IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5167 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

AN ACT 

To terminate the authority of the President to waive, with 

regard to Iraq, certain provisions under the National 

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 unless 

certain conditions are met. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice for Victims 

3 of Torture and Terrorism Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

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

7 Americans serving in the United States Armed 

8 Forces were captured, became Prisoners of War 

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

10 starved, hooked to electrical shock devices, and sub11 jected to other horrendous acts by Saddam Hus12 sein’s regime. 

13 (2) CBS News reporter Bob Simon and cam14 eraman Roberto Alvarez were kidnapped while on 

15 assignment during the 1991 Gulf War and were held 

16 and tortured, along with the American POWs. 

17 (3) Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 

18 August 1990, many United States citizens were de19 tained by Iraq, beaten, subjected to cruel, inhumane 

20 and degrading treatment, confined under deplorable 

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

22 avowed purpose of preventing the United States and 

23 its coalition allies from using military force to lib24 erate Kuwait. 


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1 (4) At the time these acts occurred, the Depart2 ment of State had classified Iraq as a state sponsor 

3 of terrorism. 

4 (5) The brave American POWs and American 

5 civilian hostages have suffered long-term physical, 

6 emotional, and mental damage as a result of this 

7 brutal, state-sponsored torture and terrorism. 

8 (6) When the American POWs returned home 

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

10 welcome by then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, 

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

12 greet you’’. 

13 (7) During the Gulf War, the Congress unani14 mously passed resolutions condemning the brutal 

15 treatment by the Government of Iraq of captured 

16 United States service members, demanding that the 

17 Government of Iraq abide by the Geneva Convention 

18 regarding the treatment of prisoners of war, and 

19 stating an intention to hold Iraq accountable for the 

20 torture of American POWs. 

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

22 the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) provi23 sions of title 28, United States Code, so that torture 

24 victims like the American POWs and the American 

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


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1 seek compensation for their injuries from terrorist 

2 countries, including Iraq. 

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

4 their families filed claims in the United States Dis5 trict Court for the District of Columbia seeking com6 pensation for damages related to their torture and 

7 abuse by the Government of Iraq. The POWs in8 cluded Colonel Clifford Acree, USMC (Ret.); Lieu9 tenant Colonel Craig Berryman, USMC (Ret.); 

10 Former Staff Sergeant Troy Dunlap, US Army; 

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

12 Colonel Jeffrey D. Fox, USAF (Ret.); Chief War13 rant Officer 5 Guy Hunter, USMC (Ret.); Sergeant 

14 David Lockett, US Army; Colonel H. Michael Rob15 erts, USAF; Colonel Russell Sanborn, USMC; Cap16 tain Lawrence Randolph Slade, USN (Ret.); Major 

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

18 Stamaris, US Army (Ret.); Lieutenant Colonel Rich19 ard Dale Storr, Air National Guard; Lieutenant 

20 Colonel Robert Sweet, USAF; Lieutenant Colonel 

21 Jeffrey Tice, USAF (Ret.); Former Lieutenant Rob22 ert Wetzel, USN; and Former Commander Jeffrey 

23 Zaun, USN. 

24 (10) In 2003, after the Government of Iraq re25 peatedly refused to participate in arbitration on the 


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1 damage claims, and after hearing evidence of how 

2 the former POWs had been repeatedly tortured, a 

3 judge awarded them a judgment for damages, stat4 ing that ‘‘deterring torture of POWs should be of 

5 the highest priority’’. 

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

7 families have not received payment, and are unable 

8 to further pursue their claims in United States 

9 courts because of the waiver that was granted for 

10 Iraq by the President under authority established in 

11 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

12 Year 2008. 

13 (12) In December 2001, after conducting an 

14 evidentiary hearing, the United States district court 

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

16 for having taken United States citizens hostage fol17 lowing the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and subse18 quently awarded 180 of those former hostages and 

19 their spouses a judgment for damages. 

20 (13) On March 20, 2003, on the eve of Oper21 ation Iraqi Freedom, the President of the United 

22 States directed that all of the judgments that had 

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

24 from moneys held in blocked Iraqi accounts. 


