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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1894 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1894

    To deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 17, 2011

  Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Graham, Mr. Kyl, Mr. 
 Hatch, and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following bill; which was read 
          twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Justice Against Sponsors of 
Terrorism Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) International terrorism is a serious and deadly problem 
        that threatens the vital interests of the United States.
            (2) The Constitution confers upon Congress the power to 
        punish crimes against the law of nations and to carry out the 
        treaty obligations of the United States, and therefore Congress 
        may by law impose penalties relating to the provision of 
        material support to foreign organizations engaged in terrorist 
        activity, and allow for victims of international terrorism to 
        recover damages from those who have harmed them.
            (3) International terrorism affects the interstate and 
        foreign commerce of the United States by harming international 
        trade and market stability, and limiting international travel 
        by United States citizens as well as foreign visitors to the 
        United States.
            (4) Some foreign terrorist organizations, acting through 
        affiliated groups or individuals, raise significant funds 
        outside the United States for conduct directed and targeted at 
        the United States.
            (5) Foreign organizations that engage in terrorist activity 
        are so tainted by their criminal conduct that any contribution 
        to such an organization facilitates that conduct.
            (6) The imposition of civil liability at every point along 
        the causal chain of terrorism is necessary to deter the flow of 
        terrorism's lifeblood, money. As recognized by Judge Richard 
        Posner in Boim v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and 
        Development, Nos. 05-1815, 05-1816, 05-1821, 05-1822, _ F.3d _ 
        (7th Cir. 2008) (en banc), ``Damages are a less effective 
        remedy against terrorists and their organizations than against 
        their financial angels . . . suits against financiers of 
        terrorism can cut the terrorists' lifeline.'' Moreover, the 
        statute of limitations for such claims must be extensive, for 
        as the Seventh Circuit notes, ``Seed money for terrorism can 
        sprout acts of violence long after the investment''.
            (7) The reasoning like that of the United States Court of 
        Appeals for the Second Circuit in In Re: Terrorists Attacks on 
        September 11, 2001, 538 F.3d 71 (2d Cir. 2008) undermine 
        important counter-terrorism policies of the United States, by 
        affording undue protection from civil liability to persons, 
        entities and states that provide material support or resources 
        to foreign terrorist organizations, and by depriving victims of 
        international terrorism of meaningful access to court to seek 
        redress for their injuries.
            (8) The United Nations Security Council declared in 
        Resolution 1373, adopted on September 28, 2001, that all states 
        have an affirmative obligation to ``refrain from providing any 
        form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons 
        involved in terrorist acts,'' and to ``ensure that any person 
        who participates in the financing, planning, preparation or 
        perpetration of terrorist acts or in supporting terrorist acts 
        is brought to justice''.
            (9) Consistent with these declarations, no state possesses 
        the discretion to engage knowingly in the financing or 
        sponsorship of terrorism, whether directly or indirectly.
            (10) Persons, entities or states that knowingly or 
        recklessly contribute material support or resources, directly 
        or indirectly, to persons or organizations that pose a 
        significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten 
        the security of United States nationals or the national 
        security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States, 
        necessarily direct their conduct at the United States, and 
        should reasonably anticipate being haled into court in the 
        United States to answer for such activities.
            (11) The United States has a vital interest in providing 
        persons and entities injured as a result of terrorist attacks 
        committed within the United States with full access to court to 
        pursue civil claims against persons, entities, or states that 
        have knowingly or recklessly provided material support or 
        resources, directly or indirectly, to the persons or 
        organizations responsible for their injuries.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide civil litigants 
with the fullest possible basis, consistent with the Constitution, to 
seek relief against persons, entities and foreign states, wherever 
acting and wherever they may be found, which have provided material 
support or resources, directly or indirectly, to foreign organizations 
that engage in terrorist activities against the United States.

SEC. 3. FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.

