[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6] [House] [Pages 8604-8605] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]EXTENDING IMMUNITIES TO THE OFFICE OF THE HIGH REPRESENTATIVE IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND THE INTERNATIONAL CIVILIAN OFFICE IN KOSOVO ACT OF 2010 Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5139) to provide for the International Organizations Immunities Act to be extended to the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Civilian Office in Kosovo, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 5139 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Extending Immunities to the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Civilian Office in Kosovo Act of 2010''. SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO EXTEND THE PROVISIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IMMUNITIES ACT TO THE OFFICE OF THE HIGH REPRESENTATIVE IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND THE INTERNATIONAL CIVILIAN OFFICE IN KOSOVO. The International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: ``Sec. 17. The provisions of this title may be extended to the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (and to its officers and employees) or the International Civilian Office in Kosovo (and to its officers and employees) in the same manner, to the same extent, and subject to the same conditions, as such provisions may be extended to a public international organization in which the United States participates pursuant to any treaty or under the authority of any Act of Congress authorizing such participation or making an appropriation for such participation. Any such extension may provide for the provisions of this title to continue to extend to the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (and to its officers and employees) or the International Civilian Office in Kosovo (and to its officers and employees) after that Office has been dissolved.''. SEC. 3. BUDGET COMPLIANCE. The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New York (Mr. McMahon) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York. [[Page 8605]] General Leave Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New York? There was no objection. Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of this bill that provides legal protection for U.S. personnel working in two Balkans-based organizations. I wish to thank my good friend from California and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Howard Berman, for introducing this important measure. The Office of the High Representative, or OHR, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Civilian Office, the ICO, in Kosovo arose out of efforts by the international community, with the United States' leadership, to bring peace and stability to the Balkans following the conflicts in the 1990s. The OHR has been performing an invaluable function in overseeing the civilian implementation of the Dayton Accords, while the ICO has been ensuring implementation of provisions of the Comprehensive Proposal of the Kosovo Status Settlement. Over 200 Americans have worked at these organizations. H.R. 5139 amends the International Organizations and Immunities Act, or the IOIA, by authorizing the President to extend privileges and immunities to the officers and employees of the OHR and ICO. This technical fix seeks to help avoid costly and politically sensitive litigation in the United States' courts against employees of these organizations who are not otherwise guaranteed immunity under the IOIA. Unlike typical international organizations designated under the IOIA, neither the OHR nor the ICO is intended to endure beyond a limited timeframe necessary for implementing their mandates. Thus, H.R. 5139 enables the President to extend the privileges and immunities after these bodies are dissolved, since even then litigation may be brought against former employees or for records of the organization. It is of utmost importance that the United States Government protects its diplomats who serve in international organizations, often at great personal risk and sacrifice, from financial and personal ruinous litigation. In addition, we must preserve our ability to use informal institutions to conduct foreign policy and attract qualified personnel. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5139. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 5139. The Office of High Representative in Bosnia and the International Civilian Office in Kosovo were established to help promote stable, multiethnic democratic governance in those countries in the aftermath of the vicious warfare they suffered throughout the 1990s. The United States has supported these missions and assigned American diplomats to help them with critical expert advice. Regrettably, these American diplomats could now face costly, politically motivated nuisance lawsuits based on their actions in the course of their official duties while helping those organizations and those nations. For other international organizations in which the United States participates by treaty or by an act of this Congress, the President may freely extend immunity from such lawsuits to officers and employees under the International Organization Immunities Act. However, due to the ad hoc nature of their establishment, these two offices are not automatically covered by this law. This brief bill seeks to rectify the issue by allowing the President to extend those privileges and immunities to those organizations and their employees. Congress has similarly amended the IOIA to extend immunities to other organizations falling in similar gray areas, such as the European Space Agency, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, among just a few. {time} 1500 These immunities are not nearly as broad as the personal immunity enjoyed by foreign diplomats in the United States, but will insulate our officers from suit only for their official actions as employees of those organizations, and may be revoked by the President at any time. I'm pleased to support the passage of this measure, which represents a bipartisan text that was worked out with the Department of State and with our Senate colleagues. With that, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. POMEROY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5139. I strongly support this needed legislation which extends the diplomatic protections granted under the International Organizations and Immunities Act (IOIA) to employees of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Civilian Office (ICO) in Kosovo. The OHR and ICO have been critical institutions for fostering peace and stability in Bosnia and Kosovo, but due to their unique ad hoc structure, the employees of these institutions are at risk of litigation related to the carrying out of their official duties. This is unacceptable. Other similar institutions have been extended IOIA protections, and we must bring the OHR and ICO under the IOIA umbrella. Acting on this issue in a timely manner is especially important as neither the OHR nor ICO is intended to endure beyond a limited time frame necessary for the implementation of their mandate. The hard working men and women at the OHR and ICO have worked tirelessly, often at great personal sacrifice, to promote peace in the region. This is especially apparent with respect to their efforts to root out corruption and to freeze assets used by war criminals. Unfortunately, obstructionist political elements in the region have been all too vocal regarding their intent to take legal action against employees of the OHR and ICO. It is unacceptable that OHR and ICO employees could face potential lawsuits for their official actions carried out with the express purpose of furthering core United States foreign policy objectives. The bill before us takes the necessary step of bringing the OHR and ICO under the IOIA, and grants well deserved protections to those working to bring peace and stability to the countries of Bosnia and Kosovo. Please support this resolution. Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. McMahon) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5139, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________