IB
Union Calendar No. 221
103D CONGRESS
1ST 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
[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]
A BILL
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
1993’’.
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 de-
termined by the Secretary of State to be outside the jurisdic-
tion 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 pending
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 at-
tack 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 Secretary
of the Treasury is authorized to establish in the Treasury
of the United States one or more funds (hereinafter 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 pursu-
ant to subsection (b)(1).
(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS RECEIVED FROM UN COM-
MISSION.—The Secretary of State shall allocate funds re-
ceived by the United States from the United Nations Com-
mission, in the manner the Secretary determines appro-
priate, 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 Treas-
ury 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 pay-
ment of claims of the United States Government, sub-
ject 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 Sec-
retary of State to be outside the jurisdiction of the
United Nations Commission and which are deter-
mined to be valid, and whose amount has been cer-
tified, under such procedures as the President may es-
tablish.
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 Treasury
shall make payment, out of the appropriate fund established
pursuant to section 3(a) or 3(c), in the following order of
priority to the extent funds are available in such fund:
(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 Ex-
ecutive agency may transfer or otherwise make available
to the United States Commission such records and docu-
ments relating to claims authorized to be adjudicated by
this Act as may be required by the United States Commis-
sion 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 respect to records
that, as determined by the Secretary of State, are required
under the rules and decisions of the United Nations Com-
mission 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 subsection (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 lat-
ter of—
(A) the last date on which the Secretary of
the Treasury covers into any of the UN Commis-
sion Claims Funds, or into any fund described
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 Treas-
ury 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 additional pay-
ments.
(2) UNUSED FUNDS.—The unused funds referred
to in paragraph (1) are—
(A) any remaining balance in the UN Com-
mission Claims Funds or in the Iraq Claims
Fund, including the amount of any unpaid cer-
tified claim under the Iraq claims program; and
(B) any remaining balance in any fund re-
ferred to in section 3(b)(2) to the extent such bal-
ance 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 Commission
established pursuant to United Nations Security
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 PERSIAN GULF
CONFLICT.
(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the sense of the Con-
gress that individuals who have served in the armed forces
of Iraq during the Persian Gulf conflict should not be ad-
mitted to the United States as refugees under the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act except in exceptional cir-
cumstances until all claims certified under section 2(b) of
this Act have been paid in full.
(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 ending on Feb-
ruary 27, 1991.