    (a) Exceptions.--Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) by amending paragraph (5) to read as follows:
            ``(5) not otherwise encompassed in paragraph (2), in which 
        money damages are sought against a foreign state arising out of 
        physical injury or death, or damage to or loss of property, 
        occurring in the United States and caused by the tortious act 
        or omission of that foreign state or of any official or 
        employee of that foreign state while acting within the scope of 
        his office or employment (regardless of where the underlying 
        tortious act or omission occurs), including any statutory or 
        common law tort claim arising out of an act of extrajudicial 
        killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, terrorism, or the 
        provision of material support or resources for such an act, or 
        any claim for contribution or indemnity relating to a claim 
        arising out of such an act, except this paragraph shall not 
        apply to--
                    ``(A) any claim based upon the exercise or 
                performance or the failure to exercise or perform a 
                discretionary function, regardless of whether the 
                discretion is abused; or
                    ``(B) any claim arising out of malicious 
                prosecution, abuse of process, libel, slander, 
                misrepresentation, deceit, interference with contract 
                rights, or any claim for emotional distress or 
                derivative injury suffered as a result of an event or 
                injury to another person that occurs outside of the 
                United States; or''; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of subsection (a)(5)--
            ``(1) the terms `aircraft sabotage', `hostage taking', and 
        `material support or resources' have the meanings given those 
        terms in section 1605A(h); and
            ``(2) the term `terrorism' means international terrorism, 
        and domestic terrorism, as those terms are defined in section 
        2331 of title 18.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to all proceedings pending in any form on the date of the 
enactment of this Act and to all proceedings commenced on or after such 
date of enactment.

SEC. 4. AIDING AND ABETTING LIABILITY FOR CIVIL ACTIONS REGARDING 
              TERRORIST ACTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 2333 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Liability.--In an action arising under subsection (a), 
liability may be asserted as to the person or persons who committed 
such act of international terrorism or any person or entity that aided, 
abetted, provided material support or resources (as defined in section 
2339A(b)(1)) to, or conspired with the person or persons who committed 
such an act of international terrorism.
    ``(e) Non-Applicability of Law of Preclusion.--Any civil action or 
claim that seeks recovery under this chapter for conduct that was the 
basis of a civil action or claim previously dismissed for lack of 
subject matter jurisdiction for failure to meet the requirements for an 
exception under section 1605(a) of title 28 is not subject to dismissal 
under the law of preclusion.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to all proceedings pending in any form on the date of the 
enactment of this Act and to all proceedings commenced on or after such 
date of enactment.
    (c) Effect on Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.--Nothing in the 
amendments made by this section affects a foreign state's immunity from 
jurisdiction under other law.

SEC. 5. JURISDICTION FOR CIVIL ACTIONS REGARDING TERRORIST ACTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 2334 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting at the end the following:
    ``(e) Jurisdiction.--The district courts shall have personal 
jurisdiction, to the maximum extent permissible under the Fifth 
Amendment of the United States Constitution, over any person who aids 
and abets an act of international terrorism or who provides material 
support or resources as set forth in sections 2339A, 2339B, or 2339C of 
this title, for acts of international terrorism in which any national 
of the United States suffers injury in his or her person, property or 
business by reason of such an act in violation of section 2333 of this 
title.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to all proceedings pending in any form on the date of the enactment of 
this Act and to all proceedings commenced on or after such the date of 
enactment.

SEC. 6. LIABILITY FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN CIVIL ACTIONS REGARDING 
              TERRORIST ACTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 2337 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 2337. Suits against Government officials
    ``No action shall be maintained under section 2333 of this title 
against the United States, an agency of the United States, or an 
officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof acting 
within his or her official capacity or under color of legal 
authority.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to all proceedings pending in any form on the date of the enactment of 
this Act and to all proceedings commenced on or after such date of 
enactment.

SEC. 7. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR CIVIL ACTIONS REGARDING TERRORIST 
              ACTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 2335 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``four years'' and 
        inserting ``15 years''; and
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``four years'' and 
        inserting ``15 years''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to all proceedings pending in any form on the date of the 
enactment of this Act and to all proceedings commenced on or after such 
date of enactment.
    (c) Effect on Dismissed Causes of Action.--Any private civil action 
arising from a violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1991--
            (1) that was dismissed as time barred prior to the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and
            (2) that would have been timely filed pursuant to section 
        2335 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this 
        section,
may be refiled not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act or 
the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, 
the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, or the 
application thereof to other persons not similarly situated or to other 
circumstances shall not be affected by such invalidation.
                                 <all>
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