103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3221
AN ACT
To provide for the adjudication of certain claims
against the Government of Iraq.
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3221
AN ACT
To provide for the adjudication of certain claims against
the Government of Iraq.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iraq Claims Act of
1994’’.
SEC. 2. ADJUDICATION OF CLAIMS.
(a) CERTAIN CLAIMS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF
UN COMMISSION.—The United States Commission is au-
thorized to receive and determine the validity and amounts
of any claims referred to it by the Secretary of State with
respect to which the United States has received lump-sum
payments from the United Nations Commission.
(b) OTHER CLAIMS AGAINST IRAQ.—The United
States Commission is authorized to receive and determine
the validity and amounts of any claims by nationals of the
United States against the Government of Iraq that are
determined by the Secretary of State to be outside the ju-
risdiction of the United Nations Commission.
(c) DECISION RULES.—In deciding claims under sub-
section (a) or (b), the United States Commission shall
apply, in the following order—
(1) in the case of claims under subsection (a),
relevant decisions of the United Nations Security
Council and the United Nations Commission;
(2) applicable substantive law, including inter-
national law; and
(3) applicable principles of justice and equity.
(d) PRIORITY CLAIMS.—Before deciding any other
claim against the Government of Iraq, the United States
Commission shall, to the extent practical, decide all pend-
ing non-commercial claims of members of the United
States Armed Forces and other individuals arising out of
Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait or out of the
1987 attack on the USS Stark.
(e) APPLICABILITY OF INTERNATIONAL CLAIMS SET-
TLEMENT ACT.—To the extent they are not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act, the provisions of title I
(other than section 2(c)) and title VII of the International
Claims Settlement Act of 1949 (22 U.S.C. 1621–1627 and
1645–1645o) shall apply with respect to claims under this
Act and the funds established pursuant to sections 3(a)
and 3(c).
SEC. 3. CLAIMS FUNDS.
(a) UN COMMISSION CLAIMS FUNDS.—The Sec-
retary of the Treasury is authorized to establish in the
Treasury of the United States one or more funds (herein-
after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘UN Commission
Claims Funds’’) for payment of claims under section 2(a).
The Secretary of the Treasury shall cover into the UN
Commission Claims Funds such amounts as are allocated
to such funds pursuant to subsection (b)(1).
(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS RECEIVED FROM UN
COMMISSION.—The Secretary of State shall allocate funds
received by the United States from the United Nations
Commission, in the manner the Secretary determines ap-
propriate, between—
(1) the UN Commission Claims Funds; and
(2) funds established under the authority of the
paragraphs under the heading ‘‘TRUST FUNDS’’
in the Act entitled ‘‘An Act making appropriations
for the diplomatic and consular service for the fiscal
year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and
ninety-seven’’, approved February 26, 1896 (22
U.S.C. 2668a).
(c) IRAQ CLAIMS FUND.—The Secretary of the
Treasury is authorized to establish in the Treasury of the
United States a fund (hereinafter in this Act referred to
as the ‘‘Iraq Claims Fund’’) for payment of claims under
section 2(b). The Secretary of the Treasury shall cover
into the Iraq Claims Fund such amounts as are allocated
to such fund pursuant to subsection (d).
(d) ALLOCATION OF PROCEEDS FROM IRAQI ASSET
LIQUIDATATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall allocate
funds resulting from the liquidation of assets pursu-
ant to section 4 in the manner the President deter-
mines appropriate between the Iraq Claims Fund
and such other accounts as are appropriate for the
payment of claims of the United States Government,
subject to the limitation in paragraph (2).
(2) LIMITATION.—The amount allocated pursu-
ant to this subsection for payment of claims of the
United States Government may not exceed the
amount which bears the same relation to the amount
allocated to the Iraq Claims Fund pursuant to this
subsection as the sum of all certified claims of the
United States Government bears to the sum of all
claims certified under section 2(b). As used in this
paragraph, the term ‘‘certified claims of the United
States Government’’ means those claims of the
United States Government which are determined by
the Secretary of State to be outside the jurisdiction
of the United Nations Commission and which are
determined to be valid, and whose amount has been
certified, under such procedures as the President
may establish.
SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO VEST IRAQI ASSETS.
The President is authorized to vest and liquidate as
much of the assets of the Government of Iraq in the
United States that have been blocked pursuant to the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) as may be necessary to satisfy claims
under section 2(b), as well as claims of the United States
Government against Iraq which are determined by the
Secretary of State to be outside the jurisdiction of the
United Nations Commission.
