WASHINGTON — Congress on Thursday approved legislation that will allow the State Department to settle all remaining lawsuits against Libya by U.S. terrorism victims.
The bill paves the way for healing the last rifts between the U.S. and Libya, but only after the country fully compensates Americans harmed in Libyan-sponsored attacks, including the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1986 bombing of the La Belle discotheque in Berlin.
The Senate passed the measure Thursday. The House followed suit. President Bush is expected to sign it.
It creates a new fund to compensate the victims and grants Libya immunity from terror- related lawsuits once the secretary of state certifies that they have been paid. The measure could lend momentum to attempts to restore full ties between Washington and Tripoli.
