); Major 

10 Joseph Small, USMC (Ret.); Staff Sergeant Daniel 

11 Stamaris, U.S. Army (Ret.); Lieutenant Colonel 

12 Richard Dale Storr, Air National Guard; Lieutenant 

13 Colonel Robert Sweet, USAF; Lieutenant Colonel 

14 Jeffrey Tice, USAF (Ret.); Former Lieutenant Rob15 ert Wetzel, USN; and Former Commander Jeffrey 

16 Zaun, USN. 

17 (10) In 2003, after the Government of Iraq re18 peatedly refused to participate in arbitration on the 

19 damage claims, and after hearing evidence of how 

20 the former POWs had been repeatedly tortured, a 

21 judge awarded them a judgment for damages, stat22 ing that ‘‘deterring torture of POWs should be of 

23 the highest priority’’. 

24 (11) Despite this ruling, the POWs and their 

25 families have not received payment, and are unable 


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1 to further pursue their claims in United States 

2 courts because of the waiver that was granted for 

3 Iraq by the President under authority established in 

4 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

5 Year 2008. 

6 (12) In December 2001, after conducting an 

7 evidentiary hearing, the United States district court 

8 held, in Hill v. Republic of Iraq, that Iraq was liable 

9 for having taken United States citizens hostage fol10 lowing the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and subse11 quently awarded 180 of those former hostages and 

12 their spouses a judgment for damages. 

13 (13) On March 20, 2003, on the eve of Oper14 ation Iraqi Freedom, the President of the United 

15 States directed that all of the judgments that had 

16 been awarded in Hill v. Republic of Iraq be paid 

17 from moneys held in blocked Iraqi accounts. 

18 (14) On that same date, the President issued 

19 an Executive order confiscating all remaining 

20 blocked assets of Iraq and ordering them to be de21 posited into the United States Treasury to be used 

22 for Iraq reconstruction. 

23 (15) The claims of more than 200 United 

24 States citizens who, at the same time and in the 

25 same manner as the Hill plaintiffs, were held hosVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:07 May 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2241.IH H2241

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1 tage in territory occupied by Iraq are currently 

2 pending in a United States district court in the case 

3 of Vine v. Republic of Iraq. 

4 (16) The plaintiffs in Vine v. Republic of Iraq 

5 have not been compensated and are unable to en6 force any judgment they may obtain in United 

7 States courts because of the waiver that was granted 

8 for Iraq by the President under authority established 

9 in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

10 Year 2008. 

11 (17) Article 131 of the Third Geneva Conven12 tion relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War 

13 (August 12, 1949) prohibits the United States as a 

14 party to that treaty from absolving the Government 

15 of Iraq of any liability incurred due to the torture 

16 of prisoners of war, such as the American POWs re17 ferred to in this section. 

18 (18) The United States has a moral obligation 

19 to protect its past, present, and future members of 

20 its Armed Forces, and all United States citizens, 

21 from torture and hostage-taking, and the Congress 

22 is committed to holding state sponsors of terrorism 

23 accountable for such horrendous acts. 

24 (b) RESOLUTION OF CERTAIN CLAIMS AGAINST

25 IRAQ.— 


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1 (1) ADEQUATE SETTLEMENT OF CERTAIN

2 CASES.—Unless the claims in the cases referred to 

3 in paragraph (2) have been adequately settled before 

4 the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, then, upon the expira6 tion of that 30-day period, the waiver authority 

7 granted to the President in section 1083(d) of the 

8 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

9 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 122 Stat. 343), and 

10 any waiver granted before the end of that 30-day pe11 riod under such authority, shall terminate. 

12 (2) CASES.—The cases referred to in paragraph 

13 (1) are cases numbered 99:00CV03346 (TPJ), 

14 1:01CV02674 (HHK), CIV.A. 02–632 (RWR) (July 

15 7, 2003), 1:03CV00691 (HHK), 1:03CV00888 

16 (HHK), and No. 03–0215 (JDB), in the United 

17 States District Court for the District of Columbia. 

18 (3) ADEQUATE SETTLEMENT.—For purposes of 

19 paragraph (1), adequate settlement means payment 

20 by the Government of Iraq, or payment by a United 

21 States depository institution pursuant to an unquali22 fied and unconditional guarantee made by such de23 pository institution, of at least the following 

24 amounts to the following persons: 

25 (A) To any person— 


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1 (i) whose claim in the applicable case 

2 referred to in paragraph (2) arose from an 

3 act of hostage taking or from being held in 

4 hostage status, and 

5 (ii) who has not obtained a judgment 

6 on the claim before the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, 

8 $150,000, plus $6,000 for each day the person 

9 was held as a hostage, but in no event more 

10 than $900,000. 

