I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3221

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

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

2 payments from the United Nations Commission.

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

4 States Commission is authorized to receive and determine

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

6 United States against the Government of Iraq that are

7 determined by the Secretary of State to be outside the

8 jurisdiction of the United Nations Commission.

9 (c) DECISION RULES.—In deciding claims under sub10 section (a) or (b), the United States Commission shall

11 apply, in the following order—

12 (1) in the case of claims under subsection (a),

13 relevant decisions of the United Nations Security

14 Council and the United Nations Commission;

15 (2) applicable substantive law, including inter16 national law; and

17 (3) applicable principles of justice and equity.

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

19 claim against the Government of Iraq, the United States

20 Commission shall, to the extent practical, decide all pend21 ing noncommercial claims of members of the United

22 States Armed Forces and other individuals arising out of

23 Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait.

24 (e) APPLICABILITY OF INTERNATIONAL CLAIMS SET25 TLEMENT ACT.—To the extent they are not inconsistent
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1 with the provisions of this Act, the provisions of title I

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

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

4 1645–1645o) shall apply with respect to claims under this

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

6 and 3(c).

7 SEC. 3. CLAIMS FUNDS.

8 (a) UN COMMISSION CLAIMS FUNDS.—The Sec9 retary of the Treasury is authorized to establish in the

10 Treasury of the United States one or more funds (herein11 after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘UN Commission

12 Claims Funds’’) for payment of claims under section 2(a).

13 The Secretary of the Treasury shall cover into the UN

14 Commission Claims Funds such amounts as are allocated

15 to such funds pursuant to subsection (b)(1).

16 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS RECEIVED FROM UN

17 COMMISSION.—The Secretary of State shall allocate funds

18 received by the United States from the United Nations

19 Commission, in the manner the Secretary determines ap20 propriate, between—

21 (1) the UN Commission Claims Funds; and

22 (2) funds established under the authority of the

23 paragraphs under the heading ‘‘TRUST FUNDS’’

24 in the Act entitled ‘‘An Act making appropriations

25 for the diplomatic and consular service for the fiscal
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1 year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and

2 ninety-seven’’, approved February 26, 1896 (22

3 U.S.C. 2668a).

4 (c) IRAQ CLAIMS FUND.—The Secretary of the

5 Treasury is authorized to establish in the Treasury of the

6 United States a fund (hereinafter in this Act referred to

7 as the ‘‘Iraq Claims Fund’’) for payment of claims under

8 section 2(b). The Secretary of the Treasury shall cover

9 into the Iraq Claims Fund such amounts as are allocated

10 to such fund pursuant to subsection (d).

11 (d) ALLOCATION OF PROCEEDS FROM IRAQI ASSET

12 LIQUIDATATION.—The President shall allocate funds re13 sulting from the liquidation of assets pursuant to section

14 4 in the manner the President determines appropriate be15 tween the Iraq Claims Fund and such other accounts as

16 are appropriate for the payment of claims of the United

17 States Government.

18 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO VEST IRAQI ASSETS.

19 The President is authorized to vest and liquidate as

20 much of the assets of the Government of Iraq in the

21 United States that have been blocked pursuant to the

22 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50

23 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) as may be necessary to satisfy claims

24 under section 2(b), as well as claims of the United States

25 Government against Iraq which are determined by the
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1 Secretary of State to be outside the jurisdiction of the

2 United Nations Commission.

3 SEC. 5. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION SELF-SUFFICIENCY.

4 (a) DEDUCTIONS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EX5 PENSES.—In order to reimburse Executive agencies for

6 their expenses in administering the Iraq claims program

7 and this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deduct

an amount equal to 11 8 ⁄2 percent—

9 (1) from any amount covered into the claims

10 funds established under section 3(a) or 3(c); and

11 (2) from any amounts the Secretary of State

12 receives from the United Nations Commission which

13 are not covered into a claims fund established under

14 section 3(a) and which are not in payment of a

15 claim of the United States Government.

16 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary of the Treas17 ury—

18 (1) shall determine, in consultation with the

19 Chairman of the United States Commission and the

20 Secretary of State, the proportional distribution of

21 the reimbursement set-aside provided for in sub22 section (a); and

23 (2) shall make an advance for credit, or reim24 burse, an Executive agency for its expenses in ad25 ministering the Iraq claims program and this Act.
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1 Amounts received by an Executive agency pursuant to

2 paragraph (2) shall be credited or reimbursed to the ap3 propriation account then current and shall remain avail4 able for expenditure without fiscal year limitation.

