HEARING OF THE FOREIGN OPERATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: FY04 APPROPRIATIONS FOR STATE DEPARTMENT
SEN. TOM HARKIN (D-IA): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Powell, thank you again for being here today and thank you for your tremendous leadership during these very trying times.
I'm going to have a question for you here, a statement, a bit of a question, which I guarantee you that none of your staff ever prepared you for. But I think it'sI believe it's important, and it's something I think that we could take the leadership on.
As you know, Mr. Secretary, I have been a long time advocate for people with disabilities, one of the main authors of the Americans With Disabilities Act. I think it's very important that any reconstruction supported with U.S. funding be accessible to people with disabilities and allow them to equally participate in civic and community life. As we begin this crucial period in Iraq and Afghanistan, where these two peoples are rebuilding their futures, I know a lot of voices will be heard. And you are reaching out to different sectors of society in both of those countries.
It's my hope that the administration will give some thought to reaching out to the disability community. There are going to be a lot of people obviously that arealready are disabled in those countries for natural reasons or because of the effects of war, and I'm just hopeful that as we begin this reconstruction that we begin to impress upon them our hope and ourmaybe more than hope, but our strong support for ensuring that their institutions are accessible.
SEC. POWELL: Thank you, Senator. And you're right, my staff did not prepare me for that question, but I didn't need it. It's a very good observation, and I'll try to find the right way to insert it into our thinking. My son, you may recall, was retired from the army with 100 percent disability, and so I became very knowledgeable about 15 years ago what it's like to be in a wheelchair, and then on crutches and then on a cane, or to drive a car with one leg that doesn't really work, and what access means. He's now fully functional, although still carries some of the consequences of his injuries. But if you look at the Financial Times today, you'll see two pictures of him and one of me, and both of us are being criticized. (Laughter.) So, I have more than a passing interest or awareness of this subject.
SEN. HARKIN: Well, I appreciate that, Mr. Secretary. And in following up on that, I had spoken with Mr. Armitage about this about a year ago. In June, the United Nations in New York will convene one more meeting of member nations to draft an international convention on the rights of individuals with disabilities. This, I think, is the second. The first meeting was last year, and that's when I called Mr. Armitage at that time. Again, I'd like to urge the administration, and your leadership, to take a role in the drafting of this convention, just as former President Bush took a lead role in helping us get the Americans With Disabilities Act through and signing it into law.
So, I would hope that we would really be forward on this, and that you would send instructions down and to be heavily involved inyou know, since we've had 13 years of experience, some ups and downs, but good experience in how to deal with this, I think the United States should take a big leadership role on that. And if I could just ask you just as maybe a personal favor, or professional favor, whoever is in charge of this in your office, if I could be in touch with them, or if they could be in touch with me, I'd sure appreciate that.
SEC. POWELL: I'll make sure that happens, Senator. Thank you.
SEN. HARKIN: I appreciate that very much. Last, if I have any time left, I have a constituent in Iowa, Taleb Subh who was born in my state but his parents came from Kuwait. He happened to be back there visiting during the time of the first Gulf War. He was one of about 100 people that were used as human shields. Fortunately, he lived. And he came back, young man, and he wasn't going to take this sitting down, and he sued. And he got a judgment against the government of Iraq. They've had a lot of problems in meetingyou know, getting the money for the judgment. That recently happened with the finding of some money in the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, by the way. He and his attorneys have told me they have just had a dickens of a time with the State Department on this.
And now there's about a hundredI could be off a little bit, but there's about a hundred of similarly situated people who are suing because they were used as human shields and other things like that, but they're U.S. citizens. And they have gotten judgments. But, there doesn't seem to be any money, or they got money against assets held by Iraq.
Well, it occurred to me the other day that they found all this money now that Saddam had stuck away someplace. I don't know; hundreds of millions of dollars. Well, I just (want you to know?), I hope the State Department will look at that as a possible source of meeting the judgments rendered in favor of these claimants.
Lastly, I have another constituent who was one of the Iranian hostages, and they sued. But because of the Algiers accord, they can't get it fulfilled. And we've got to work this out. That was never a treaty. It was blackmail, pure and simple, by the government of Iran at that time in order for us to get our hostages back.
And because of that Algiers accord, we can't permit our citizens the right that they ought to have, like we can sue other governments. We can't sue the government of Iran to go after them for unlawful, illegal incarceration for all those days they were held.
SEC. POWELL: This is a very complex issue, Senator. In the Iranian case and the Algiers accord, because of that accord, if we were to start paying claims using frozen Iranian assets, because of the nature of that accord, they would have then a recourse in international law. And the cost of this might come back to the U.S. taxpayer.
With respect to Kuwaiti issues, there are frozen Iraqi assets and there are also compensation claims being paid out of the U.N. oil-for- food program for victims. But the real solution to this whole problem is the victims of terrorism fund that we'd like to see created. And we're still working with OMB and other agencies of the administration to get that one moving.
SEN. HARKIN: One last thing, Mr. Secretary. I don't think our taxpayers ought to be paying for it. If they've got assets and they've got money, they ought to pay for it, not the taxpayers.
SEC. POWELL: If it flows through, if there are assets that are not protected in some way by other agreements that the United States government has entered into, and if we break those agreements, then there really are significant foreign policy implications to suchwalking away from agreements that have been entered into.