99–006

107TH CONGRESS REPORT " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ! 2d Session 107–477

EMBASSY EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION ACT

MAY 20, 2002.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 3375] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 3375) to provide compensation for the United States citizens 

who were victims of the bombings of United States embassies in 

East Africa on August 7, 1998, on the same basis as compensation 

is provided to victims of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes on 

September 11, 2001, having considered the same, reports favorably 

thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1

Background and Need for the Legislation ............................................................. 2

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 2

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 2

Vote of the Committee ............................................................................................. 2

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 2

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 3

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 3

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 3

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 5

Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion .......................................................... 5

Markup Transcript .................................................................................................. 7

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 3375, the ‘‘Embassy Employee Compensation Act’’ directs 

the Attorney General to provide compensation for those American 

citizens who were victims of the bombings of the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and of the United States Embassy in Dar 

es Salaam, Tanzania, on August 7, 1998, through the Special MasVerDate May 13 2002 01:15 May 21, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR477.XXX pfrm12 PsN: HR477
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1Pub. L. No. 107–42. 

ter appointed to administer the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. The bill would authorize payments for physical 

harm, economic losses and noneconomic losses, such as physical 

and emotional pain and loss of enjoyment of life, for individuals 

present at either of the bombings or their immediate aftermath. 

These are the same standards for payment that are applied to individuals receiving payment under the September 11th Fund. In the 

case of a deceased individual, the bill would allow relatives of that 

individual to be compensated. 

If a claim is filed under the act, all rights are waived to participate in civil suits in any Federal or State court for damages sustained in the bombings with the exception of suits that involve recovery of ‘‘collateral source’’ obligations such as life insurance, pension funds, death benefit programs and payments by Federal, State 

and local governments. Punitive damages may not be awarded 

under the act. Additionally, any award from the fund will be reduced by any other amount of compensation the claimant has received or is entitled to receive as a result of the bombings. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

On September 22, 2001, the ‘‘September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001,’’ was signed into law.1 That fund created a compensation program, administered by the Attorney General through 

a Special Master, for any individual who was injured or killed as 

a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 

2001. 

On August 7, 1998, agents of Osama bin Laden orchestrated near 

simultaneous vehicular bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, 

Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. These terrorist incidents cost 

the lives of over 220 persons and wounded more than 4,000 others. 

Twelve American U.S. Government employees and family members 

were among those killed. 

As a matter of fairness and equity, the bombing victims at the 

U.S. embassies should have access to the same compensation system as those killed and injured during the September 11th attacks 

on U.S. targets by agents of Osama bin Laden. 

HEARINGS

No hearings were held on H.R. 3375. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On April 24, 2002, the Committee met in open session and ordered favorably reported the bill H.R. 3375 without amendment by 

voice vote, a quorum being present. 

VOTE OF THE COMMITTEE

There were no recorded votes on H.R. 3375. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the findings 

3

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

H.R. 3375 will provide the victims of the bombing of the U.S. embassies access to the same compensation system that is available 

to those killed and injured during the September 11th attacks on 

U.S. targets by agents of Osama bin Laden. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII is applicable because this legislation provides new budgetary authority. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with respect to 

the bill, H.R. 3375, the following estimate and comparison prepared 

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, May 20, 2002. 

Hon. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., Chairman, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: 

The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost 

estimate for H.R. 3375, the Embassy Employee Compensation Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lanette J. Walker, who 

can be reached at 226–2860. 

Sincerely, 

DAN L. CRIPPEN, Director.

Enclosure

cc: Honorable John Conyers, Jr. 

Ranking Member 

H.R. 3375—Embassy Employee Compensation Act. 

SUMMARY

H.R. 3375 would authorize the Special Master administering the 

September 11th Victim Compensation Fund to provide monetary 

compensation to U.S. citizens that were injured, and to the families 

of those killed, in the embassy bombings in East Africa on August 

7, 1998. Compensation would be for economic and noneconomic 

losses (including pain, suffering, and loss of companionship). Based 

on information from the State Department, and on the regulations 

established for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3375 would cost about $10 million to compensate those bombing victims and relatives. We expect 

4

that those payments would be made in fiscal year 2003. Because 

enactment of H.R. 3375 would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go 

procedures would apply. 

H.R. 3375 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would impose no costs on State, local, or tribal governments. 

ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 3375 is shown in the following table. The cost of this legislation falls within budget function 750 (administration of justice).

