An act to provide for the settlement and payment of claims of United States civilian and military personnel against the United States for losses resulting from acts of violence directed against the United States Government or its representatives in a foreign country or from an authorized evacuation of personnel from a foreign country.
PL 96-519 (H.R.6086), enacted 12/12/1980

PUBLIC LAW 96-519—DEC. 12, 1980 
94 STAT. 3031 
Public Law 96-519 
96th Congress 
An Act 
To provide for the settlement and pajrment of claims of United States civilian and 
military personnel against the United States for losses resulting from acts of 
violence directed £igainst the United States Government or its representatives in 
a foreign country or from an authorized evacuation of personnel from a foreign 
country. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the MUitary 
Personnel and Civilian Employees' Claims Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 767, 
31 U.S.C. 240 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following new section: 
"SEC. 9. (a) Subject to any policies that the President may prescribe, 
the head of any agency, or his designee, may settle and pay not more 
than $40,000 for any claim against the United States made by a 
member of the uniformed services under the jurisdiction of that 
agency or by a civilian officer or employee of that agency for damage 
to, or loss of, personal property in a foreign country, incurred on or 
after December 81, 1978, which damage or loss was incident to the 
service of that member, officer, or employee, and 
"(IXA) that member, officer, or employee was evacuated from 
that country on or after December 31,1978, in accordance with a 
recommendation or order of the Secretary of State or other 
competent authority which was made in response to incidents of 
political unrest or hostile acts by people in that country, and (B) 
that damage or loss resulted from that evacuation or from any 
such incident or hostile act; or 
"(2) that damage or loss resulted from acts of mob violence, 
terrorist attacks, or other hostile acts, directed against the 
United States Grovemment or its officers or employees. 
"OJ) The head of the agency, or his designee, authorized under 
subsection (a) to settle and pay a claim of a person described in such 
subsection may, if such person is deceased, settle and pay any claim 
made by the decedent's surviving (1) spouse, (2) children, (3) father or 
mother, or both, or (4) brothers or sisters, or both, that arose before, 
concurrently with, or after the decedent's death and is otherwise 
covered by this section. Claims of survivors shall be settled and paid 
in the order set forth in the preceding sentence. 
"(c) A cledm may be allowed under this section only if it is presented 
in writing within two years after the claim accrues, or within one 
year after the date of the enactment of this section, whichever is 
later. 
"(d) The head of each agency shall issue regulations to carry out 
this section. The same standards applied in abjudicating a claim 
under section 3 of this Act shall be applied in adjudicating a claim 
under this section. Any claim to which this section applies but which 
has been adjudicated under section 3 of this Act by the applicable 
head of an agency before the date of the enactment of this section 
shall not be abjudicated under this section, but any amount of loss 
Dec. 12, 1980 
[H.R. 6086] 
U.S. civilian and 
military 
personnel. 
Claims against 
U.S., payment. 
31 u s e 243a. 
Survivors' 
claims. 
Regulations. 
31 u s e 241. 
94 STAT. 3032 
PUBLIC LAW 96-519—DEC. 12, 1980 
adjudicated under such section 3 in connection with that claim which 
has not been paid shall be payable to the extent permitted in this 
section. 
"(e) Upon pa3anent of a claim under this section, the United States 
shall, to the extent of the amount of such pajnnent, be subrogated to 
any right or claim, with respect to the same damage or loss for which 
the claim under this section was paid, that the claimant may have 
against the foreign country in which that damage or loss occurred.". 
31 U.S.C. 243a. 
gg^. 2. No funds may be obligated or expended pursuant to the 
amendments made by this Act, for fiscal years beginning on or after 
October 1,1980, except to the extent provided in advance in appropri-
ation Acts. Any payments made pursuant to such amendments before 
October 1, 1980, may only be made from funds appropriated before 
the date of enactment of the Act. 
Approved December 12, 1980. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 96-858 (Comm. on the Judiciary). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 96-881 accompanying S. 2582 and No. 96-882 accompanying 
H.R. 6086 (both from Comm. on the Judiciary). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 126 (1980): 
Apr. 21, considered and passed House. 
Oct. 1, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Oct. 2, House disagreed to Senate amendments. 
Dec. 1, Senate receded from its amendments.