Union Calendar No. 236

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3221

[Report No. 103–396]

A BILL

To provide for the adjudication of certain claims

against the Government of Iraq.

FEBRUARY 28, 1994

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged, committed

the Union, and ordered to be printedto the Committee of the Whole House on the State of
IB

Union Calendar No. 236

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3221

[Report No. 103–396]

To provide for the adjudication of certain claims against the Government

of Iraq.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 6, 1993

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

Committee on Foreign Affairs

NOVEMBER 20, 1993

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

JANUARY 25, 1994

The Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union discharged and

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary for a period ending not later

than February 28, 1994, for consideration of such provisions of the bill

and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant

to clause 1(l), rule X

FEBRUARY 28, 1994

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged, committed to the Committee of

the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on October 6, 1993]
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A BILL

To provide for the adjudication of certain claims against

the Government of Iraq.

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 ‘‘Iraq Claims Act of

5 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. ADJUDICATION OF CLAIMS.

7 (a) CERTAIN CLAIMS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF

8 UN COMMISSION.—The United States Commission is au9 thorized to receive and determine the validity and amounts

10 of any claims referred to it by the Secretary of State with

11 respect to which the United States has received lump-sum

12 payments from the United Nations Commission.

13 (b) OTHER CLAIMS AGAINST IRAQ.—The United

14 States Commission is authorized to receive and determine

15 the validity and amounts of any claims by nationals of the

16 United States against the Government of Iraq that are de17 termined by the Secretary of State to be outside the jurisdic18 tion of the United Nations Commission.

19 (c) DECISION RULES.—In deciding claims under sub20 section (a) or (b), the United States Commission shall

21 apply, in the following order—
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1 (1) in the case of claims under subsection (a),

2 relevant decisions of the United Nations Security

3 Council and the United Nations Commission;

4 (2) applicable substantive law, including inter5 national law; and

6 (3) applicable principles of justice and equity.

7 (d) PRIORITY CLAIMS.—Before deciding any other

8 claim against the Government of Iraq, the United States

9 Commission shall, to the extent practical, decide all pending

10 non-commercial claims of members of the United States

11 Armed Forces and other individuals arising out of Iraq’s

12 invasion and occupation of Kuwait or out of the 1987 at13 tack on the USS Stark.

14 (e) APPLICABILITY OF INTERNATIONAL CLAIMS SET15 TLEMENT ACT.—To the extent they are not inconsistent

16 with the provisions of this Act, the provisions of title I

17 (other than section 2(c)) and title VII of the International

18 Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1621–1627 and

19 1645–1645o) shall apply with respect to claims under this

20 Act and the funds established pursuant to sections 3(a) and

21 3(c).

22 SEC. 3. CLAIMS FUNDS.

23 (a) UN COMMISSION CLAIMS FUNDS.—The Secretary

24 of the Treasury is authorized to establish in the Treasury

25 of the United States one or more funds (hereinafter in this
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1 Act referred to as the ‘‘UN Commission Claims Funds’’)

2 for payment of claims under section 2(a). The Secretary

3 of the Treasury shall cover into the UN Commission Claims

4 Funds such amounts as are allocated to such funds pursu5 ant to subsection (b)(1).

6 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS RECEIVED FROM UN COM7 MISSION.—The Secretary of State shall allocate funds re8 ceived by the United States from the United Nations Com9 mission, in the manner the Secretary determines appro10 priate, between—

11 (1) the UN Commission Claims Funds; and

12 (2) funds established under the authority of the

13 paragraphs under the heading ‘‘TRUST FUNDS’’ in

14 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act making appropriations for

15 the diplomatic and consular service for the fiscal year

16 ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety17 seven’’, approved February 26, 1896 (22 U.S.C.

18 2668a).