BASIS OF ESTIMATE

H.R. 3375 would direct the Special Master to issue regulations 

for accepting claims and hearing evidence within 90 days of enactment of H.R. 3375. The Special Master would then have 140 days 

following the submission of a claim to determine the amount of 

compensation and pay the claim. 

Based on background information about the 12 deceased victims, 

and 16 of the injured victims, and considering the regulations published for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3375 would cost $10 million over the 

2003–2007 period to compensate the victims and the families. 

Under the bill, the amount of compensation payable from the 

fund will be reduced by the amount of compensation victims receive 

from other sources—for example, life insurance, pension funds, 

death benefit programs, and other government payments related to 

the bombings. CBO has no information about the specific circumstances of any particular victims of the embassy bombings in 

East Africa, nor does it have any basis for judging how much compensation any individual victim or victim’s family would receive. 

For the purposes of this estimate, CBO has assumed that the Special Master would provide compensation in amounts similar to 

those indicated in the regulations for the September 11th Victims 

Compensation Fund. 

Using that information, CBO estimates that the families of the 

12 deceased victims would be entitled to payments averaging about 

$1.5 million before reductions for the compensation received from 

collateral sources. Based on information from the State Department about the likely amounts of such compensation under current 

law, CBO estimates that net payments to families of the deceased 

victims would total about $5 million. 

The bill also would compensate victims that were injured. According to the State Department, 16 U.S. citizens were evacuated 

to Europe for treatment of injuries resulting from the bombings, 


CBOA.eps
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and some additional victims received medical treatment locally. 

Payments for each victim would be determined by the particular 

circumstances of that victim. CBO has no information on the severity of the injures, nor the degree of disability suffered, but we assume that these victims would receive compensation averaging between $100,000 and $200,000, for total payments of about $5 million. Compensation for these victims could be significantly higher 

if many of them were severely injured. 

PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS

The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act sets up 

pay-as-you-go procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or 

receipts. The changes in direct spending that would be subject to 

pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT

H.R. 3375 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no cost on State, 

local, or tribal governments. 

ESTIMATE PREPARED BY: 

Federal Costs: Lanette J. Walker (226–2860) 

Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Angela Seitz 

(225–3220) 

Impact on the Private Sector: Paige Piper/Bach (226–2940) 

ESTIMATE APPROVED BY: 

Peter H. Fontaine 

Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for this legislation in article 1, section 8 of the Constitution. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Sec. 1. Short Title 

This section establishes the short title of the act as the ‘‘Embassy 

Employee Compensation Act.’’

Sec. 2. Definitions 

This section defines the terms ‘‘claimant,’’ ‘‘collateral source,’’

‘‘economic loss,’’ ‘‘eligible individual,’’ ‘‘noneconomic losses,’’ and 

‘‘Special Master’’ for purposes of the act. 


CBOB.eps
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Sec. 3. Purpose 

This section states that the purpose of the act is to provide compensation to individuals or their family who were injured or killed 

as a result of the bombings of the U.S. embassies on August 7, 

1998. 

Sec. 4. Administration 

Subsection 4(a) provides that the Attorney General, through the 

Special Master, will administer the established compensation act; 

promulgate procedural and substantive rules for that administration; and employ and supervise necessary personnel to fulfill the 

duties of the Special Master. 

Subsection 4(b) authorizes the appropriation of such sums as are 

necessary to pay administrative and support costs for the Special 

Master to carry out the act. 

Sec. 5. Determination of Eligibility for Compensation 

Subsection 5(a) provides that a claimant can file a claim for compensation under the act with the Special Master. That claim shall 

be filed on a form developed by the Special Master which the claimant will be able to file electronically (if practical). The information 

requested by the form will include information concerning the 

physical harm suffered, the economic and noneconomic losses suffered; and the collateral sources of compensation which the claimant has received or is entitled to receive as a result of the bombings. In the case of a claim filed on behalf of a deceased individual, 

the form will require information confirming the decedent’s death 

as a result of the August 7, 1998, bombings. The subsection provides that no claim under the act may be filed after the date that 

is 2 years after the date regulations necessary to the act are promulgated. 

