Justice for the Living Victims of Lockerbie Act

Bill: 116-s-4554
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2020-09-09
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Africa

Aviation and airports

Bankruptcy

Civil actions and liability

Corporate finance and management

Crime victims

Evidence and witnesses

Government information and archives

Government liability

Government trust funds

Libya

Middle East

Scotland

Terrorism

Transportation employees

United Kingdom
Latest action: action_date: 2020-09-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S5521-5522)

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-09-09
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Justice for the Living Victims of Lockerbie Act</b></p> <p>This bill establishes a mechanism for compensating certain victims of the bombing of Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988.</p> <p>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).</p> <p>The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission must establish a process for claimants to apply for compensation from the fund.<br /></p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4554 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 9, 2020 Ms. Collins introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide compensation for United States victims of Libyan state-sponsored terrorism, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Justice for the Living Victims of Lockerbie Act . 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. 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. 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 2021, which shall be made available to provide compensation to compensable living victims of Libyan state-sponsored terrorism. 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(c)(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.