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

2 an Executive Order confiscating all remaining 

3 blocked assets of Iraq and ordering them to be de4 posited into the United States Treasury to be used 

5 for Iraq reconstruction. 

6 (15) The claims of more than 200 United 

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

8 same manner as the Hill plaintiffs, were held hos9 tage in territory occupied by Iraq are currently 

10 pending in a United States district court in the case 

11 of Vine v. Republic of Iraq. 

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

13 have not been compensated and are unable to en14 force any judgment they may obtain in United 

15 States courts because of the waiver that was granted 

16 for Iraq by the President under authority established 

17 in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

18 Year 2008. 

19 (17) Article 131 of the Third Geneva Conven20 tion relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War 

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

22 party to that treaty from absolving the Government 

23 of Iraq of any liability incurred due to the torture 

24 of prisoners of war, such as the American POWs re25 ferred to in this section. 


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1 (18) The United States has a moral obligation 

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

3 its Armed Forces, and all United States citizens, 

4 from torture and hostage-taking, and the Congress 

5 is committed to holding state sponsors of terrorism 

6 accountable for such horrendous acts. 

7 SEC. 3. RESOLUTION OF CERTAIN CLAIMS AGAINST IRAQ. 

8 (a) RESOLUTION BY IRAQ OF CERTAIN CLAIMS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Unless the President, before 

10 the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date 

11 described in paragraph (2)(A), certifies to the Con12 gress that the Government of Iraq has adequately 

13 settled the claims in the cases referred to in sub14 section (b), then, upon the expiration of that 90-day 

15 period, the waiver authority granted to the President 

16 in section 1083(d) of the National Defense Author17 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110- 

18 181; 122 Stat. 343), and any waiver granted before 

19 the end of that 90-day period under such authority, 

20 shall terminate. 

21 (2) DATE DESCRIBED.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The date described in 

23 this paragraph is— 

24 (i) 30 days after the date of the en25 actment of this Act, unless the President 


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1 has certified to the Congress, before the 

2 end of that 30-day period, that— 

3 (I) the Government of Iraq has 

4 not, before, on, or after the enactment 

5 of this Act, compensated any foreign 

6 persons or entities for claims or liabil7 ities incurred by or under the control 

8 of the Saddam Hussein regime, in9 cluding, but not limited to, commer10 cial or financial claims, and claims for 

11 acts against individuals similar to 

12 those described in section 

13 1605A(a)(1) of title 28, United States 

14 Code; or 

15 (II) negotiations are ongoing 

16 with the Government of Iraq to settle 

17 the claims in the cases referred to in 

18 subsection (b), and the President be19 lieves that those negotiations are 

20 being conducted in good faith and 

21 could lead to a satisfactory settlement 

22 of those claims; or 

23 (ii) if a certification is made under 

24 clause (i), the day after the date on which 

25 that certification terminates or, if a subseVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:47 Sep 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5167.RFS H5167

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1 quent certification is in effect under sub2 paragraph (B), the day after the date on 

3 which the last such certification termi4 nates. 

5 (B) DURATION OF CERTIFICATIONS.—A 

6 certification under subclause (I) or (II) of sub7 paragraph (A)(i) terminates 180 days after it is 

8 made. The President may make subsequent cer9 tifications under subclause (I) or (II) of sub10 paragraph (A)(i) for periods of not more than 

11 180 days each. 

12 (b) CASES.—The cases referred to in subsection 

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

14 1:01CV02674 (HHK), CIV.A. 02-632 (RWR) (July 7, 

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

16 in the United States District Court for the District of Co17 lumbia. 

18 (c) ADEQUATE SETTLEMENT.—For purposes of sub19 section (a)(1), adequate settlement means payment by the 

20 Government of Iraq of, or an unqualified and uncondi21 tional guarantee made by a United States depository insti22 tution to pay within 30 days after the end of the 90-day 

23 period described in subsection (a)(1), at least the following 

24 amounts to the following persons: 

25 (1) To any person— 


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1 (A) whose claim in the applicable case re2 ferred to in subsection (b) arose from an act of 

3 hostage taking or from being held in hostage 

4 status, and 

5 (B) who has not obtained a judgment on 

6 the claim before the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act, 

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

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

10 $900,000. 