Subsection 5(b) provides that the Special Master review claims 

and first determines the claimant’s eligibility. Once eligibility has 

been confirmed, the Special Master is to determine the extent of 

harm done to the claimant and the amount of compensation they 

are entitled to based on the harm done; facts of the claim; and individual circumstances of the claimant. When evaluating a claim, the 

Special Master will not consider negligence with respect to the 

claimant. The review and determination of the claim must be completed within 120 days after the date the claim is filed. The Special 

Master will provide written notice of the final determination and 

the basis for that determination to the claimant within that timeframe. The Special Master’s determination is final and not subject 

to judicial review. The claimants will have the right to be represented by an attorney, and to present written evidence and witnesses to support their claim. They will also retain due process 

rights that are deemed appropriate by the Special Master. The act 

does not allow for the granting of any punitive damages. Any 

amounts received under the act are to be reduced by the amount 

of any collateral source compensation the claimant has received or 

is entitled to as a result of the bombings. 

Subsection 5(c) provides that an individual will be considered eligible for compensation if he is a citizen of the United States who 

was present at the embassies at the time or the bombings or in the 

immediate aftermath and suffered physical harm or death as a reVerDate May 13 2002 00:21 May 21, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR477.XXX pfrm12 PsN: HR477
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sult. In the case of a decedent, the personal representative of the 

decedent will be considered an eligible individual. The subsection 

further provides that no more than one claim may be filed by an 

one individual or on behalf of a deceased individual. Upon the filing of a claim, the individual waives all rights to file a civil action 

or be a party to an action in Federal or State court for damages 

resulting from the bombings. If an individual is a party to a civil 

action at the time of enactment of this act, they are prohibited from 

filing a claim under the act unless they withdraw from that civil 

action within 90 days after the regulation have been promulgated 

for the act. These restrictions do not apply to civil actions to recover collateral source compensation. 

Sec. 6. Payments to Eligible Individuals 

Subsection 6(a) provides that the Special Master must authorize 

payments to an eligible claimant of the amount they have been 

deemed eligible to receive under that act not later than 20 days 

after the date on which the determination of that amount has been 

made. 

Subsection 6(b) provides that the payments under the act are to 

be made through direct spending. 

Subsection 6(c) provides that the Attorney General is authorized 

to accept contributions by individuals, business concerns, and other 

entities to carry out the act. The Attorney General may impose any 

terms or conditions on those contributions that are appropriate. 

The contributed funds are to be used prior to any appropriated 

amounts for carrying out the act. 

Sec. 7. Regulations 

Section 7 provides that the Attorney General, through the Special Master will promulgate regulations to carry out the act within 

90 days after enactment. There will be regulations promulgated 

with respect to the forms to be used for submission of a claim, the 

information to be included in those forms, the procedures for hearing and presentation of evidence, procedures for assisting potential 

claimants in the filing and pursuit of a claim, and other matters 

which the Attorney General deems necessary to carry out the act. 

Sec. 8. Right of Subrogation 

Section 8 provides that the United States has the right of subrogation with respect to any claim paid from U.S. funds under this 

act.

MARKUP TRANSCRIPT

BUSINESS MEETING 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2002

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:09 a.m., in Room 

2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. [Chairman of the Committee] presiding. 

8

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. [Presiding.] The Committee will be 

in order. 

[Intervening business.] 

Now, pursuant to notice, I call up the bill H.R. 3375, the ‘‘Embassy Employee Compensation Act,’’ for purposes of markup and 

move its favorable recommendation to the House. Without objection, the bill will be considered as read and open for amendment 

at any point. 

[The bill, H.R. 3375, follows:]

9

1

I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3375

To provide compensation for the United States citizens who were victims

of the bombings of United States embassies in East Africa on August

7, 1998, on the same basis as compensation is provided to victims

of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes on September 11, 2001.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 29, 2001

Mr. BLUNT (for himself, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. WOLF, Mr. OBEY, Mr.

ISAKSON, Mr. WYNN, Mr. BOYD, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. FRANK, Ms. WATERS, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. WATT of North Carolina, Mr. SCOTT,

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. OWENS, and Mr. PAYNE) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide compensation for the United States citizens who

were victims of the bombings of United States embassies

in East Africa on August 7, 1998, on the same basis

as compensation is provided to victims of the terroristrelated aircraft crashes on September 11, 2001.

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 ‘‘Embassy Employee

5 Compensation Act’’.


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act, the following definitions apply:

3 (1) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means

4 an individual filing a claim for compensation under

5 section 5(a)(1).

