II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2132 

To promote security and provide justice for United States victims of 

international terrorism. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 16, 2019 

Mr. LANKFORD (for himself, Ms. DUCKWORTH, and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To promote security and provide justice for United States 

victims of international terrorism. 

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 ‘‘Promoting Security 

5 and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FACILITATION OF THE SETTLEMENT OF TER7 RORISM-RELATED CLAIMS OF NATIONALS OF 

8 THE UNITED STATES. 

9 (a) COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS TO FACILITATE THE

10 RESOLUTION OF ANTI-TERRORISM ACT CLAIMS.—The 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•S 2132 IS

1 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney Gen2 eral, shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, develop and initiate a comprehensive 

4 process for the Department of State to facilitate the reso5 lution and settlement of covered claims. 

6 (b) ELEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS.—The 

7 comprehensive process developed under subsection (a) 

8 shall include, at a minimum, the following: 

9 (1) Not later than 45 days after the date of en10 actment of this Act, the Department of State shall 

11 publish a notice in the Federal Register identifying 

12 the method by which a national of the United 

13 States, or a representative of a national of the 

14 United States, who has a covered claim, may contact 

15 the Department of State to give notice of the cov16 ered claim. 

17 (2) Not later than 120 days after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, or a 

19 designee of the Secretary, shall meet (and make 

20 every effort to continue to meet on a regular basis 

21 thereafter) with any national of the United States, 

22 or a representative of a national of the United 

23 States, who has a covered claim and has informed 

24 the Department of State of the covered claim using 

25 the method established pursuant to paragraph (1) to 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•S 2132 IS

1 discuss the status of the covered claim, including the 

2 status of any settlement discussions with the Pales3 tinian Authority or the Palestine Liberation Organi4 zation. 

5 (3) Not later than 180 days after the date of 

6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, or a 

7 designee of the Secretary, shall make every effort to 

8 meet (and make every effort to continue to meet on 

9 a regular basis thereafter) with representatives of 

10 the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Libera11 tion Organization to discuss the covered claims iden12 tified pursuant to subsection (a) and potential settle13 ment of the covered claims. 

14 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of State 

15 shall, not later than 240 days after the date of enactment 

16 of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, submit 

17 to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 

18 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 

19 the Judiciary and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

20 the House of Representatives a report describing activities 

21 that the Department of State has undertaken to comply 

22 with this section, including specific updates regarding 

23 paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b). 

24 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•S 2132 IS

1 (1) covered claims should be resolved in a man2 ner that provides just compensation to the victims; 

3 (2) covered claims should be resolved and set4 tled in favor of the victim to the fullest extent pos5 sible and without subjecting victims to unnecessary 

6 or protracted litigation; 

7 (3) the United States Government should take 

8 all practicable steps to facilitate the resolution and 

9 settlement of all covered claims, including engaging 

10 directly with the victims or their representatives and 

11 the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Libera12 tion Organization; and 

13 (4) the United States Government should 

14 strongly urge the Palestinian Authority and the Pal15 estine Liberation Organization to commit to good16 faith negotiations to resolve and settle all covered 

17 claims. 

18 (e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

19 claim’’ means any pending action by, or final judgment 

20 in favor of, a national of the United States, or any action 

21 by a national of the United States dismissed for lack of 

22 personal jurisdiction, under section 2333 of title 18, 

23 United States Code, against the Palestinian Authority or 

24 the Palestine Liberation Organization. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•S 2132 IS

1 SEC. 3. JURISDICTIONAL AMENDMENTS TO FACILITATE 

2 RESOLUTION OF TERRORISM-RELATED 

3 CLAIMS OF NATIONALS OF THE UNITED 

4 STATES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2334(e) of title 18, 

6 United States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

9 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

10 by striking ‘‘after the date that is 120 

11 days after the date of enactment of this 

12 subsection, accepts’’ and inserting ‘‘after 

13 January 31, 2019, and except as provided 

14 in paragraph (3), enters into a new con15 tract, grant, or other agreement, or ex16 pands the scope of or extends in any way 

17 an existing contract, grant, or other agree18 ment, with the United States Government 

19 that obligates’’; 

20 (ii) in clause (i), by adding ‘‘or’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (iii) by striking clause (ii); and 

23 (iv) by redesignating clause (iii) as 

24 clause (ii); and 

25 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in26 serting the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•S 2132 IS

1 ‘‘(B)(i) after 15 days after the date of en2 actment of the Promoting Security and Justice 

3 for Victims of Terrorism Act of 2019— 

4 ‘‘(I) continues to maintain any office, 

5 headquarters, premises, or other facilities 

6 or establishments in the United States; 

7 ‘‘(II) establishes or procures any of8 fice, headquarters, premises, or other fa9 cilities or establishments in the United 

10 States; or 

11 ‘‘(III) conducts any activity while 

12 physically present in the United States on 

13 behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organi14 zation or the Palestinian Authority; 

15 ‘‘(ii)(I) after 120 days after the date of en16 actment of the Promoting Security and Justice 

17 for Victims of Terrorism Act of 2019, has not 

18 submitted a notice of withdrawal from all spe19 cialized agencies of the United Nations of which 

20 the defendant has the same standing as a mem21 ber state in the United Nations or any special22 ized agency thereof outside an agreement nego23 tiated between Israel and the Palestinians; or 

24 ‘‘(II) after 2 years after the date of enact25 ment of the Promoting Security and Justice for 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•S 2132 IS

1 Victims of Terrorism Act of 2019, has the same 

2 standing as a member state in the United Na3 tions or any specialized agency thereof outside 

4 an agreement negotiated between Israel and the 

5 Palestinians; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) after the date of enactment of this 

7 clause, makes, renews, promotes, or advances 

8 any application in order to obtain the same 

9 standing as a member state in the United Na10 tions or any specialized agency thereof, or ac11 cepts such standing, outside an agreement ne12 gotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.’’; 

13 and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PAYMENTS AND

16 ASSISTANCE.—In determining whether a defendant 

17 shall be deemed to have consented to personal juris18 diction under paragraph (1)(A), no court may con19 sider any payment or assistance described in section 

20 1004(b)(1) of the Taylor Force Act (22 U.S.C. 

