To allow actions for damages caused by terrorist acts to be brought against any country or officials thereof.

Amends specified Federal laws to subject a foreign state (dropping the requirement that it be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism under the Export Administration Act of 1979) or an official of such state to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts with respect to actions for money and punitive damages for personal injury or death as a result of an act of torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or the provision of material support for such acts by such state or such official while acting within the scope his or her employment with such state.

[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2947 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2947

  To allow actions for damages caused by terrorist acts to be brought 
               against any country or officials thereof.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 24, 2001

 Ms. McKinney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To allow actions for damages caused by terrorist acts to be brought 
               against any country or officials thereof.

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

SECTION 1. ACTIONS AGAINST FOREIGN STATES BASED ON ACTS OF TERRORISM.

    Section 1605(a)(7) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
        ``paragraph--'' and inserting ``paragraph if--'';
            (2) by striking subparagraph (A); and
            (3) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) by striking ``(B) even if the foreign state is 
                or was so designated, if--''; and
                    (B) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) and aligning the text of each 
                such subparagraph (as so redesignated) with the text of 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (5) of section 
                1605(a) of title 28, United States Code.

SEC. 2. ACTIONS AGAINST OFFICIALS.

    Section 589 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and 
Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997, as enacted by section 101(c) 
of Public Law 104-208 (110 Stat. 3009-172; 28 U.S.C. 1605 note) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``designated as a state 
        sponsor of terrorism designated under section 6(j) of the 
        Export Administration Act of 1979''; and
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``under this action'' 
        and inserting ``under this section''.
                                 <all>