6 (2) COLLATERAL SOURCE.—The term ‘‘collat7 eral source’’ means all collateral sources, including

8 life insurance, pension funds, death benefit pro9 grams, and payments by Federal, State, or local

10 governments related to the bombings of United

11 States embassies in East Africa on August 7, 1998.

12 (3) ECONOMIC LOSS.—The term ‘‘economic

13 loss’’ means any pecuniary loss resulting from harm

14 (including the loss of earnings or other benefits re15 lated to employment, medical expense loss, replace16 ment services loss, loss due to death, burial costs,

17 and loss of business or employment opportunities) to

18 the extent recovery for such loss is allowed under ap19 plicable State law.

20 (4) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible

21 individual’’ means an individual determined to be eli22 gible for compensation under section 5(c).

23 (5) NONECONOMIC LOSSES.—The term ‘‘non24 economic losses’’ means losses for physical and emo25 tional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical im26 pairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enVerDate May 13 2002 00:21 May 21, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR477.XXX pfrm12 PsN: HR477

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1 joyment of life, loss of society and companionship,

2 loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic serv3 ice), hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all

4 other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature.

5 (6) SPECIAL MASTER.—The term ‘‘Special Mas6 ter’’ means the Special Master appointed under sec7 tion 404(a) of the September 11th Victim Com8 pensation Fund of 2001 (title IV of the Air Trans9 portation Safety and System Stabilization Act (Pub10 lic Law 107–42; 115 Stat. ll)).

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

12 It is the purpose of this Act to provide compensation

13 to any individual (or relatives of a deceased individual)

14 who was physically injured or killed as a result of the

15 bombings of United States embassies in East Africa on

16 August 7, 1998.

17 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, acting

19 through the Special Master, shall—

20 (1) administer the compensation program es21 tablished under this Act;

22 (2) promulgate all procedural and substantive

23 rules for the administration of this Act; and


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1 (3) employ and supervise hearing officers and

2 other administrative personnel to perform the duties

3 of the Special Master under this Act.

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

5 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

6 necessary to pay the administrative and support costs for

7 the Special Master in carrying out this Act.

8 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR COMPENSA9 TION.

10 (a) FILING OF CLAIM.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—A claimant may file a claim

12 for compensation under this Act with the Special

13 Master. The claim shall be on the form developed

14 under paragraph (2) and shall state the factual basis

15 for eligibility for compensation and the amount of

16 compensation sought.

17 (2) CLAIM FORM.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Special Master

19 shall develop a claim form that claimants shall

20 use when submitting claims under paragraph

21 (1). The Special Master shall ensure that such

22 form can be filed electronically, if determined to

23 be practicable.

24 (B) CONTENTS.—The form developed

25 under subparagraph (A) shall request—


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1 (i) information from the claimant con2 cerning the physical harm that the claim3 ant suffered, or in the case of a claim filed

4 on behalf of a decedent information con5 firming the decedent’s death, as a result of

6 the bombings of United States embassies

7 in East Africa on August 7, 1998;

8 (ii) information from the claimant

9 concerning any possible economic and non10 economic losses that the claimant suffered

11 as a result of such bombings; and

12 (iii) information regarding collateral

13 sources of compensation the claimant has

14 received or is entitled to receive as a result

15 of such bombings.

16 (3) LIMITATION.—No claim may be filed under

17 paragraph (1) after the date that is 2 years after

18 the date on which regulations are promulgated

19 under section 7.

20 (b) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.—

21 (1) REVIEW.—The Special Master shall review

22 a claim submitted under subsection (a) and

23 determine—

24 (A) whether the claimant is an eligible in25 dividual under subsection (c);


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1 (B) with respect to a claimant determined

2 to be an eligible individual—

3 (i) the extent of the harm to the

4 claimant, including any economic and non5 economic losses; and

6 (ii) the amount of compensation to

7 which the claimant is entitled based on the

8 harm to the claimant, the facts of the

9 claim, and the individual circumstances of

10 the claimant.

11 (2) NEGLIGENCE.—With respect to a claimant,

12 the Special Master shall not consider negligence or

13 any other theory of liability.

14 (3) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 120 days

15 after that date on which a claim is filed under sub16 section (a), the Special Master shall complete a re17 view, make a determination, and provide written no18 tice to the claimant, with respect to the matters that

19 were the subject of the claim under review. Such a

20 determination shall be final and not subject to judi21 cial review.

