Bipartisan bill would compensate victims of Iran hostage crisis

Reps. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) will formally unveil legislation on Thursday aimed at getting compensation for victims and families of Americans held hostage in Iran between 1979 and 1981.

Duffy and Connolly’s bipartisan legislation would use fines and penalties on U.S. and foreign companies that violate U.S. sanctions to compensate the former hostages and their families.

{mosads}The legislation has 24 total co-sponsors — 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

Fifty-three Americans were held hostage in 1979 after students overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, with all but one hostage being held for 444 days. The hostage crisis gripped the nation and contributed to then-President Jimmy Carter’s 1980 reelection loss.

Duffy noted in a statement that the hostages “endured brutal physical and mental abuse for 444 days.”

“However, thanks to the deal secured by the Carter Administration in exchange for their release, they remain the only victims of state-sponsored terrorism who cannot seek a judgment in U.S. courts,” Duffy said. “That was wrong, and that is not fair.”

Duffy and Connolly noted in a letter to colleagues that the State Department has indicated they are supportive of recompensing the hostages and their families through this type of approach.

“We’re trying to come up with a legislative bill that doesn’t sweep this issue under the carpet but also doesn’t impact the Iran nuclear agreement,” Connolly said.

The Algiers Accords negotiated by the Carter administration that led to the freeing of the hostages in 1981 explicitly states that the hostages wouldn’t be able to sue Tehran for their abuse.

Sources close to the hostages, some of whom have suffered life-long mental health problems since their captivity, have said that they’re seeking about $4 million each for themselves, with their families eligible for about $2 million.

The issue is the latest sticking point for the administration’s controversial deal with Iran, which Republicans and some Democrats are opposing because they think it puts Tehran on a path toward obtaining a nuclear weapon.

The administration denies these criticisms, arguing that their 10-year deal will help prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

Critics of the deal have also pounced on the administration for not demanding the release of the four Americans in Iran who are either missing or held hostage, a point Duffy also raised.

“Whether it is the Carter administration refusing to secure just compensation for the hostages then, or the Obama administration refusing to secure the release of U.S. hostages in the Iran Nuclear agreement now — these victims must not bear the burden for these poorly negotiated deals,” Duffy said. “They deserve better.”