19 (c) IRAQ CLAIMS FUND.—The Secretary of the Treas20 ury is authorized to establish in the Treasury of the United

21 States a fund (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the

22 ‘‘Iraq Claims Fund’’) for payment of claims under section

23 2(b). The Secretary of the Treasury shall cover into the Iraq

24 Claims Fund such amounts as are allocated to such fund

25 pursuant to subsection (d).
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1 (d) ALLOCATION OF PROCEEDS FROM IRAQI ASSET

2 LIQUIDATATION.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall allocate

4 funds resulting from the liquidation of assets pursu5 ant to section 4 in the manner the President deter6 mines appropriate between the Iraq Claims Fund and

7 such other accounts as are appropriate for the pay8 ment of claims of the United States Government, sub9 ject to the limitation in paragraph (2).

10 (2) LIMITATION.—The amount allocated pursu11 ant to this subsection for payment of claims of the

12 United States Government may not exceed the

13 amount which bears the same relation to the amount

14 allocated to the Iraq Claims Fund pursuant to this

15 subsection as the sum of all certified claims of the

16 United States Government bears to the sum of all

17 claims certified under section 2(b). As used in this

18 paragraph, the term ‘‘certified claims of the United

19 States Government’’ means those claims of the United

20 States Government which are determined by the Sec21 retary of State to be outside the jurisdiction of the

22 United Nations Commission and which are deter23 mined to be valid, and whose amount has been cer24 tified, under such procedures as the President may es25 tablish.
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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO VEST IRAQI ASSETS.

2 The President is authorized to vest and liquidate as

3 much of the assets of the Government of Iraq in the United

4 States that have been blocked pursuant to the International

5 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)

6 as may be necessary to satisfy claims under section 2(b),

7 as well as claims of the United States Government against

8 Iraq which are determined by the Secretary of State to be

9 outside the jurisdiction of the United Nations Commission.

10 SEC. 5. REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES OF PROGRAM AD11 MINISTRATION.

12 (a) DEDUCTION.—In order to reimburse the United

13 States Government for its expenses in administering the

14 Iraq claims program and this Act, the Secretary of the

15 Treasury shall deduct—

16 (1) 1.5 percent of any amount covered into the

17 UN Commission Claims Funds or the Iraq Claims

18 Fund; and

19 (2) 1.5 percent of any amount the Secretary of

20 State receives from the United Nations Commission

21 that is not covered into the UN Commission Claims

22 Funds and that is not in payment of a claim of the

23 United States Government.

24 (b) DEDUCTIONS TREATED AS MISCELLANEOUS RE25 CEIPTS.—Amounts deducted pursuant to subsection (a)
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1 shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States as

2 miscellaneous receipts.

3 SEC. 6. PAYMENTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Commission

5 shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury each award

6 made pursuant to section 2. The Secretary of the Treasury

7 shall make payment, out of the appropriate fund established

8 pursuant to section 3(a) or 3(c), in the following order of

9 priority to the extent funds are available in such fund:

10 (1) Payment of $10,000 or the principal amount

11 of the award, whichever is less.

12 (2) For each claim that has priority under sec13 tion 2(d), payment of a further $90,000 toward the

14 unpaid balance of the principal amount of the award.

15 (3) Payments from time to time in ratable pro16 portions on account of the unpaid balance of the

17 principal amounts of all awards according to the pro18 portions which the unpaid balance of such awards

19 bear to the total amount in the appropriate claims

20 fund that is available for distribution at the time

21 such payments are made.

22 (4) After payment has been made of the prin23 cipal amounts of all such awards, pro rata payments

24 on account of accrued interest on such awards as bear

25 interest.
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1 (5) After payment has been made in full of all

2 the awards payable out of a fund established pursu3 ant to section 3(a) or 3(c), any funds remaining in

4 that fund shall be transferred to the other claims fund

5 established pursuant to section 3(a) or 3(c), except

6 that any funds received by the United States from the

7 United Nations Commission shall be so transferred

8 only to the extent not inconsistent with requirements

9 of the United Nations Commission.

10 (b) UNSATISFIED CLAIMS.—Payment of any award

11 made pursuant to this Act shall not extinguish any

12 unsatisfied claim, or be construed to have divested any

13 claimant, or the United States on his or her behalf, of any

14 rights against the Government of Iraq with respect to any

15 unsatisfied claim.