22 (4) RIGHTS OF CLAIMANT.—A claimant in a re23 view under paragraph (1) shall have—

24 (A) the right to be represented by an at25 torney;


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1 (B) the right to present evidence, including

2 the presentation of witnesses and documents;

3 and

4 (C) any other due process rights deter5 mined appropriate by the Special Master.

6 (5) NO PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—The Special Mas7 ter may not include amounts for punitive damages

8 in any compensation paid under a claim under this

9 Act.

10 (6) COLLATERAL COMPENSATION.—The Special

11 Master shall reduce the amount of compensation de12 termined under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) by the amount

13 of the collateral source compensation the claimant

14 has received or is entitled to receive as a result of

15 the bombings of United States embassies in East Af16 rica on August 7, 1998.

17 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A claimant shall be deter19 mined to be an eligible individual for purposes of

20 this subsection if the Special Master determines that

21 such claimant—

22 (A) is an individual described in paragraph

23 (2); and

24 (B) meets the requirements of paragraph

25 (3).


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1 (2) INDIVIDUALS.—A claimant is an individual

2 described in this paragraph if the claimant is—

3 (A) a citizen of the United States who—

4 (i) was present at the United States

5 Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, or the United

6 States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tan7 zania, at the time, or in the immediate

8 aftermath, of the bombings of United

9 States embassies in East Africa on August

10 7, 1998; and

11 (ii) suffered physical harm or death as

12 a result of such a bombing; or

13 (B) in the case of a decedent who is an in14 dividual described in subparagraph (A), the per15 sonal representative of the decedent who files a

16 claim on behalf of the decedent.

17 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—

18 (A) SINGLE CLAIM.—Not more than one

19 claim may be submitted under this Act by an

20 individual or on behalf of a deceased individual.

21 (B) LIMITATION ON CIVIL ACTION.—

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—Upon the submis23 sion of a claim under this Act, the claim24 ant waives the right to file a civil action

25 (or to be a party to an action) in any FedVerDate May 13 2002 00:21 May 21, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR477.XXX pfrm12 PsN: HR477

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1 eral or State court for damages sustained

2 as a result of the bombings of United

3 States embassies in East Africa on August

4 7, 1998. The preceding sentence does not

5 apply to a civil action to recover collateral

6 source obligations.

7 (ii) PENDING ACTIONS.—In the case

8 of an individual who is a party to a civil

9 action described in clause (i), such indi10 vidual may not submit a claim under this

11 Act unless such individual withdraws from

12 such action by the date that is 90 days

13 after the date on which regulations are

14 promulgated under section 7.

15 SEC. 6. PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 20 days after the

17 date on which a determination is made by the Special Mas18 ter regarding the amount of compensation due a claimant

19 under this Act, the Special Master shall authorize pay20 ment to such claimant of the amount determined with re21 spect to the claimant.

22 (b) PAYMENT AUTHORITY.—This Act constitutes

23 budget authority in advance of appropriations Acts and

24 represents the obligation of the Federal Government to


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1 provide for the payment of amounts for compensation

2 under this Act.

3 (c) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General is au5 thorized to accept such amounts as may be contrib6 uted by individuals, business concerns, or other enti7 ties to carry out this Act, under such terms and con8 ditions as the Attorney General may impose.

9 (2) USE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT.—In making

10 payments under this section, amounts contained in

11 any account containing funds provided under para12 graph (1) shall be used prior to using appropriated

13 amounts.

14 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS.

15 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment

16 of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the

17 Special Master, shall promulgate regulations to carry out

18 this Act, including regulations with respect to—

19 (1) forms to be used in submitting claims under

20 this Act;

21 (2) the information to be included in such

22 forms;

23 (3) procedures for hearing and the presentation

24 of evidence;


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1 (4) procedures to assist an individual in filing

2 and pursuing claims under this Act; and

3 (5) other matters determined appropriate by

4 the Attorney General.

5 SEC. 8. RIGHT OF SUBROGATION.

6 The United States shall have the right of subrogation

7 with respect to any claim paid by the United States under

8 this Act.

Æ


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Chairman SENSENBRENNER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman 

from Pennsylvania, Mr. Gekas, Chairman of the Subcommittee on 

Immigration and Claims, for 5 minutes to explain the bill. 

Mr. GEKAS. I thank the Chair. 

As everyone recalls, after September the 11th, Congress created 

the Special Victim Compensation Fund to cover the victims of September the 11th. What this bill does is hark back to August the 7th 

when the embassies at Nairobi, Kenya, and in Tanzania were terrorized by the adherents of Osama bin Laden, and extensive damage and deaths occurred as a result of those two terror incidents. 

