Frank Lautenberg: “in light of the recent announcement to remove Libya from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terror, I rise…”

“in light of the recent announcement to remove Libya from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terror, I rise today to submit a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the Libyan Government should meet the terms of its financial commitment to the families of the victims of the Pan Am flight 103 bombing and other acts of terror supported by Libya before the President accepts credentials of any representative of the Government of Libya. I am pleased that Senators Graham, Menendez, Clinton, Kennedy, Biden, Lieberman, Levin, Kerry, Stabenow, Mikulski, Schumer, Boxer, Dodd, Bingaman, Allen, Collins, Burr, Salazar, DeMint, Lincoln, Dorgan, Reed, DeWine, Kohl, Reid, and Santorum have agreed to cosponsor my resolution. In May 2002, Libya made an unequivocal commitment to compensate the families who lost loved ones in the Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, including 189 Americans. To date, Libya has not resolved these claims in full, particularly the last installment of compensation that is to be paid to each family upon Libya's removal from the list of state sponsors of terror. Now that the Secretary of State has announced Libya's removal from the list, the U.S. must ensure that Libya honors its commitment. Before the U.S. normalizes its relationship with the Government of Libya, it is crucial that we underscore our expectation that Libya will fully honor its commitment to all these American families.…”