LV resident could benefit from Reid amendment

Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2003 | 8:43 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Former prisoner of war Jeffrey Tice, a Las Vegas resident, could benefit from President Bush's $87 billion reconstruction plan for Iraq if an amendment by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is successful.

The Senate approved a "sense of the Congress" amendment Wednesday that would allow Tice and 16 other former POWs from the first Gulf War to collect the $959 million they won from a lawsuit filed against Iraq for torture they suffered while prisoners.

"The pain and terror American POWs endured at the hands of the Iraqi government is unspeakable," Reid said in a statement. "We must send a message to would-be tormentors of other governments that if they torture American POWs they will be held accountable."

The POWs were supposed to collect the money from frozen Iraqi assets, but the U.S. government has transferred the money, saying it needs to be used to rebuild Iraq.

"Jeff Tice and the other servicemen who were held as POWs followed every requirement as they sought justice," Reid said. "They fought their case courageously just as the fought Saddam. It is not right that the administration is trying to invalidate their case and erase any chance these Americans have to pursue justice."

The amendment, though not binding, expresses Congress' intent that the administration recognize the case and negotiate the compensation out of Saddam Hussein's assets now held by the United States.

The Senate also approved an amendment by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., that will prevent American dollars from being used to repay Iraqi debt owed to other countries that did not support the war effort.

"We cannot allow American taxpayer dollars that are supposed to be rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq to be sent to countries that supported the Hussein regime and failed to act when the United States was liberating the Iraqi people," Ensign said in a statement. "I support funds to rebuild roads, provide power and open schools in Iraq, not to pay back France, Germany and Russia for money lent to Saddam Hussein's government."

The amendment calls for a dollar-for-dollar reduction in American reconstruction funds if those funds are used to repay Iraqi debt, according to Ensign's office.

The Senate will continue to debate the supplemental spending bill today.