07 February 2002

Bills Would Use Terrorists' Money to Help Victims of Sept. 11

Washington -- Two Republican lawmakers from Michigan have introduced similar bills in the House of Representatives to use the blocked assets of terrorists to help the victims of the September 11 attacks and their families.

Representative David Camp (Republican of Michigan) introduced H.R. 3698 February 7. The bill would amend the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund of 2001 to provide for the liquidation of the blocked assets of terrorists and terrorist organizations to reimburse the Treasury for compensation of claimants resulting from the terror attacks on the United States.

H.R. 3698 was referred to both the House Judiciary Committee and the House International Relations Committee for action.

Camp, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, is an assistant majority whip. He managed the successful campaign of Representative Dennis Hastert (Republican of Illinois) to be Speaker of the House, and formally nominated Hastert for the position in January 1999.

Representative Peter Hoekstra (Republican of Michigan) submitted H.R. 3703 on the same day Camp introduced his bill. Hoekstra's bill would authorize the President to use the frozen assets of terrorists to aid directly the victims and surviving family members of the September 11 terror attacks.

H.R. 3703 also was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and the House International Relations Committee.

Hoekstra is one of the senior members of the House Budget Committee and a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. He was appointed to the latter position by House Speaker Dennis Hastert.