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107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1338
To provide for the designation of an Assistant Secretary of State for Victims
of International Terrorism.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 3, 2001
Mr. BENTSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
A BILL
To provide for the designation of an Assistant Secretary
of State for Victims of International Terrorism.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR VICTIMS
OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM.
(a) DESIGNATION OF POSITION.—The Secretary of
State shall designate one of the Assistant Secretaries of
State authorized by section 1(c)(1) of the State Depart-
ment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C.
2651a(c)(1)) as the Assistant Secretary of State for Vic-
tims of International Terrorism.
(b) DIRECTIVE GOVERNING THE ASSISTANT SEC-
RETARY OF STATE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
State shall issue a directive governing the position of
the Assistant Secretary.
(2) ELEMENTS OF THE DIRECTIVE.—The direc-
tive issued under paragraph (1) shall set forth, con-
sistent with this section—
(A) the duties of the Assistant Secretary;
(B) the relationships between the Assistant
Secretary and other officials of the Department
of State;
(C) any delegation of authority from the
Secretary of State to the Assistant Secretary;
and
(D) such matters as the Secretary con-
siders appropriate.
(c) DUTIES.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary
shall have as his or her principal responsibility the
overall supervision (including oversight of policy and
resources) within the Department of State of all
matters relating to American victims of international
terrorism and efforts to bring international terrorists
to justice.
(2) PARTICIPATION
OF
THE
ASSISTANT
SEC-
RETARY.—
(A) PRIMARY ROLE.—Except as provided
in subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Assistant
Secretary, or a designee, shall participate in all
interagency groups or organizations within the
executive branch of Government, particulary the
Department of Justice, that assess, analyze, or
review United States planned or ongoing poli-
cies, programs, or actions that have a direct
bearing on efforts to bring international terror-
ists to justice for actions affecting Americans
abroad, including interagency committees con-
cerned 
with 
international 
terrorism 
and
counter-terrorism.
(B) REQUIREMENT
FOR
DESIGNATION.—
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to groups or
organizations on which the Secretary of State
or the Undersecretary of State for Arms Con-
trol and International Security sits, unless such
official designates the Assistant Secretary to at-
tend in his stead.
(C) NATIONAL SECURITY LIMITATION.—
(i) WAIVER
BY
PRESIDENT.—The
President may waive the provisions of sub-
paragraph (A) if inclusion of the Assistant
Secretary would not be in the national se-
curity interests of the United States.
(ii) WAIVER
BY
OTHERS.—With re-
spect to an interagency group or organiza-
tion, or meeting thereof, working with ex-
ceptionally sensitive information contained
in compartments under the control of the
Director of Central Intelligence or the Sec-
retary of Defense, such Director or Sec-
retary, as the case may be, may waive the
provision of subparagraph (A) if inclusion
of the Assistant Secretary would not be in
the national security interests of the
United States.
(iii) TRANSMISSION
OF
WAIVER
TO
CONGRESS.—Any waiver of participation
under clause (i) or (ii) shall be transmitted
in writing to the appropriate committees of
Congress.
(3) RELATIONSHIP TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE
COMMUNITY.—The Assistant Secretary shall be the
principal policy community representative to the
criminal justice community on international ter-
rorism affecting Americans abroad.
(4) REPORTING
RESPONSIBILITIES.—The As-
sistant Secretary shall have responsibility within the
Department of State for—
(A) the report required pursuant to section
2; and
(B) other reports being prepared by the
Department of State as of the date of enact-
ment of this Act relating to international ter-
rorism affecting Americans abroad.
SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
AFFECTING AMERICANS ABROAD.
The Secretary of State shall transmit to the Congress
annually a report on international terrorism affecting
Americans abroad and United States efforts to bring to
justice international terrorists for actions affecting Ameri-
cans abroad. The report may be submitted in classified
and unclassified form and shall include the following infor-
mation:
(1) The number of Americans kidnapped, killed,
and otherwise directly affected by the actions of
international terrorists.
(2) The actions of the Departments of State
and Justice to obtain justice for American victims of
international terrorism.
(3) A list of known international terrorists.
(4) Recommendations for legislative and other
actions to bring individual terrorists to justice in the
United States.
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