After waiting for more than four decades the former Iran hostages have only received a fraction—as little as 25%—of their promised payment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the 43rd anniversary of the resolution of the Iran Hostage Crisis, U.S. Senators JD Vance (R-OH) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) introduced new bipartisan legislation to recognize the former hostages and recommit the nation to honoring its promise to fully compensate them and their families. The bipartisan Justice for Former American Hostages in Iran Act of 2024 will complete the payments Congress previously authorized to the former hostages and their families through the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism (USVSST) Fund. Despite being the oldest and eldest claimants within the USVSST Fund, after waiting for more than four decades the former Iran hostages have only received a fraction—as little as 25%—of their promised payment.
The Justice for Former American Hostages in Iran Act of 2024 authorizes and appropriates funds to the USVSST Fund to make full and complete payments for outstanding and unpaid claims for former Iran hostages and their eligible family members, and mandates that any money appropriated for payments to the former Iran hostages may not be used for any other purposes.
Read the bill here.
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