34 U.S.C. § 20106 — Compensation to victims of international terrorism

(a) Definitions. (1) International terrorism. This term has the meaning given in section 2331 of title 18. (2) National of the United States. This term has the meaning given in section 1101(a) of title 8. (3) Victim. (A) In general, "victim" means a person who (i) suffered direct physical or emotional injury, or died, because of international terrorism happening on or after October 23, 1983, where an investigation or civil or criminal prosecution was still going on after April 24, 1996; and (ii) was, when the terrorism happened, a national of the United States or a U.S. government officer or employee. (B) If the victim is under 18, incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, a family member or legal guardian can receive the compensation on the victim's behalf. (C) Exception. No matter what else this section says, someone criminally responsible for the terrorist act or mass violence can never get compensation under this section, whether directly or on behalf of a victim. (b) Award of compensation. The Director can use the emergency reserve described in section 20101(d)(5)(A) of this title to run a program compensating victims of international terrorism happening outside the United States, for expenses tied to that victimization. The compensation a victim gets is reduced by any amount the victim already received for the same act of international terrorism under title VIII of the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986. (c) Annual report. The Director must report to Congress every year on this program's status and activities, including: (1) an explanation of how applications for compensation are filed and processed; (2) a description of steps taken to promote public awareness of the program; (3) a full statistical analysis of victims helped, including (A) how many applications for compensation were submitted, (B) how many were approved and the amount of each award, (C) how many were denied and why, (D) the average time to process an application, and (E) how many applications are pending and the program's estimated future costs; and (4) an analysis of future program needs and suggested improvements.