Home > News & Policies > August 2003

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 29, 2003

Presidential Letter
Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate

August 28, 2003

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

Consistent with section 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. 1703(b), and section 301 of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631, I hereby report that I have exercised my authority to expand the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restora-tion and maintenance of peace and security in that country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq.

In United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1483 of May 22, 2003, the U.N. Security Council decided that U.N. member states shall freeze the assets of the former Iraqi regime, Saddam Hussein, and other senior officials of the former Iraqi regime, and their immediate family members and cause the transfer of those assets to the Development Fund for Iraq. The assets of the former Iraqi regime, Saddam Hussein, and other senior Iraqi officials have already been frozen pursuant to the Iraqi Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 575, which implemented the 1990 Executive Orders that imposed economic sanctions with respect to Iraq. The order that I have now issued broadens the scope of persons whose assets may be frozen under those orders by adding the immediate family members of former Iraqi senior officials whose assets may be frozen. This order also allows for the confiscating and vesting of some of those assets and provides for the transfer of all vested assets to the Development Fund for Iraq in a manner consistent with paragraph 23 of UNSCR 1483. The Development Fund for Iraq will be used by the Coalition Provisional Authority in a transparent manner to meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, for the economic reconstruction and repair of Iraq's infrastructure, for the continued disarmament of Iraq, for the costs of Iraqi civilian administration, and for other purposes benefiting the Iraqi people. By this order and related measures, the United States Government is implementing the requirements of paragraph 23 of UNSCR 1483.

Among other measures, unless licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant to this order, any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process with respect to assets blocked pursuant to this order is prohibited by section 1 of this order. I further note that Presidential Determination No. 2003-23 issued on May 7, 2003, made inapplicable with respect to Iraq section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, Public Law 87-195, as amended, and any other provision of law that applies to countries that have supported terrorism, including, but not limited to, 28 U.S.C. 1605(a)(7), 28 U.S.C. 1610, and section 201 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

I have ordered that all property and interests in property of the former Iraqi regime or its state bodies, corporations, or agencies, or of the following persons, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in:

(a) the persons listed in the Annex to this order; and

(b) persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State,

(i) to be senior officials of the former Iraqi regime

or their immediate family members; or

(ii) to be owned or controlled by, or acting or

purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or

indirectly, any of the persons listed in the Annex to this

order or determined to be subject to this order.

I have authorized the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to confiscate property that is blocked pursuant to this order and that he determines, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to belong to a person, organization, or country that has planned, authorized, aided, or engaged in armed hostilities against the United States. All right, title, and interest in any property so confiscated shall vest in the Department of the Treasury and shall promptly be transferred to the Development Fund for Iraq.

I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the authority to take such actions as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of my order, including the promulgation of rules and regulations. I have also authorized the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to employ all powers granted to me by IEEPA and by section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act, 22 U.S.C. 287c, to carry out the purposes of this order.

I am enclosing a copy of the executive order I have issued. The order is effective at 12:01 a.m. EDT on August 29, 2003.

Sincerely,

GEORGE W. BUSH

# # #