Title: Our Obligation to Recognize American Heroes (OORAH) Act of 2019
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Our Obligation to Recognize American Heroes (OORAH) Act of 2019
This bill authorizes jurisdiction over certain Iranian assets so that judgments against Iran for the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, may be collected by the victims' families. Specifically, the bill establishes personal jurisdiction for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York over Iranian funds held outside the United States by any foreign securities intermediary.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2790 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2790

To make additional financial assets of the Government of Iran available 
 to pay compensatory damages to the victims of terrorism sponsored by 
                that Government, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2019

Mr. Pence (for himself and Mr. Gallego) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 
 to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To make additional financial assets of the Government of Iran available 
 to pay compensatory damages to the victims of terrorism sponsored by 
                that Government, 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 ``Our Obligation to Recognize American 
Heroes (OORAH) Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF AVAILABILITY OF FINANCIAL ASSETS OF IRAN TO 
              VICTIMS OF TERRORISM.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) On October 23, 1983, terrorists sponsored by the 
        Government of Iran bombed the United States Marine barracks in 
        Beirut, Lebanon. The terrorists killed 241 servicemen and 
        injured scores more.
            (2) Those servicemen were killed or injured while on a 
        peacekeeping mission.
            (3) Terrorism sponsored by the Government of Iran threatens 
        the national security of the United States.
            (4) The United States has a vital interest in ensuring that 
        members of the Armed Forces killed or injured by such 
        terrorism, and the family members of such members, are able to 
        seek justice.
    (b) Amendments.--Section 502 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria 
Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8772) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``in the 
                United States'' and inserting ``by or'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``, or an 
                asset that would be blocked if the asset were located 
                in the United States,'' after ``unblocked)''; and
                    (C) in the flush text at the end--
                            (i) by inserting after ``in aid of 
                        execution'' the following: ``, or to an order 
                        directing that the asset be brought to the 
                        State in which the court is located and 
                        subsequently to execution or attachment in aid 
                        of execution,''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``, without regard to 
                        concerns relating to international comity'' 
                        after ``resources for such an act'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``that are identified'' and 
                inserting the following: ``that are--
            ``(1) identified'';
                    (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) identified in and the subject of proceedings in the 
        United States District Court for the Southern District of New 
        York in Peterson et al. v. Islamic Republic of Iran et al., 
        Case No. 13 Civ. 9195 (LAP).'';
            (3) by striking subsection (e);
            (4) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively; and
            (5) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Personal Jurisdiction.--For purposes of this section, the 
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York 
shall have personal jurisdiction over any foreign securities 
intermediary that credited financial assets described in subsection (b) 
to an account the intermediary holds outside the United States.''.
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