S54 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 22, 2008 committed by the Saddam Hussein re- conference report that the Senate over- believe that while a democratic, stable, gime that cannot be addressed in the whelmingly passed last month. It is my and prosperous Afghanistan is impor- U.S. courts due to a Presidential waiv- hope that the bill will receive similar tant to the national security of the er. support when we vote on it again later United States and to combating inter- We expect that the Department of today. national terrorism, I am concerned State will actively pursue such com- f that we are not achieving all of our pensation from Iraq. goals there. The United States has pro- As one of the authors of the new sec- NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZA- vided Afghanistan with over $20 billion tion 1083, I want to assure the Senate TION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 in reconstruction and security assist- that the new language authorizes the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ance. However, repeated and docu- waiver of section 1083, only as it ap- clerk will state the bill by title. mented incidents of waste, fraud, and plies to Iraq. The new subsection (d), The legislative clerk read as follows: abuse in the utilization of these funds which we have added to the bill, speci- A bill (H.R. 4986) to provide for the enact- have undermined reconstruction ef- fies that the President may waive any ment of the National Defense Authorization forts. I therefore believe that there is a provision of section 1083 ‘‘with respect Act for fiscal year 2008, and for other pur- critical need for vigorous oversight of to Iraq’’ and not with regard to any poses. spending by the United States on re- other country. We explicitly reaffirm Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I op- construction programs and projects in in this bill that other cases against pose the fiscal year 2008 Defense au- Afghanistan. state sponsors of terrorism, including thorization bill because it authorizes I would like to emphasize that the both Iran and Libya, may proceed to $189.5 billion for the war in Iraq but Government Accountability Office and judgment and collection under section does nothing to end the President’s the departmental Inspectors general 1083, unaffected by any Presidential misguided, open-ended Iraq policy. have provided valuable information on waiver. That policy has overburdened our mili- these activities. However, I believe Over the last 2 weeks, concerns have tary, weakened our national security, that the congressional oversight proc- been expressed about the possible im- diminished our international credi- ess requires more timely oversight and pact of this provision on innocent third bility, and cost the lives of thousands reporting of reconstruction activities parties entering joint ventures with of brave American soldiers. in Afghanistan. Oversight by this new Libya or Iran. The concern was that There are certain provisions of the Special Inspector General would en- these companies would find their own bill that I support strongly, including a compass the activities of the Depart- property seized to satisfy judgments pay raise for military personnel, Sen- ment of State, the Department of De- against those countries. Our language ator WEBB’s amendment creating a fense, and the U.S. Agency for Inter- does not allow for that result, because Commission on Wartime Contracting national Development, as well as other that is not our intent. This is not a to examine waste, fraud, and abuse in relevant agencies. It would highlight new issue: the question has been raised Iraq and Afghanistan, and Senator specific acts of waste, fraud, and abuse, as well as other managerial failures in by the language of the Lautenberg LAUTENBERG’s amendment to create a our assistance programs that need to amendment ever since it was first ap- Special Investigator General for Af- ghanistan Reconstruction. be addressed. proved by the Senate last fall. This new position will monitor U.S. We specifically addressed the prob- But on balance, I cannot vote to sup- assistance to Afghanistan in the civil- lem of joint ventures in our conference port a bill that defies the will of so ian and security sectors, as well as in on the Defense authorization bill, pre- many Wisconsinites—and so many the counternarcotics arena, and will viously approved by the Congress. We Americans—by allowing the President help both Congress and the American added language to the bill making it to continue one of the worst foreign people better understand the chal- policy mistakes in the history of our clear that the courts are authorized to lenges facing U.S. programs and Nation. compensate victim of state-sponsored projects in that country. I am pleased Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I terrorism out of Libya’s—or other that this provision has been included in rise to applaud the chairman and rank- states’—assets, while separating and this final bill. shielding the assets of companies en- ing members of the Senate Armed Second, this bill includes my legisla- gaged in joint ventures with those Services Committee, Senators LEVIN tion to provide justice for victims of States. In the accompanying statement and MCCAIN, respectively, on passage of state-sponsored terrorism, which has of managers, we specifically urged the the National Defense Authorization strong bipartisan support. I believe courts to make use of this authority. Act for fiscal year 2008. this legislation is essential to pro- This language was the strongest action Specifically, I would like to express viding justice to those who have suf- that we could take to protect innocent my gratitude to the bill conferees for fered at the hands of terrorists and is third parties without also shielding the their inclusion of four amendments an important tool designed to deter fu- offending governments from liability that I authored and which were unani- ture state-sponsored terrorism. The ex- for their own actions. mously adopted by the Senate during isting law passed by Congress in 1996 We have included a provision to en- its initial consideration of this bill. has been weakened by recent judicial sure that the statement of managers These provisions will increase over- decisions. This legislation fixes these on our previous conference report will sight of our country’s economic and se- problems. apply to this new bill in this and all re- curity assistance to Afghanistan by In 1996, Congress created the ‘‘state gards. creating a Special Inspector General sponsored terrorism exception’’ to the Outside of the modification of sec- for Afghanistan Reconstruction, sec- Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, tion 1083, the bill remains virtually un- tion 1229; help victims of state spon- FSIA. This exception allows victims of changed. We have, however, taken sored terrorism to achieve justice terrorism to sue those nations des- steps to ensure our men and women in through the U.S. courts, section 1083; ignated as state sponsors of terrorism uniform will not lose a penny as a re- prevent military health care fees by the Department of State for ter- sult of the delayed enactment of this through the TRICARE program from rorist acts they commit or for which bill. Toward that end, we have revised rising, sections 701 and 702; and in- they provide material support. Con- a number of provisions in the bill to crease accountability and planning for gress subsequently passed the Flatow make pay increases and bonus provi- safety and security at the Warren Amendment to the FSIA, which allows sions retroactive to January 1 and Grove Gunnery Range in New Jersey, victims of terrorism to seek meaning- avoid any gap in these authorities. section 359. ful damages, such as punitive damages, These changes have been worked out First, I was proud to be joined by my from state sponsors of terrorism for with the Department of Defense and cosponsors, Senators COBURN, DODD, the horrific acts of terrorist murder agreed to by the two Armed Services HAGEL, FEINGOLD, WEBB, and MCCAS- and injury committed or supported by Committees on a bipartisan basis. KILL, in creating a Special Inspector them. Other than these few changes, the General for Afghanistan Reconstruc- Congress’s original intent behind the bill before us today is identical to the tion. I wrote this legislation because I 1996 legislation has been muddied by VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:12 Mar 19, 2014 Jkt 081600 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\2008SENATE\S22JA8.REC S22JA8 mmaher on DSKCGSP4G1 with SOCIALSECURITY January 22, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S55 numerous court decisions. For exam- Jamahiriya, the court interpreted the justice for victims of state-sponsored ple, the courts decided in Cicippio- statute to begin to run at the time of terrorism be amended. The President Puleo v. Islamic Republic of Iran that the attack, contrary to our intent. It chose to take this extraordinary action there is no private right of action was our intent to provide a 10-year pe- without warning after asserting that against foreign governments—as op- riod from the date of enactment of the he had not been aware of the provi- posed to individuals—under the Flatow legislation for all acts that had oc- sion’s potential impact on the Govern- Amendment. Since this decision, curred at anytime prior to its passage ment of Iraq. The President contended judges have been prevented from apply- in 1996. We also intended to provide a that this provision would hinder Iraqi ing a uniform damages standard to all period of 10 years from the time of any reconstruction by exposing the current victims in a single case because a vic- attack which might occur after 1996.