[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 394 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 394
To provide for payment of certain claims against the Government of
Iran.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 10, 2007
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Wilson of South
Carolina, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Chabot, and Mr. Engel) 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 provide for payment of certain claims against the Government of
Iran.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) On November 4, 1979, the Iranian militants seized the
United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, and held 52 Americans
hostage for 444 days until their negotiated release on January
20, 1981.
(2) On January 19, 1981, the Department of State entered
into a series of agreements with Iran that came to be known as
the Algiers Accords. The accords established the United States-
Iran Claims Tribunal to adjudicate United States and Iranian
commercial claims. The Accords, however, sought to preclude the
52 American hostages or their families from bringing suit
against Iran for their seizure, detention, torture, and
injuries.
(3) On December 29, 2000, the 52 American hostages and
their spouses and children filed suit in the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia, pursuant to the
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (Public
Law 104-132).
(4) On August 6, 2001, the District Court entered a default
judgment against Iran after certifying the case as a class
action.
(5) The Department of State moved to vacate the decision of
the District Court, despite Iran's continued refusal to appear
in court.
(6) In response to the motion to vacate by the Department
of State, Congress amended the Antiterrorism and Effective
Death Penalty Act of 1996 by adding language to allow the claim
of the hostages to proceed to judgment. The accompanying
Conference Report specifically stated that the amendment
``quashes the State Department's motion to vacate the judgment
obtained by plaintiffs in Case Number 1:00CV03110 (ESG) in the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia''.
(7) Congress further reaffirmed this view by enacting
section 208 of division B of Public Law 107-117, making a
technical correction to the case number.
(8) On May 12, 2003, during oral arguments, the United
States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
noted that the agreements reached pursuant to the Algiers
Accords ``were at the point of a gun'', and observed that the
Court ``doubt[ed] that the Government of the United States
would defend this agreement on the theory that we would have
entered into this voluntarily without them holding onto our
hostages''.
(9) On May 12, 2003, during oral arguments before the Court
of Appeals, the attorneys representing the Department of
Justice affirmed to the Court that ``both Congress and the
President, both the political branches in other words, have the
authority to abrogate the international obligations of the
United States''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENTS OF POLICY.
(a) Pursuit of Justice and Accountability.--It is the policy of the
United States, as articulated in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death
Penalty Act of 1996 and in other United States laws, to seek justice
for United States victims of terrorism and to hold terrorists and their
state-sponsors accountable for their actions.
(b) Preemption.--United States law regarding victims of terrorism
supersedes the Algiers Accords and any other agreement with Iran
stemming from the holding of American hostages in Iran from November 4,
1979, through January 20, 1981.
SEC. 3. JUSTICE FOR FORMER AMERICAN HOSTAGES IN IRAN.
(a) Inapplicability of Algiers Accords.--Any provision of the
Algiers Accords, entered into with Iran on January 19, 1981, that
purports to bar a citizen of the United States from prosecuting any
claim in any court of the United States or to limit the jurisdiction of
any court of the United States is hereby abrogated and deemed
nonapplicable.
(b) Common Fund for Hostages.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, shall commence
payments to a common fund to be established and administered by
the certified class representatives for the former American
hostages in Iran and their survivors (as identified in case
number 1:00CV03110 (EGS) of the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia). Such common fund shall--
(A) be administered to pay claims to the Americans
held hostage in Iran, and to members of their families,
who are identified as class members in case number
1:00CV03110 (EGS) of the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia; and
(B) be administered solely for purposes of
satisfying such claims, as approved by the certified
class representatives identified in that case number.
(2) Funding.--Payments to the fund under paragraph (1)
shall be derived from the liquidation of blocked assets (as
defined in section 201(d)(2) of the Terrorism Risk Insurance
Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-297; 28 U.S.C. 1610 note) with
respect to Iran, and from amounts in the Iran Foreign Military
Sales Fund account within the Foreign Military Sales Fund. The
Secretary of the Treasury may liquidate such assets for
purposes of this subsection.
(3) Amount.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall make
payments into the fund in amounts equal to--
(A) for each former hostage identified as a class
member under paragraph (1)(A), $1,000 for each day of
captivity;
(B) for each spouse and child identified as a class
member under paragraph (1)(A), $500 for each day of
captivity of the former hostages; and
(C) interest on each amount under subparagraph (A)
and (B), calculated at the daily prime rate, as
determined by the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, for the period from the date of the
taking of the hostages until the date of payment under
this section.
<all>