Justice for the Living Victims of Lockerbie Act
Bill: S.1429 | Sponsor: Sen. Collins, Susan M. (R-ME)
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Justice for the Living Victims of Lockerbie Act
This bill establishes a mechanism for compensating certain victims of the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988.
The Office of Aviation and International Affairs must determine whether the bombing was a proximate cause of Pan American's bankruptcy. If the office finds such proximate cause, then the Department of the Treasury must establish a fund to compensate qualifying victims of the bombing (generally, former employees of Pan American who were part of an earlier lawsuit seeking compensation from Libya for the bombing).
The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission must establish a process for claimants to apply for compensation from the fund.

To provide compensation for United States victims of Libyan state-
              sponsored terrorism, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Justice for the Living Victims of 
Lockerbie Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINED TERM.

    In this Act, the term ``compensable living victim of Libyan state-
sponsored terrorism'' means an individual who--
            (1) is a United States person;
            (2) was employed by Pan American Airlines on December 3, 
        1991;
            (3) was a named claimant in the case referred to in section 
        3(b)(2); and
            (4) was alive on August 14, 2008.

SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF CAUSE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall direct the 
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs to review 
and make a determination as to whether it is more probable than not 
that the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on 
December 21, 1988, was a proximate cause of the subsequent bankruptcy 
of Pan American World Airlines.
    (b) Requirements.--In making the determination required under 
subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International 
Affairs shall--
            (1) apply legal standards and principles generally followed 
        by State and Federal courts in the United States;
            (2) allow former Pan American employees who were named 
        claimants in Abbott et al. v. Socialist People's Libyan Arab 
        Jamahiriya (case number 1:94-cv-02444-SS) in the United States 
        District Court for the District of Columbia to submit written 
        documents and legal arguments on the issue of causation 
        described in subsection (a); and
            (3) except as provided elsewhere in this section, limit the 
        review to the evidentiary record of the Foreign Claims 
        Settlement Commission provided to the Assistant Secretary 
        pursuant to subsection (c) (excluding prior decisions of the 
        Commission).
    (c) Submission of Records.--The Foreign Claims Settlement 
Commission shall provide the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and 
International Affairs with copies of the evidentiary record, including 
documents submitted by claimants, statements and affidavits of 
witnesses, hearing transcripts, and post-hearing submissions, 
associated with Category F claims referred to the Commission by the 
Department of State on November 27, 2013, involving claims of the 
United States nationals against the Government of Libya that were 
settled under the ``Claims Settlement Agreement Between the United 
States of America and the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab 
Jamahiriya'', dated August 14, 2008.
    (d) Written Determination.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date on 
        which the Secretary of Transportation directs the Assistant 
        Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs to review the 
        issue described in subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary 
        shall submit a written determination to the Secretary.
            (2) Submission to the foreign claims settlement 
        commission.--If the Assistant Secretary determines that the 
        Lockerbie bombing was a proximate cause of the bankruptcy of 
        Pan American World Airlines, the Secretary of Transportation, 
        not later than 10 days after the date on which the Secretary 
        received such written determination, shall deliver a copy of 
        such determination to the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
        Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.

SEC. 4. LIVING VICTIMS OF LOCKERBIE CLAIMS FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--If the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and 
International Affairs makes the determination of cause described in 
section 3, the Secretary of the Treasury shall establish, in the 
Treasury of the United States, a trust fund (referred to in this Act as 
the ``Fund'') for the payment of claims submitted by compensable living 
victims of Libyan state-sponsored terrorism.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Once the Fund is established 
pursuant to subsection (a), there shall be appropriated to the Fund, 
out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise 
appropriated, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, which shall be made 
available to provide compensation to compensable living victims of 
Libyan state-sponsored terrorism.

SEC. 5. COMPENSATION FOR LIVING VICTIMS OF LIBYAN STATE-SPONSORED 
              TERRORISM.

    (a) Certification by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.--Not 
later than 30 days after receiving a copy of the determination from the 
Secretary of Transportation under section 3(d)(2), the Foreign Claims 
Settlement Commission--
            (1) shall publish, in the Federal Register, a process for 
        filing applications on behalf of compensable living victims of 
        Libyan state-sponsored terrorism;
            (2) shall determine if individuals who have submitted 
        claims for payments under subsection (b) are compensable living 
        victims of Libyan state-sponsored terrorism; and
            (3) upon the approval of each claim pursuant to paragraph 
        (1), shall certify such determination to the Secretary of the 
        Treasury for authorization of payment under subsection (b).
    (b) Payments Authorized.--Upon receiving a certification from the 
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under subsection (a)(3), the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall make payments from the Fund to 
compensable living victims of Libyan state-sponsored terrorism in 
accordance with subsection (c).
    (c) Compensation.--
            (1) In general.--Upon a certification by the Foreign Claims 
        Settlement Commission of a claim by a compensable living victim 
        of Libyan state-sponsored terrorism, such claimant (or, in the 
        case of a deceased claimant, the personal representative of the 
        claimant's estate) shall be entitled to an award of $400,000.
            (2) Representative.--If a putative claimant that otherwise 
        qualifies for compensation under this section is deceased, a 
        personal representative may bring a claim on behalf of the 
        estate of the claimant.
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