Congress Sets Aside $100,000 for Reward in Van Bombing : Terrorism: Officials hope the action will lead to a revolving fund that will aid in any future incidents on U.S. soil.

Congress on Wednesday gave final approval to a $100,000 reward fund in the Sharon Rogers van bombing case, and officials are hopeful that the incentive could lead to a revolving reward fund to help capture foreign terrorists who might prey on victims in this country.

The Rogers reward, which was attached to the annual appropriations bill for the Departments of Justice, State and Commerce, was approved by the Senate on Wednesday, a day after similar action in the House.

Rep. Bill Lowery, a Republican from San Diego and a friend of Sharon Rogers and her husband, Navy Capt. Will Rogers III, said he and officials from the FBI hope the reward money will go a long way toward bringing to justice those responsible for bombing the van driven by Sharon Rogers.

He noted that approval of the fund follows FBI Director William S. Sessions’ expression this week of renewed confidence that an arrest will be made in the 8-month-old case and said the FBI is still pursuing the case as an act of terrorism.

“Greater public awareness could identify some very important witnesses and have some people come forward,” Lowery said. “I am hopeful that will be the case.

“With the statements made by Director Sessions, I think the bureau is relatively close to an arrest, and I hope the reward fund will provide some incentive for someone to come forward.

“This could be the break they’ve been waiting for.”

The bill, when signed into law as expected by President Bush, would set aside $100,000 in Justice Department funds for information leading to an indictment in the Rogers case.

On March 10, Sharon Rogers, then a La Jolla schoolteacher, was driving to work when her van exploded. She escaped unharmed. Authorities have believed that the bombing was done in retribution for her husband’s mistaken order in July, 1988, aboard the guided missile cruiser Vincennes to shoot down a civilian Iranian jetliner.

Will and Sharon Rogers said they hope the reward fund will speed the investigation.

“We applaud the actions of the House and Senate to establish this federal reward,” Will Rogers said. “It heightens our hope that someone will come forward with information so that this case can be solved.

“Should it be solved, we think this will represent a milestone in demonstrating the resolve of the American people.”

It was reported last month that the FBI was concentrating on a former commercial pilot living in Georgia as a suspect. But recently, sources have indicated that it was appearing less likely that the pilot was behind the bombing.

According to Lowery, the $100,000 would be paid only in the Rogers case. But he said that, if the case drags on with no arrests and a second incident of international terrorism occurs on U.S. soil, the money could be transferred to a reward fund in that case.

“Ultimately, that decision would be made by the attorney general or the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” he said.

“The congressional intent was that this be used in the Rogers case. But that is not binding legally.”

He added that should the Rogers reward prove successful, Congress might want to set up a permanent reward fund for victims of international terrorism on U.S. soil.

“What we really need is an ongoing, revolving fund to help citizens and witnesses come forward,” he said. “I would be supportive of that. And, obviously, if this reward money helps crack this case, I think the bureau will probably request it in its ’91 budget appropriation.”

The $100,000 federal reward is in addition to $40,200 already posted at the local level in San Diego through the Crime Stoppers program.

That money was raised through a $25,000 contribution from the San Diego law office of Norman Nouskajian; $5,000 from the Navy League of the United States and other individual donations, ranging from $20 to $1,200, said Joanne Davenport, a Crime Stoppers spokeswoman.

Although she welcomed the added money, she cautioned that there has been no action on the local fund, one of the largest ever offered by her organization.

“There are just no leads,” she said. “The reward is huge, and we have not got any calls on it.”

“But who knows? Maybe by going nationwide with this new federal money, we’ll have more response.”