5 SEC. 6. PAYMENTS.

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

7 shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury each award

8 made pursuant to section 2. The Secretary of the Treas9 ury shall make payment, out of the appropriate fund es10 tablished pursuant to section 3(a) or 3(c), in the following

11 order of priority to the extent funds are available in such

12 fund:

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

14 amount of the award, whichever is less.

15 (2) For each claim that has priority under sec16 tion 2(d), payment of a further $90,000 toward the

17 unpaid balance of the principal amount of the

18 award.

19 (3) Payments from time to time in ratable pro20 portions on account of the unpaid balance of the

21 principal amounts of all awards according to the

22 proportions which the unpaid balance of such

23 awards bear to the total amount in the appropriate

24 claims fund that is available for distribution at the

25 time such payments are made.
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1 (4) After payment has been made of the prin2 cipal amounts of all such awards, pro rata payments

3 on account of accrued interest on such awards as

4 bear interest.

5 (5) After payment has been made in full of all

6 the awards payable out of a fund established pursu7 ant to section 3(a) or 3(c), any funds remaining in

8 that fund shall be transferred to the other claims

9 fund created pursuant to section 3(a) or 3(c), except

10 that any funds received by the United States from

11 the United Nations Commission shall be so trans12 ferred only to the extent not inconsistent with re13 quirements of the United Nations Commission.

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

15 made pursuant to this Act shall not extinguish any

16 unsatisfied claim, or be construed to have divested any

17 claimant, or the United States on his or her behalf, of

18 any rights against the Government of Iraq with respect

19 to any unsatisfied claim.

20 SEC. 7. RECORDS.

21 (a) TRANSFER TO COMMISSION.—The head of any

22 Executive agency may transfer or otherwise make avail23 able to the United States Commission such records and

24 documents relating to claims authorized to be adjudicated
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1 by this Act as may be required by the United States Com2 mission in carrying out its functions under this Act.

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

4 the United States Code (commonly referred to as the

5 ‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’) shall not apply with re6 spect to records that, as determined by the Secretary of

7 State, are required under the rules and decisions of the

8 United Nations Commission to be withheld from public

9 disclosure.

10 SEC. 8. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS; DISPOSITION OF UN11 PAID CERTIFIED CLAIMS.

12 (a) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Any demand or

13 claim for payment on account of an award that is certified

14 under the Iraq claims program shall be barred one year

15 after the publication date of the notice required by sub16 section (b).

17 (b) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—Nine years after the

18 latter of—

19 (1) the last date on which the Secretary of the

20 Treasury covers into any of the UN Commission

21 Claims Funds, or into any fund described in section

22 3(b)(2), amounts allocated to that fund pursuant to

23 section 3(b), or
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1 (2) the last date on which the Secretary of the

2 Treasury covers into the Iraq Claims Fund amounts

3 allocated to that fund pursuant to section 3(d),

4 the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Reg5 ister detailing the statute of limitations provided for in

6 subsection (a) and identifying the claim numbers and

7 awardee names of unpaid certified claims.

8 (c) DISPOSITION OF UNPAID CERTIFIED CLAIMS.—

9 Two years after the publication date of the notice required

10 by subsection (b), any unpaid certified claim amount

11 under the Iraq claims program, and any remaining bal12 ance in any of the UN Commission Claims Funds, in the

13 Iraq Claims Fund, or in any fund referred to in section

14 3(b)(2) to the extent such balance reflects amounts depos15 ited pursuant to that section, shall be deposited to the mis16 cellaneous receipts of the Treasury.

17 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

18 As used in this Act—

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

20 agencies, instrumentalities, and controlled entities

21 (including public sector enterprises) of that govern22 ment;

23 (2) the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ has the mean24 ing given that term by section 105 of title 5, United

25 States Code;
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1 (3) the term ‘‘Iraq claims program’’ means the

2 claims whose adjudication is provided for in this Act

3 and any other claims that are within the jurisdiction

4 of the United Nations Commission;

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

6 means the United Nations Compensation Commis7 sion established pursuant to United Nations Secu8 rity Council Resolution 687 (1991); and

9 (5) the term ‘‘United States Commission’’

10 means the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission

11 of the United States.

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