H.R.4655 - Iraq Liberation Act of 1998105th Congress (1997-1998)

Text: H.R.4655 — 105th Congress (1997-1998)All Information (Except Text)

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[H.R. 4655 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4655

                       One Hundred Fifth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-
                                  eight


                                 An Act


 
  To establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq.

    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 ``Iraq Liberation Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) On September 22, 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, starting an 8 
    year war in which Iraq employed chemical weapons against Iranian 
    troops and ballistic missiles against Iranian cities.
        (2) In February 1988, Iraq forcibly relocated Kurdish civilians 
    from their home villages in the Anfal campaign, killing an 
    estimated 50,000 to 180,000 Kurds.
        (3) On March 16, 1988, Iraq used chemical weapons against Iraqi 
    Kurdish civilian opponents in the town of Halabja, killing an 
    estimated 5,000 Kurds and causing numerous birth defects that 
    affect the town today.
        (4) On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded and began a 7 month 
    occupation of Kuwait, killing and committing numerous abuses 
    against Kuwaiti civilians, and setting Kuwait's oil wells ablaze 
    upon retreat.
        (5) Hostilities in Operation Desert Storm ended on February 28, 
    1991, and Iraq subsequently accepted the ceasefire conditions 
    specified in United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 (April 
    3, 1991) requiring Iraq, among other things, to disclose fully and 
    permit the dismantlement of its weapons of mass destruction 
    programs and submit to long-term monitoring and verification of 
    such dismantlement.
        (6) In April 1993, Iraq orchestrated a failed plot to 
    assassinate former President George Bush during his April 14-16, 
    1993, visit to Kuwait.
        (7) In October 1994, Iraq moved 80,000 troops to areas near the 
    border with Kuwait, posing an imminent threat of a renewed invasion 
    of or attack against Kuwait.
        (8) On August 31, 1996, Iraq suppressed many of its opponents 
    by helping one Kurdish faction capture Irbil, the seat of the 
    Kurdish regional government.
        (9) Since March 1996, Iraq has systematically sought to deny 
    weapons inspectors from the United Nations Special Commission on 
    Iraq (UNSCOM) access to key facilities and documents, has on 
    several occasions endangered the safe operation of UNSCOM 
    helicopters transporting UNSCOM personnel in Iraq, and has 
    persisted in a pattern of deception and concealment regarding the 
    history of its weapons of mass destruction programs.
        (10) On August 5, 1998, Iraq ceased all cooperation with 
    UNSCOM, and subsequently threatened to end long-term monitoring 
    activities by the International Atomic Energy Agency and UNSCOM.
        (11) On August 14, 1998, President Clinton signed Public Law 
    105-235, which declared that ``the Government of Iraq is in 
    material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations'' 
    and urged the President ``to take appropriate action, in accordance 
    with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States, to 
    bring Iraq into compliance with its international obligations.''.
        (12) On May 1, 1998, President Clinton signed Public Law 105-
    174, which made $5,000,000 available for assistance to the Iraqi 
    democratic opposition for such activities as organization, 
    training, communication and dissemination of information, 
    developing and implementing agreements among opposition groups, 
    compiling information to support the indictment of Iraqi officials 
    for war crimes, and for related purposes.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD 
              IRAQ.

    It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to 
remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to 
promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that 
regime.

SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT A TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ.

