[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1429 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1429
To provide compensation for United States victims of Libyan state-
sponsored terrorism, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 28, 2021
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.
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 ``Justice for the Living Victims of
Lockerbie Act''.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 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 2022, which shall be made
available to provide compensation to compensable living victims of
Libyan state-sponsored terrorism.
SEC. 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(d)(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.
<all>