SEC. 5. REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES OF PROGRAM AD-
MINISTRATION.
(a) DEDUCTION.—In order to reimburse the United
States Government for its expenses in administering the
Iraq claims program and this Act, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall deduct—
(1) 1.5 percent of any amount covered into the
UN Commission Claims Funds or the Iraq Claims
Fund; and
(2) 1.5 percent of any amount the Secretary of
State receives from the United Nations Commission
that is not covered into the UN Commission Claims
Funds and that is not in payment of a claim of the
United States Government.
(b) DEDUCTIONS TREATED AS MISCELLANEOUS RE-
CEIPTS.—Amounts deducted pursuant to subsection (a)
shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States
as miscellaneous receipts.
SEC. 6. PAYMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Commission
shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury each award
made pursuant to section 2. The Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall make payment, out of the appropriate fund es-
tablished pursuant to section 3(a) or 3(c), in the following
order of priority to the extent funds are available in such
fund:
(1) Payment of $10,000 or the principal
amount of the award, whichever is less.
(2) For each claim that has priority under sec-
tion 2(d), payment of a further $90,000 toward the
unpaid balance of the principal amount of the
award.
(3) Payments from time to time in ratable pro-
portions on account of the unpaid balance of the
principal amounts of all awards according to the
proportions which the unpaid balance of such
awards bear to the total amount in the appropriate
claims fund that is available for distribution at the
time such payments are made.
(4) After payment has been made of the prin-
cipal amounts of all such awards, pro rata payments
on account of accrued interest on such awards as
bear interest.
(5) After payment has been made in full of all
the awards payable out of a fund established pursu-
ant to section 3(a) or 3(c), any funds remaining in
that fund shall be transferred to the other claims
fund established pursuant to section 3(a) or 3(c), ex-
cept that any funds received by the United States
from the United Nations Commission shall be so
transferred only to the extent not inconsistent with
requirements of the United Nations Commission.
(b) UNSATISFIED CLAIMS.—Payment of any award
made pursuant to this Act shall not extinguish any
unsatisfied claim, or be construed to have divested any
claimant, or the United States on his or her behalf, of
any rights against the Government of Iraq with respect
to any unsatisfied claim.
SEC. 7. RECORDS.
(a) TRANSFER TO COMMISSION.—The head of any
Executive agency may transfer or otherwise make avail-
able to the United States Commission such records and
documents relating to claims authorized to be adjudicated
by this Act as may be required by the United States Com-
mission in carrying out its functions under this Act.
(b) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—Section 552 of title 5 of
the United States Code (commonly referred to as the
‘‘Freedom of Information Act’’) shall not apply with re-
spect to records that, as determined by the Secretary of
State, are required under the rules and decisions of the
United Nations Commission to be withheld from public
disclosure.
SEC. 8. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS; DISPOSITION OF UN-
USED FUNDS.
(a) STATUTE
OF LIMITATIONS.—Any demand or
claim for payment on account of an award that is certified
under the Iraq claims program shall be barred one year
after the publication date of the notice required by sub-
section (b).
(b) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—At the end of the 9-year pe-
riod specified in paragraph (2), the Secretary of the
Treasury shall publish a notice in the Federal Reg-
ister detailing the statute of limitations provided for
in subsection (a) and identifying the claim numbers
and awardee names of unpaid certified claims.
(2) PUBLICATION DATE.—The notice required
by paragraph (1) shall be published 9 years after the
latter of—
(A) the last date on which the Secretary of
the Treasury covers into any of the UN Com-
mission Claims Funds, or into any fund de-
scribed in section 3(b)(2), amounts allocated to
that fund pursuant to section 3(b); or
(B) the last date on which the Secretary of
the Treasury covers into the Iraq Claims Fund
amounts allocated to that fund pursuant to sec-
tion 3(d).
(c) DISPOSITION OF UNUSED FUNDS.—
(1) DISPOSITION.—At the end of the 2-year pe-
riod beginning on the publication date of the notice
required by subsection (b), the Secretary of the
Treasury shall dispose of all unused funds described
in paragraph (2) as follows:
(A) By making additional payments pursu-
ant to the Iraq claims program.
(B) By depositing in the Treasury of the
United States as miscellaneous receipts any
such funds that are not used for such addi-
tional payments.
