Equitable Compensation for American Victims of Torture Act of 2009 - Terminates the authority of the President to grant the government of Iraq immunity from actions by victims of terrorism seeking compensation for injuries caused by officials, employees, or agents of the government of Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War when such government was classified as a state sponsor of terrorism, unless the claims in specified cases of U.S. soldiers and civilians held in Iraq as POWs and hostages and subject to state-sponsored torture and terrorism have been adequately settled.
Defines various adequate settlement amounts, depending on the victim, length of torture or detainment, etc.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2241 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2241
To provide for the settlement of certain claims against Iraq by victims
of torture and terrorism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 4, 2009
Mr. Sestak introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the settlement of certain claims against Iraq by victims
of torture and terrorism.
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 ``Equitable Compensation for American
Victims of Torture Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE AND TERRORISM.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) During the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, Americans
serving in the United States Armed Forces were captured, became
Prisoners of War (POWs), and were subsequently tortured,
beaten, starved, hooked to electrical shock devices, and
subjected to other horrendous acts by Saddam Hussein's regime.
(2) CBS News reporter Bob Simon and cameraman Roberto
Alvarez were kidnapped while on assignment during the 1991 Gulf
War and were held and tortured, along with the American POWs.
(3) Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990,
many United States citizens were detained by Iraq, beaten,
subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, confined
under deplorable conditions, and used as ``human shields'' for
the avowed purpose of preventing the United States and its
coalition allies from using military force to liberate Kuwait.
(4) At the time these acts occurred, the Department of
State had classified Iraq as a state sponsor of terrorism.
(5) The brave American POWs and American civilian hostages
have suffered long-term physical, emotional, and mental damage
as a result of this brutal, state-sponsored torture and
terrorism.
(6) When the American POWs returned home after the Gulf War
ended, they were given a hero's welcome by then Secretary of
Defense Dick Cheney, who told them, ``Your country is opening
its arms to greet you''.
(7) During the 1991 Gulf War, the Congress unanimously
passed resolutions condemning the brutal treatment by the
Government of Iraq of captured United States service members,
demanding that the Government of Iraq abide by the Geneva
Convention regarding the treatment of prisoners of war, and
stating an intention to hold Iraq accountable for the torture
of American POWs.
(8) In 1996, Congress passed an amendment to the Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) provisions of title 28, United
States Code, so that torture victims like the American POWs and
the American ``human shield'' victims from the Gulf War could
seek compensation for their injuries from terrorist countries,
including Iraq.
(9) On April 4, 2002, 17 Gulf War POWs and their families
filed claims in the United States District Court for the
District of Columbia seeking compensation for damages related
to their torture and abuse by the Government of Iraq. The POWs
included Colonel Clifford Acree, USMC (Ret.); Lieutenant
Colonel Craig Berryman, USMC (Ret.); Former Staff Sergeant Troy
Dunlap, U.S. Army; Colonel David Eberly, USAF (Ret.);
Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey D. Fox, USAF (Ret.); Chief Warrant
Officer 5 Guy Hunter, USMC (Ret.); Sergeant David Lockett, U.S.
Army; Colonel H. Michael Roberts, USAF; Colonel Russell
Sanborn, USMC; Captain Lawrence Randolph Slade, USN (Ret.);
Major Joseph Small, USMC (Ret.); Staff Sergeant Daniel
Stamaris, U.S. Army (Ret.); Lieutenant Colonel Richard Dale
Storr, Air National Guard; Lieutenant Colonel Robert Sweet,
USAF; Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Tice, USAF (Ret.); Former
Lieutenant Robert Wetzel, USN; and Former Commander Jeffrey
Zaun, USN.
(10) In 2003, after the Government of Iraq repeatedly
refused to participate in arbitration on the damage claims, and
after hearing evidence of how the former POWs had been
repeatedly tortured, a judge awarded them a judgment for
damages, stating that ``deterring torture of POWs should be of
the highest priority''.
(11) Despite this ruling, the POWs and their families have
not received payment, and are unable to further pursue their
claims in United States courts because of the waiver that was
granted for Iraq by the President under authority established
in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.
(12) In December 2001, after conducting an evidentiary
hearing, the United States district court held, in Hill v.
Republic of Iraq, that Iraq was liable for having taken United
States citizens hostage following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
and subsequently awarded 180 of those former hostages and their
spouses a judgment for damages.
(13) On March 20, 2003, on the eve of Operation Iraqi
Freedom, the President of the United States directed that all
of the judgments that had been awarded in Hill v. Republic of
Iraq be paid from moneys held in blocked Iraqi accounts.
(14) On that same date, the President issued an Executive
order confiscating all remaining blocked assets of Iraq and
ordering them to be deposited into the United States Treasury
to be used for Iraq reconstruction.
(15) The claims of more than 200 United States citizens
who, at the same time and in the same manner as the Hill
plaintiffs, were held hostage in territory occupied by Iraq are
currently pending in a United States district court in the case
of Vine v. Republic of Iraq.