21 2378c–1(b)(1)). 

22 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES AND

23 LOCATIONS.—In determining whether a defendant 

24 shall be deemed to have consented to personal jurisVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Jul 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2132.IS S2132

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•S 2132 IS

1 diction under paragraph (1)(B), no court may con2 sider— 

3 ‘‘(A) any office, headquarters, premises, or 

4 other facility or establishment used exclusively 

5 for the purpose of conducting official business 

6 of the United Nations; 

7 ‘‘(B) any activity undertaken exclusively 

8 for the purpose of conducting official business 

9 of the United Nations; 

10 ‘‘(C) any activity involving officials of the 

11 United States that the Secretary of State deter12 mines is in the national security interest of the 

13 United States if the Secretary reports to the 

14 appropriate congressional committees annually 

15 on the use of the authority under this subpara16 graph; 

17 ‘‘(D) any activity undertaken exclusively 

18 for the purpose of meetings with officials of the 

19 United States or participation in training and 

20 related activities funded or arranged by the 

21 United States Government; or 

22 ‘‘(E) any activity related to legal represen23 tation— 

24 ‘‘(i) for matters related to activities 

25 described in this paragraph; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•S 2132 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) for the purpose of adjudicating 

2 or resolving claims filed in courts of the 

3 United States; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) to comply with this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(5) SUSPENSION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In determining wheth7 er a defendant shall be deemed to have con8 sented to personal jurisdiction under this sub9 section, no court may consider assistance under 

10 paragraph (1)(A) if such assistance is obligated 

11 under any new contract, grant, or other agree12 ment, or expansion of the scope of or extension 

13 of an existing contract, grant, or other agree14 ment with the United States Government dur15 ing a period in which the Secretary of State, in 

16 consultation with the Attorney General, certifies 

17 in writing to the President pro tempore of the 

18 Senate and Speaker of the House of Represent19 atives that— 

20 ‘‘(i) all covered claims have been re21 solved and settled, or are proceeding to22 ward settlement because the defendant is 

23 actively engaged in settlement discussions 

24 with victims who have covered claims; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•S 2132 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) any claims similar to those de2 scribed in section 2 Promoting Security 

3 and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act 

4 of 2019 and that have been filed after the 

5 date of enactment of this paragraph are 

6 proceeding toward settlement because the 

7 defendant is actively engaged in settlement 

8 discussions with victims who have such 

9 claims. 

10 ‘‘(B) RECERTIFICATION.—A certification 

11 under this paragraph may be made for renew12 able periods of up to 1 year. 

13 ‘‘(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Notwith14 standing any other law (including any treaty), any 

15 office, headquarters, premises, or other facility or es16 tablishment within the territory of the United States 

17 that is not specifically exempted by paragraph 

18 (4)(A) shall be considered to be in the United States 

19 for purposes of subclauses (I) and (II) of paragraph 

20 (1)(B)(i). 

21 ‘‘(7) SUNSET.—Paragraph (1)(A) shall termi22 nate on the date on which the Secretary of State, in 

23 consultation with the Attorney General, certifies in 

24 writing to the President pro tempore of the Senate 

25 and Speaker of the House of Representatives that— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•S 2132 IS

1 ‘‘(A) all covered claims have been resolved 

2 and settled in a manner that is satisfactory to 

3 the parties; and 

4 ‘‘(B) on or after the 2-year period begin5 ning on the date of enactment of this para6 graph, there are no similar claims under section 

7 2333 against a defendant that— 

8 ‘‘(i) were filed on or after the date of 

9 enactment of this paragraph; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) that are pending. 

11 ‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

12 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered claim’ has the 

13 meaning given the term in section 2 Promoting 

14 Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism 

15 Act of 2019; and 

16 ‘‘(B) term ‘defendant’ means— 

17 ‘‘(i) the Palestinian Authority; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the Palestine Liberation Organi19 zation; 

20 ‘‘(iii) any organization or other entity 

21 that is a successor to or affiliated with the 

22 Palestinian Authority or the Palestine Lib23 eration Organization; or 

24 ‘‘(iv) any organization or other enti25 ty— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

•S 2132 IS

1 ‘‘(I) identified in clause (i), (ii), 

2 or (iii); and 

3 ‘‘(II) that self-identifies as, holds 

4 itself out to be, or carries out conduct 

5 in the name of, the ‘State of Pal6 estine’ or ‘Palestine’ in connection 

7 with official business of the United 

8 Nations.’’. 

9 (b) PRIOR CONSENT NOT ABROGATED.—The amend10 ments made by this section shall not abrogate any consent 

11 deemed to have been given under section 2334(e) of title 

12 18, United States Code, as in effect on the day before 

13 the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS