II 

Calendar No. 183 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 559 

[Report No. 113–104] 

To establish a fund to make payments to the Americans held hostage in 

Iran, and to members of their families, who are identified as members 

of the proposed class in case number 1:08–CV–00487 (EGS) of the 

United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 13, 2013 

Mr. ISAKSON (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. COONS, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WICKER, Mrs. HAGAN, and Mr. HARKIN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish a fund to make payments to the Americans 

held hostage in Iran, and to members of their families, 

who are identified as members of the proposed class 

in case number 1:08–CV–00487 (EGS) of the United 

States District Court for the District of Columbia, and 

for other purposes. 

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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice for Former 

5 American Hostages in Iran Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMERICAN HOSTAGES IN IRAN COMPENSATION 

7 FUND. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

9 Treasury a fund, to be known as the ‘‘American Hostages 

10 in Iran Compensation Fund’’ (in this section referred to 

11 as the ‘‘Fund’’) for the purposes of— 

12 (1) making payments to the Americans held 

13 hostage in Iran, and to members of their families, 

14 who are identified as members of the proposed class 

15 in case number 1:08–CV–00487 (EGS) of the 

16 United States District Court for the District of Co17 lumbia; and 

18 (2) satisfying the claims of the members of the 

19 proposed class against Iran relating to the alleged 

20 taking of hostages or treatment of personnel of the 

21 United States embassy in Tehran, Iran, between No22 vember 3, 1979, and January 20, 1981. 

23 (b) FUNDING.— 

24 (1) IMPOSITION OF SURCHARGE.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is imposed a sur2 charge equal to 30 percent of the amount of 

3 any fine or penalty imposed, in whole or in 

4 part, for a violation of a law or regulation speci5 fied in subparagraph (B) committed on or after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (B) LAWS AND REGULATIONS SPECI8 FIED.—A law or regulation specified in this 

9 subparagraph is any law or regulation imposing 

10 a fine or penalty for any economic activity re11 lating to Iran that is administered by the De12 partment of State, the Department of the 

13 Treasury, the Department of Justice, the De14 partment of Commerce, or the Department of 

15 Energy. 

16 (C) TERMINATION OF DEPOSITS.—The im17 position of the surcharge under subparagraph 

18 (A) shall terminate on the date on which all 

19 amounts described in subsection (c)(2) have 

20 been distributed to all recipients described in 

21 that subsection. 

22 (2) DEPOSITS INTO FUND; AVAILABILITY OF

23 AMOUNTS.— 

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1 (A) DEPOSITS.—The Secretary of the 

2 Treasury shall deposit in the Fund all sur3 charges collected pursuant to paragraph (1)(A). 

4 (B) PAYMENT OF SURCHARGE TO SEC5 RETARY OF THE TREASURY.—A person upon 

6 which a surcharge is imposed under paragraph 

7 (1)(A) shall pay the surcharge to the Secretary 

8 without regard to whether the fine or penalty 

9 with respect to which the surcharge is im10 posed— 

11 (i) is paid directly to the Federal 

12 agency that administers the law or regula13 tion pursuant to which the fine or penalty 

14 is imposed; or 

15 (ii) is deemed satisfied by a payment 

16 to another Federal agency. 

17 (C) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS IN

18 FUND.—Amounts in the Fund shall be avail19 able, without further appropriation, to make 

20 payments under subsection (c). 

21 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

22 (1) ADMINISTRATION OF FUND.—Payments 

23 from the Fund shall be administered, subject to 

24 oversight by the Secretary of the Treasury, by the 

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1 scribed in subsection (a)(1) and an agent the mem2 bers of the proposed class designate for the purpose 

3 of administering payments from the Fund. 

4 (2) PAYMENTS.—Subject to paragraphs (3) and 

5 (4), payments shall be made from the Fund to the 

6 following recipients in the following amounts: 

7 (A) To each living former hostage identi8 fied as a member of the proposed class de9 scribed in subsection (a)(1), $10,000 for each 

10 day of captivity of the former hostage. 

11 (B) To the estate of each deceased former 

12 hostage identified as a member of the proposed 

13 class described in subsection (a)(1), $10,000 for 

14 each day of captivity of the former hostage. 

15 (C) To each spouse or child of a former 

16 hostage identified as a member of the proposed 

17 class described in subsection (a)(1) if the 

18 spouse or child is identified as a member of 

19 that proposed class, $5,000 for each day of cap20 tivity of the former hostage. 

21 (3) PRIORITY.—Payments from the Fund shall 

22 be distributed under paragraph (2) in the following 

23 order: 

24 (A) First, to each living former hostage de25 scribed in paragraph (2)(A). 

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1 (B) Second, to the estate of each deceased 

2 former hostage described in paragraph (2)(B). 

3 (C) Third, to each spouse or child of a 

4 former hostage described in paragraph (2)(C). 

5 (4) CONSENT OF RECIPIENT.—A payment to a 

6 recipient from the Fund under paragraph (2) shall 

7 be made only after receiving the consent of the re8 cipient. 

9 (d) PRECLUSION OF FUTURE ACTIONS AND RELEASE

10 OF CLAIMS.— 

11 (1) PRECLUSION OF FUTURE ACTIONS.—A re12 cipient of a payment under subsection (c) may not 

13 file or maintain an action against Iran in any Fed14 eral or State court for any claim relating to the 

15 events described in subsection (a)(2). 

16 (2) RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS.—Upon the pay17 ment of all amounts described subsection (c)(2) to 

18 all recipients described in that subsection, all claims 

19 against Iran relating to the events described in sub20 section (a)(2) shall be deemed waived and forever re21 leased. 

22 (e) DEPOSIT OF REMAINING FUNDS INTO THE

23 TREASURY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any amounts remaining in 

25 the Fund after the date specified in paragraph (2) 

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1 shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treas2 ury. 

3 (2) DATE SPECIFIED.—The date specified in 

4 this paragraph is the later of— 

5 (A) the date on which all amounts de6 scribed in subsection (c)(2) have been made to 

7 all recipients described in that subsection; or 

8 (B) the date that is 5 years after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act. 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice for Former 

12 American Hostages in Iran Act of 2013’’. 

13 SEC. 2. AMERICAN HOSTAGES IN IRAN COMPENSATION 

14 FUND. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

16 Treasury a fund, to be known as the ‘‘American Hostages 

17 in Iran Compensation Fund’’ (in this section referred to 

18 as the ‘‘Fund’’) for the purpose of making payments to the 

19 52 Americans held hostage in the United States embassy 

20 in Tehran, Iran, between November 3, 1979, and January 

21 20, 1981 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘former hos22 tages’’). 

23 (b) FUNDING.— 

24 (1) IMPOSITION OF SURCHARGE.— 

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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is imposed a sur2 charge equal to 30 percent of the amount of— 

3 (i) any fine or monetary penalty as4 sessed, in whole or in part, on a person for 

5 a violation of a law or regulation specified 

6 in subparagraph (B) related to activities 

7 undertaken on or after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act; or 

9 (ii) the monetary amount of a settle10 ment entered into by a person with respect 

11 to a suspected violation of a law or regula12 tion specified in subparagraph (B) related 

13 to activities undertaken on or after such 

14 date of enactment. 

15 (B) LAWS AND REGULATIONS SPECIFIED.— 

16 A law or regulation specified in this subpara17 graph is any law or regulation that provides for 

18 a civil or criminal fine or other monetary pen19 alty for any economic activity relating to Iran 

20 that is administered by the Department of the 

21 Treasury, the Department of Justice, or the De22 partment of Commerce. 

23 (C) TERMINATION OF DEPOSITS.—The im24 position of the surcharge under subparagraph 

25 (A) shall terminate on the date on which all 

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1 amounts described in subsection (c)(2) have been 

2 distributed to all recipients described in that 

3 subsection. 

4 (2) DEPOSITS INTO FUND; AVAILABILITY OF

5 AMOUNTS.— 

6 (A) DEPOSITS.—All surcharges collected 

7 pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) shall be deposited 

8 into the Fund. 

9 (B) PAYMENT OF SURCHARGE.—A person 

10 on whom a surcharge is imposed under para11 graph (1)(A) shall pay the surcharge to the Fund 

12 without regard to whether the fine, penalty, or 

13 settlement to which the surcharge applies— 

14 (i) is paid directly to the Federal agen15 cy that administers the relevant law or reg16 ulation specified in paragraph (1)(B); or 

17 (ii) is deemed satisfied by a payment 

18 to another Federal agency. 

19 (C) CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary of 

20 State is authorized to accept such amounts as 

21 may be contributed by individuals, business con22 cerns, foreign governments, or other entities for 

23 payments under this Act. Such amounts shall be 

24 deposited directly into the Fund. 

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1 (D) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS IN FUND.— 

2 Amounts in the Fund shall be available, without 

3 further appropriation, to make payments under 

4 subsection (c). 

5 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

6 (1) ADMINISTRATION OF FUND.—Payments from 

7 the Fund shall be administered by the Secretary of 

8 State, pursuant to such rules and processes as the 

9 Secretary, in the Secretary’s sole discretion, may es10 tablish. 

11 (2) PAYMENTS.—Subject to paragraphs (3) and 

12 (4), payments shall be made from the Fund to the fol13 lowing recipients in the following amounts: 

14 (A) To each living former hostage, 

15 $150,000, plus $5,000 for each day of captivity 

16 of the former hostage. 

17 (B) To the estate of each deceased former 

18 hostage, $150,000, plus $5,000 for each day of 

19 captivity of the former hostage. 

20 (3) PRIORITY.—Payments from the Fund shall 

21 be distributed under paragraph (2) in the following 

22 order: 

23 (A) First, to each living former hostage de24 scribed in paragraph (2)(A). 

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1 (B) Second, to the estate of each deceased 

2 former hostage described in paragraph (2)(B). 

3 (4) CONSENT OF RECIPIENT.—A payment to a 

4 recipient from the Fund under paragraph (2) shall be 

5 made only after receiving the consent of the recipient. 

6 (d) WAIVER.—A recipient of a payment under sub7 section (c) shall waive and forever release all existing claims 

8 against Iran and the United States arising out of the events 

9 described in subsection (a). 

10 (e) NOTIFICATION OF CLAIMANTS; LIMITATION ON RE11 VIEW.— 

12 (1) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of State shall 

13 notify, in a reasonable manner, each individual 

14 qualified to receive a payment under subsection (c) of 

15 the status of the individual’s claim for such a pay16 ment. 

17 (2) SUBMISSION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA18 TION.—If the claim of an individual to receive a pay19 ment under subsection (c) is denied, or is approved 

20 for payment of less than the full amount of the claim, 

21 the individual shall be entitled to submit to the Sec22 retary additional information with respect to the 

23 claim. Upon receipt and consideration of that infor24 mation, the Secretary may affirm, modify, or revise 

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1 the former action of the Secretary with respect to the 

2 claim. 

3 (3) LIMITATION ON REVIEW.—The actions of the 

4 Secretary in identifying qualifying claimants and in 

5 disbursing amounts from the Fund shall be final and 

6 conclusive on all questions of law and fact and shall 

7 not be subject to review by any other official, agency, 

8 or establishment of the United States or by any court 

9 by mandamus or otherwise. 

10 (f) DEPOSIT OF REMAINING FUNDS INTO THE TREAS11 URY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any amounts remaining in 

13 the Fund after the date specified in paragraph (2) 

14 shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. 

15 (2) DATE SPECIFIED.—The date specified in this 

16 paragraph is the later of— 

17 (A) the date on which all amounts described 

18 in subsection (c)(2) have been made to all recipi19 ents described in that subsection; or 

20 (B) the date that is 5 years after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act. 

22 (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one year 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

24 thereafter until the date specified in subsection (f)(2), the 

25 Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congresmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 sional committees a report on the status of the Fund, in2 cluding— 

3 (1) the amounts and sources of money deposited 

4 into the Fund; 

5 (2) the rules and processes established to admin6 ister the Fund; and 

7 (3) the distribution of payments from the Fund. 

8 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit11 tees’’ means— 

12 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

13 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

14 Urban Affairs of the Senate; and 

15 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

16 the Committee on Financial Services of the 

17 House of Representatives. 

18 (2) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes any 

19 individual or entity subject to the civil or criminal 

20 jurisdiction of the United States. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to establish 

a fund to make payments to the Americans held hostage 

in Iran, and for other purposes.’’. 

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Calendar No. 183 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 559 

[Report No. 113–104] 

A BILL 

To establish a fund to make payments to the Amerposes. for the District of Columbia, and for other pur- 00487 (EGS) of the United States District Court the proposed class in case number 1:08–CV– their families, who are identified as members of icans held hostage in Iran, and to members of 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 

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