11 (B) To any person— 

12 (i) whose claim in the applicable case 

13 referred to in paragraph (2) arose from an 

14 act of hostage taking or from being held in 

15 hostage status, 

16 (ii) who, while a hostage, was sub17 jected to torture, and 

18 (iii) who has not obtained a judgment 

19 on the claim before the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, 

21 $2,500,000, plus $6,000 for each day the per22 son was held as a hostage. 

23 (C) To a plaintiff in the applicable case re24 ferred to in paragraph (2) who is the spouse or 

25 was at the time the claims arose, or child of 


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1 any person who qualifies for receipt of payment 

2 under paragraph (1) or (2), one-third of the 

3 amount that such person qualifies for receipt 

4 under such paragraph. 

5 (D) To any person who, before the date of 

6 the enactment of this Act, obtained a judgment 

7 for compensatory damages in a case referred to 

8 in paragraph (2) (regardless of whether such 

9 judgment was subsequently vacated)— 

10 (i) payment of the unsatisfied amount 

11 of such judgment, in an amount that is the 

12 lesser of $1,000,000 or the unsatisfied 

13 amount of the award; and 

14 (ii) if the amount of the judgment ex15 ceeds $1,000,000, one-third of the 

16 unsatisfied amount of such excess. 

17 (4) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (A) HOSTAGE.—The term ‘‘hostage’’ 

19 means an individual in hostage status or an in20 dividual seized or detained in the commission of 

21 an act of hostage taking. 

22 (B) HOSTAGE STATUS.—The term ‘‘hos23 tage status’’ has the meaning given that term 

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1 grams Appropriations Act, 1991 (Public Law 

2 101–513). 

3 (C) HOSTAGE TAKING.—The term ‘‘hos4 tage taking’’ has the meaning given that term 

5 in section 1605A(h)(2) of title 28, United 

6 States Code. 

7 (D) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes 

8 the legal representative of a claimant’s estate. 

9 (E) TORTURE.—The term ‘‘torture’’ has 

10 the meaning given that term in section 3 of the 

11 Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (28 

12 U.S.C. 1350 note). 

13 (F) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

14 States’’ means the several States, the District 

15 of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, 

16 or possession of the United States. 

17 (G) UNITED STATES DEPOSITORY INSTITU18 TION.—The term ‘‘United States depository in19 stitution’’ means a depository institution orga20 nized under the laws of any State, the District 

21 of Columbia, or the United States, including a 

22 branch or agency of a foreign depository insti23 tution. 

24 (c) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.— 


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1 (1) CONSTRUCTION OF APPROPRIATIONS ACT

2 PROVISION.—Section 1503 of the Emergency War3 time Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003 (Public 

4 Law 108–11; 117 Stat. 579), and any exercise of 

5 authority by the President pursuant to such section 

6 1503, was never intended to and did not provide for 

7 the removal of jurisdiction over cases brought under 

8 section 1605(a)(7) of title 28, United States Code. 

9 (2) CONSTRUCTION OF NDAA PROVISION.—Sec10 tion 1083(d) of the National Defense Authorization 

11 Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 122 

12 Stat. 343), and any waiver exercised by the Presi13 dent pursuant to such section 1083(d), was never in14 tended to and did not provide for the removal of ju15 risdiction over cases brought under section 

16 1605(a)(7) of title 28, United States Code. 

17 (3) APPLICABILITY OF NDAA PROVISION.—Not18 withstanding any other provision of law, section 

19 1083(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act 

20 for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181; 122 

21 Stat. 342) shall apply, beginning on the date of the 

22 enactment of this Act, to the cases referred to in 

23 subsection (b)(2) of this section, notwithstanding 

24 any waiver of that provision with respect to Iraq. 

Æ 


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