This bill seeks to add—to constitute a real add-on to the already 

existing Victims Compensation Fund, and so that the Attorney 

General, in pursuing the compensation for September the 11th, 

under this bill now will add through the Special Master consideration of the victims of those two embassy bombings. 

I yield back the balance of my time. 

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. The gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. 

Jackson Lee, wish to move to strike the last word, with the admonition about drifting-away reporting quorum. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am 

conscious of that. 

Let me quickly say that I’d like to thank the Chairman and particularly thank Congresswoman Waters for being persistent in this 

issue and for leading us on this bill. H.R. 3375 would provide compensation for United States citizens who were victims of the bombings of the United States Embassies in East Africa on August 7, 

1998, on the same basis as compensation provided to victims of the 

terrorist-related aircraft crashes on September 11th. 

I simply want to say that this has been a long journey. It’s a very 

fair compensation act. It responds to the servants that serve us 

around the world. And I hope that this will be moved expeditiously 

through this Committee and am pleased to offer my support for 

this legislation, H.R. 3375. 

I yield back. 

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. The gentlewoman from California? 

Ms. WATERS. I’d like to thank all of the Members who have been 

involved with bringing this legislation before us. This poor family 

of the victims have been working on this for such a long time. I 

attempted to amend the USA PATRIOT Act. That did not work. 

But this will work. It is the right thing to do. 

You’ve heard a description about what happened in Kenya and 

Tanzania, and I think everyone will agree that this is long-delayed 

compensation that we must all give support to. 

So I will yield back the balance of my time. 

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. Without objection, Members will be 

authorized to insert opening statements in the record at this point. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Flake follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JEFF FLAKE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA

Mr. Chairman, I am compelled to note my concerns about H.R. 3375, the Embassy 

Employee Compensation Act. The bill would compensate U.S. victims of bombings 

of embassies in East Africa in August 1998 on the same basis as compensation was 

provided to victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. While at first 

glance this seems to be a noble and inoffensive gesture, the bill is setting a questionable precedent. Certainly, other individuals have suffered greatly due to terrorism. The 168 victims of domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh who died in the 

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bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City are but one example. To compensate victims in a piecemeal fashion through the legislative process does not pay 

proper tribute to all victims of terror and their families. 

The State Department was directed by Congress in last year’s bill appropriating 

funds for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State and the Judiciary to 

come up with a fair and comprehensive scheme for compensating all victims of terrorism. A proposal has been sent to the Office of Management and Budget and the 

Department of Justice, where it is awaiting approval. This proposal would direct the 

Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to administer the program, which would be 

funded by both federal funds and funds recouped by international courts from terrorists. There would be a cap on the awards but, unlike the September 11 Victim 

Compensation Fund, victims could accept money from other sources without negatively impacting the monies they receive from the fund. 

Instead of pursuing narrow legislative actions, Congress should pressure the Administration to move forward with development of a comprehensive plan to compensate all victims of terror. This is a far fairer and more judicious approach to the 

compensation of victims of terror.

[The prepared statement of Ms. Jackson Lee follows:]


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Are there any amendments? If there are none, the Chair notes 

the presence of a reporting quorum. The question is on the motion 

to report the bill——

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chairman? I don’t know, Mr. Nadler was 

en route to try and offer something. Is he coming around the corner? 

[Pause.] 

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. The question occurs on the motion to 

report the bill H.R. 3375 favorably. All those in favor will say aye? 

Opposed, no? 

The ayes appear to have it. The ayes have it, and the bill is reported favorably. Without objection, the Chairman is authorized to 

move to go to conference pursuant to House rules. Without objection, the staff is directed to make any technical and conforming 

changes, and all Members will be given 2 days, as provided by 

House rules, in which to submit additional dissenting, supplemental, or minority views. 

The Chair would like to get through the three private bills that 

are here before we break and before the reporting quorum leaves. 

The gentleman from Florida? 

Mr. WEXLER. May I just take 30 seconds? Mr. Nadler was going 

to offer an amendment that included in the opportunity to have a 

remedy those employees of the U.S. Embassy who are not American citizens, which my understanding is comparable to what was 

done for non-citizens that were victims of the September 11th attack in the World Trade Center. And I just offer that as an observation, and maybe we then could do it on the floor.

Æ


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