11 (2) To any person— 

12 (A) whose claim in the applicable case re13 ferred to in subsection (b) arose from an act of 

14 hostage taking or from being held in hostage 

15 status, 

16 (B) who, while a hostage, was subjected to 

17 torture, and 

18 (C) who has not obtained a judgment on 

19 the claim before the date of the enactment of 

20 this Act, 

21 $2,500,000, plus $6,000 for each day the person 

22 was held as a hostage. 

23 (3) To a plaintiff in the applicable case referred 

24 to in subsection (b) who is the spouse or child of any 

25 person who qualifies for receipt of payment under 


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1 paragraph (1) or (2), one third of the amount that 

2 such person qualifies for receipt under such para3 graph. 

4 (4) To any person who, before the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act, obtained a judgment for com6 pensatory damages in a case referred to in sub7 section (b) (regardless of whether such judgment 

8 was subsequently vacated)— 

9 (A) payment of the unsatisfied amount of 

10 such judgment, in an amount that is the lesser 

11 of $1,000,000 or the unsatisfied amount of the 

12 award; and 

13 (B) if the amount of the judgment exceeds 

14 $1,000,000, one third of the unsatisfied amount 

15 of such excess. 

16 (d) ADDITIONAL CONDITION IN CASE OF GUAR17 ANTEE OF PAYMENT.—If the claims in the cases referred 

18 to in subsection (b) are adequately settled for purposes 

19 of subsection (a)(1) because of a guarantee of payment 

20 by a depository institution within the 30-day period speci21 fied in subsection (c), and such payment is not made with22 in that 30-day period, then upon the expiration of that 

23 30-day period, the waiver authority described in sub24 section (a)(1), and any waiver granted before the end of 

25 that 30-day period under such authority, shall terminate. 


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1 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) FOREIGN PERSON OR ENTITY.—The term 

3 ‘‘foreign person or entity’’ means— 

4 (A) an individual other than a national of 

5 the United States; and 

6 (B) a person or entity, other than an indi7 vidual, that is organized under the laws of a 

8 country other than the United States. 

9 (2) HOSTAGE.—The term ‘‘hostage’’ means an 

10 individual in hostage status or an individual seized 

11 or detained in the commission of an act of hostage 

12 taking. 

13 (3) HOSTAGE STATUS.—The term ‘‘hostage sta14 tus’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

15 599C(d)(1) of the Foreign Operations, Export Fi16 nancing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 

17 1991 (Public Law 101-513). 

18 (4) HOSTAGE TAKING.—The term ‘‘hostage 

19 taking’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

20 1605A(h)(2) of title 28, United States Code. 

21 (5) NATIONAL OF THE UNITED STATES.—The 

22 term ‘‘national of the United States’’ has the mean23 ing given that term in section 1605A(h)(5) of title 

24 28, United States Code. 


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1 (6) TORTURE.—The term ‘‘torture’’ has the 

2 meaning given that term in section 3 of the Torture 

3 Victim Protection Act of 1991 (28 U.S.C. 1350 

4 note). 

5 (7) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

6 States’’ means the several States, the District of Co7 lumbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or posses8 sion of the United States. 

9 (8) UNITED STATES DEPOSITORY INSTITU10 TION.—The term ‘‘United States depository institu11 tion’’ means a depository institution organized under 

12 the laws of any State, the District of Columbia, or 

13 the United States, including a branch or agency of 

14 a foreign depository institution. 

15 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN CLAIMS. 

16 No funds of the United States Government may be 

17 used to pay any claim— 

18 (1) that is cognizable under section 1605A of 

19 title 28, United States Code, as added by section 

20 1083 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 

21 Fiscal Year 2008, for money damages against Iraq 

22 for personal injury or death that was caused by acts 

23 committed by an official, officer, or employee of the 

24 Iraqi Government under Saddam Hussein; and 


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1 (2) with respect to which the waiver authority 

2 under section 1083(d) of the National Defense Au3 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 has been or 

4 may be exercised. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 15, 

2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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