(2) UNUSED
FUNDS.—The unused funds re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) are—
(A) any remaining balance in the UN
Commission Claims Funds or in the Iraq
Claims Fund, including the amount of any un-
paid certified claim under the Iraq claims pro-
gram; and
(B) any remaining balance in any fund re-
ferred to in section 3(b)(2) to the extent such
balance reflects amounts deposited pursuant to
that section.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘Government of Iraq’’ includes
agencies, instrumentalities, and controlled entities
(including public sector enterprises) of that govern-
ment;
(2) the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ has the mean-
ing given that term by section 105 of title 5, United
States Code;
(3) the term ‘‘Iraq claims program’’ means the
claims whose adjudication is provided for in this Act
and any other claims that are within the jurisdiction
of the United Nations Commission;
(4) the term ‘‘United Nations Commission’’
means the United Nations Compensation Commis-
sion established pursuant to United Nations Secu-
rity Council Resolution 687 (1991); and
(5) the term ‘‘United States Commission’’
means the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
of the United States.
SEC. 10. ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES AS REFUGEES
OF 
INDIVIDUALS 
WHO 
SERVED 
IN 
THE
ARMED FORCES OF IRAQ DURING THE PER-
SIAN GULF CONFLICT.
(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the sense of the
Congress that individuals who have served in the armed
forces of Iraq during the Persian Gulf conflict should not
be admitted to the United States as refugees under the
Immigration and Nationality Act except in exceptional cir-
cumstances.
(b) PERSIAN GULF CONFLICT DEFINED.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘‘Persian Gulf conflict’’
means the period beginning on August 2, 1990, and end-
ing on February 27, 1991.
SEC. 11. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) Saddam Hussein has been condemned by
the international community for his unwillingness to
take the steps necessary to provide for the basic hu-
manitarian needs of the Iraqi people;
(2) dire shortages of food, medicine, and basic
medical supplies (including insulin, anesthetics, and
antibiotics) have resulted in a continuing humani-
tarian disaster in Iraq, including massive human
suffering and the death of hundreds of thousands of
innocent Iraqi civilians during the past 4 years;
(3) this humanitarian tragedy is occurring
throughout Iraq;
(4) the United States has a long history of pro-
viding humanitarian assistance to alleviate human
suffering in many parts of the world; and
(5) the United States Agency for International
Development has the authority under chapter 9 of
part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relat-
ing to international disaster assistance) and other
provisions of law to provide assistance to address
humanitarian needs throughout Iraq.
(b) STATEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL POLICY.—It is
the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the United States should immediately pro-
vide additional humanitarian assistance, particularly
medicine and medical supplies, to alleviate the hu-
manitarian disaster throughout Iraq;
(2) such assistance should be provided through
independent nongovernmental organizations and
through international organizations so that this des-
perately need assistance can reach all areas of need,
in particular those outside the United Nations pro-
tected areas; and
(3) the costs of such assistance should be reim-
bursed from any available Iraqi resources, including
the Iraqi assets that have been blocked pursuant the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act so
long as such reimbursement does not reduce the
amount paid on those priority claims of members of
the United States Armed Forces and others de-
scribed in section 2(d) of this Act and does not delay
payment on those claims.
SEC. 12. PROSECUTION OF SADDAM HUSSEIN AND OTHER
MEMBERS OF THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT FOR
WAR CRIMES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) as ordered by Saddam Hussein, Iraq en-
gaged in unprovoked aggression in its conquest and
occupation of Kuwait;
(2) the Iraqi occupation force treated Kuwaiti
citizens barbarously;
(3) Saddam Hussein used American and Euro-
pean civilians as ‘‘human shields’’ in an attempt to
protect strategic facilities throughout Iraq and di-
rected that captured American and allied prisoners
of war be used for the same purposes;
(4) Saddam Hussein ordered his military to
launch missile attacks against innocent civilians in
Israel and Saudi Arabia; and
(5) former President Bush and President Clin-
ton rightly warned Saddam Hussein and Iraqi Gov-
ernment officials that they would be held responsible
for any abuses they have caused.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRIBUNAL.—The Congress
urges the President to request the United Nations to es-
tablish a tribunal to charge Saddam Hussein and other
responsible Iraqi Government officials for war crimes, acts
of aggression, and crimes against humanity they have
committed.
Passed the House of Representatives April 28, 1994.
Attest:
Clerk.