(16) The plaintiffs in Vine v. Republic of Iraq have not
been compensated and are unable to enforce any judgment they
may obtain in United States courts because of the waiver that
was granted for Iraq by the President under authority
established in the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2008.
(17) Article 131 of the Third Geneva Convention relative to
the Treatment of Prisoners of War (August 12, 1949) prohibits
the United States as a party to that treaty from absolving the
Government of Iraq of any liability incurred due to the torture
of prisoners of war, such as the American POWs referred to in
this section.
(18) The United States has a moral obligation to protect
its past, present, and future members of its Armed Forces, and
all United States citizens, from torture and hostage-taking,
and the Congress is committed to holding state sponsors of
terrorism accountable for such horrendous acts.
(b) Resolution of Certain Claims Against Iraq.--
(1) Adequate settlement of certain cases.--Unless the
claims in the cases referred to in paragraph (2) have been
adequately settled before the end of the 30-day period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, then, upon
the expiration of that 30-day period, the waiver authority
granted to the President in section 1083(d) of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-
181; 122 Stat. 343), and any waiver granted before the end of
that 30-day period under such authority, shall terminate.
(2) Cases.--The cases referred to in paragraph (1) are
cases numbered 99:00CV03346 (TPJ), 1:01CV02674 (HHK), CIV.A.
02-632 (RWR) (July 7, 2003), 1:03CV00691 (HHK), 1:03CV00888
(HHK), and No. 03-0215 (JDB), in the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia.
(3) Adequate settlement.--For purposes of paragraph (1),
adequate settlement means payment by the Government of Iraq, or
payment by a United States depository institution pursuant to
an unqualified and unconditional guarantee made by such
depository institution, of at least the following amounts to
the following persons:
(A) To any person--
(i) whose claim in the applicable case
referred to in paragraph (2) arose from an act
of hostage taking or from being held in hostage
status, and
(ii) who has not obtained a judgment on the
claim before the date of the enactment of this
Act,
$150,000, plus $6,000 for each day the person was held
as a hostage, but in no event more than $900,000.
(B) To any person--
(i) whose claim in the applicable case
referred to in paragraph (2) arose from an act
of hostage taking or from being held in hostage
status,
(ii) who, while a hostage, was subjected to
torture, and
(iii) who has not obtained a judgment on
the claim before the date of the enactment of
this Act,
$2,500,000, plus $6,000 for each day the person was
held as a hostage.
(C) To a plaintiff in the applicable case referred
to in paragraph (2) who is the spouse or was at the
time the claims arose, or child of any person who
qualifies for receipt of payment under paragraph (1) or
(2), one-third of the amount that such person qualifies
for receipt under such paragraph.
(D) To any person who, before the date of the
enactment of this Act, obtained a judgment for
compensatory damages in a case referred to in paragraph
(2) (regardless of whether such judgment was
subsequently vacated)--
(i) payment of the unsatisfied amount of
such judgment, in an amount that is the lesser
of $1,000,000 or the unsatisfied amount of the
award; and
(ii) if the amount of the judgment exceeds
$1,000,000, one-third of the unsatisfied amount
of such excess.
(4) Definitions.--In this section:
(A) Hostage.--The term ``hostage'' means an
individual in hostage status or an individual seized or
detained in the commission of an act of hostage taking.
(B) Hostage status.--The term ``hostage status''
has the meaning given that term in section 599C(d)(1)
of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and
Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1991 (Public Law
101-513).
(C) Hostage taking.--The term ``hostage taking''
has the meaning given that term in section 1605A(h)(2)
of title 28, United States Code.
(D) Person.--The term ``person'' includes the legal
representative of a claimant's estate.
(E) Torture.--The term ``torture'' has the meaning
given that term in section 3 of the Torture Victim
Protection Act of 1991 (28 U.S.C. 1350 note).
(F) United states.--The term ``United States''
means the several States, the District of Columbia, and
any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the
United States.
(G) United states depository institution.--The term
``United States depository institution'' means a
depository institution organized under the laws of any
State, the District of Columbia, or the United States,
including a branch or agency of a foreign depository
institution.
(c) Additional Provisions.--
(1) Construction of appropriations act provision.--Section
1503 of the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act,
2003 (Public Law 108-11; 117 Stat. 579), and any exercise of
authority by the President pursuant to such section 1503, was
never intended to and did not provide for the removal of
jurisdiction over cases brought under section 1605(a)(7) of
title 28, United States Code.
(2) Construction of ndaa provision.--Section 1083(d) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public
Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 343), and any waiver exercised by the
President pursuant to such section 1083(d), was never intended
to and did not provide for the removal of jurisdiction over
cases brought under section 1605(a)(7) of title 28, United
States Code.
(3) Applicability of ndaa provision.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, section 1083(c) of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122
Stat. 342) shall apply, beginning on the date of the enactment
of this Act, to the cases referred to in subsection (b)(2) of
this section, notwithstanding any waiver of that provision with
respect to Iraq.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line