    (a) Authority To Provide Assistance.--The President may provide to 
the Iraqi democratic opposition organizations designated in accordance 
with section 5 the following assistance:
        (1) Broadcasting assistance.--(A) Grant assistance to such 
    organizations for radio and television broadcasting by such 
    organizations to Iraq.
        (B) There is authorized to be appropriated to the United States 
    Information Agency $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 to carry out 
    this paragraph.
        (2) Military assistance.--(A) The President is authorized to 
    direct the drawdown of defense articles from the stocks of the 
    Department of Defense, defense services of the Department of 
    Defense, and military education and training for such 
    organizations.
        (B) The aggregate value (as defined in section 644(m) of the 
    Foreign Assistance Act of 1961) of assistance provided under this 
    paragraph may not exceed $97,000,000.
    (b) Humanitarian Assistance.--The Congress urges the President to 
use existing authorities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to 
provide humanitarian assistance to individuals living in areas of Iraq 
controlled by organizations designated in accordance with section 5, 
with emphasis on addressing the needs of individuals who have fled to 
such areas from areas under the control of the Saddam Hussein regime.
    (c) Restriction on Assistance.--No assistance under this section 
shall be provided to any group within an organization designated in 
accordance with section 5 which group is, at the time the assistance is 
to be provided, engaged in military cooperation with the Saddam Hussein 
regime.
    (d) Notification Requirement.--The President shall notify the 
congressional committees specified in section 634A of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 at least 15 days in advance of each obligation 
of assistance under this section in accordance with the procedures 
applicable to reprogramming notifications under section 634A.
    (e) Reimbursement Relating to Military Assistance.--
        (1) In general.--Defense articles, defense services, and 
    military education and training provided under subsection (a)(2) 
    shall be made available without reimbursement to the Department of 
    Defense except to the extent that funds are appropriated pursuant 
    to paragraph (2).
        (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized to 
    be appropriated to the President for each of the fiscal years 1998 
    and 1999 such sums as may be necessary to reimburse the applicable 
    appropriation, fund, or account for the value (as defined in 
    section 644(m) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961) of defense 
    articles, defense services, or military education and training 
    provided under subsection (a)(2).
    (f) Availability of Funds.--(1) Amounts authorized to be 
appropriated under this section are authorized to remain available 
until expended.
    (2) Amounts authorized to be appropriated under this section are in 
addition to amounts otherwise available for the purposes described in 
this section.
    (g) Authority To Provide Assistance.--Activities under this section 
(including activities of the nature described in subsection (b)) may be 
undertaken notwithstanding any other provision of law.

SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF IRAQI DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION ORGANIZATION.

    (a) Initial Designation.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the President shall designate one or more 
Iraqi democratic opposition organizations that the President determines 
satisfy the criteria set forth in subsection (c) as eligible to receive 
assistance under section 4.
    (b) Designation of Additional Organizations.--At any time 
subsequent to the initial designation pursuant to subsection (a), the 
President may designate one or more additional Iraqi democratic 
opposition organizations that the President determines satisfy the 
criteria set forth in subsection (c) as eligible to receive assistance 
under section 4.
    (c) Criteria for Designation.--In designating an organization 
pursuant to this section, the President shall consider only 
organizations that--
        (1) include a broad spectrum of Iraqi individuals, groups, or 
    both, opposed to the Saddam Hussein regime; and
        (2) are committed to democratic values, to respect for human 
    rights, to peaceful relations with Iraq's neighbors, to maintaining 
    Iraq's territorial integrity, and to fostering cooperation among 
    democratic opponents of the Saddam Hussein regime.
    (d) Notification Requirement.--At least 15 days in advance of 
designating an Iraqi democratic opposition organization pursuant to 
this section, the President shall notify the congressional committees 
specified in section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 of his 
proposed designation in accordance with the procedures applicable to 
reprogramming notifications under section 634A.

SEC. 6. WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL FOR IRAQ.

    Consistent with section 301 of the Foreign Relations Authorization 
Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 (Public Law 102-138), House Concurrent 
Resolution 137, 105th Congress (approved by the House of 
Representatives on November 13, 1997), and Senate Concurrent Resolution 
78, 105th Congress (approved by the Senate on March 13, 1998), the 
Congress urges the President to call upon the United Nations to 
establish an international criminal tribunal for the purpose of 
indicting, prosecuting, and imprisoning Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi 
officials who are responsible for crimes against humanity, genocide, 
and other criminal violations of international law.

SEC. 7. ASSISTANCE FOR IRAQ UPON REPLACEMENT OF SADDAM HUSSEIN REGIME.

    It is the sense of the Congress that once the Saddam Hussein regime 
is removed from power in Iraq, the United States should support Iraq's 
transition to democracy by providing immediate and substantial 
humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, by providing democracy 
transition assistance to Iraqi parties and movements with democratic 
goals, and by convening Iraq's foreign creditors to develop a 
multilateral response to Iraq's foreign debt incurred by Saddam 
Hussein's regime.

SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize or otherwise 
speak to the use of United States Armed Forces (except as provided in 
section 4(a)(2)) in carrying out this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.