16 SEC. 7. RECORDS.

17 (a) TRANSFER TO COMMISSION.—The head of any Ex18 ecutive agency may transfer or otherwise make available

19 to the United States Commission such records and docu20 ments relating to claims authorized to be adjudicated by

21 this Act as may be required by the United States Commis22 sion in carrying out its functions under this Act.

23 (b) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—Section 552 of title 5 of the

24 United States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Freedom

25 of Information Act’’) shall not apply with respect to records
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1 that, as determined by the Secretary of State, are required

2 under the rules and decisions of the United Nations Com3 mission to be withheld from public disclosure.

4 SEC. 8. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS; DISPOSITION OF UN5 USED FUNDS.

6 (a) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Any demand or claim

7 for payment on account of an award that is certified under

8 the Iraq claims program shall be barred one year after the

9 publication date of the notice required by subsection (b).

10 (b) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the end of the 9-year pe12 riod specified in paragraph (2), the Secretary of the

13 Treasury shall publish a notice in the Federal Reg14 ister detailing the statute of limitations provided for

15 in subsection (a) and identifying the claim numbers

16 and awardee names of unpaid certified claims.

17 (2) PUBLICATION DATE.—The notice required by

18 paragraph (1) shall be published 9 years after the lat19 ter of—

20 (A) the last date on which the Secretary of

21 the Treasury covers into any of the UN Commis22 sion Claims Funds, or into any fund described

23 in section 3(b)(2), amounts allocated to that

24 fund pursuant to section 3(b); or
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1 (B) the last date on which the Secretary of

2 the Treasury covers into the Iraq Claims Fund

3 amounts allocated to that fund pursuant to sec4 tion 3(d).

5 (c) DISPOSITION OF UNUSED FUNDS.—

6 (1) DISPOSITION.—At the end of the 2-year pe7 riod beginning on the publication date of the notice

8 required by subsection (b), the Secretary of the Treas9 ury shall dispose of all unused funds described in

10 paragraph (2) as follows:

11 (A) By making additional payments pursu12 ant to the Iraq claims program.

13 (B) By depositing in the Treasury of the

14 United States as miscellaneous receipts any such

15 funds that are not used for such additional pay16 ments.

17 (2) UNUSED FUNDS.—The unused funds referred

18 to in paragraph (1) are—

19 (A) any remaining balance in the UN Com20 mission Claims Funds or in the Iraq Claims

21 Fund, including the amount of any unpaid cer22 tified claim under the Iraq claims program; and

23 (B) any remaining balance in any fund re24 ferred to in section 3(b)(2) to the extent such bal-
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1 ance reflects amounts deposited pursuant to that

2 section.

3 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

4 As used in this Act—

5 (1) the term ‘‘Government of Iraq’’ includes

6 agencies, instrumentalities, and controlled entities

7 (including public sector enterprises) of that govern8 ment;

9 (2) the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ has the mean10 ing given that term by section 105 of title 5, United

11 States Code;

12 (3) the term ‘‘Iraq claims program’’ means the

13 claims whose adjudication is provided for in this Act

14 and any other claims that are within the jurisdiction

15 of the United Nations Commission;

16 (4) the term ‘‘United Nations Commission’’

17 means the United Nations Compensation Commission

18 established pursuant to United Nations Security

19 Council Resolution 687 (1991); and

20 (5) the term ‘‘United States Commission’’ means

21 the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the

22 United States.
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1 SEC. 10. ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES AS REFUGEES

2 OF INDIVIDUALS WHO SERVED IN THE ARMED

3 FORCES OF IRAQ DURING THE PERSIAN GULF

4 CONFLICT.

5 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the sense of the Con6 gress that individuals who have served in the armed forces

7 of Iraq during the Persian Gulf conflict should not be ad8 mitted to the United States as refugees under the Immigra9 tion and Nationality Act except in exceptional cir10 cumstances until all claims certified under section 2(b) of

11 this Act have been paid in full.

12 (b) PERSIAN GULF CONFLICT DEFINED.—For pur13 poses of this section, the term ‘‘Persian Gulf conflict’’ means

14 the period beginning on August 2, 1990, and ending on Feb15 ruary 27, 1991.