I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 904 
To establish a common fund to pay claims to the Americans held hostage 
in Iran, and to members of their families, who are identified as class 
members 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 28, 2013 
Mr. BRALEY of Iowa (for himself and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 
in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a common fund to pay claims to the Americans 
held hostage in Iran, and to members of their families, 
who are identified as class members in case number 
1:08–CV–00487 (EGS) of the United States District 
Court for the District of Columbia, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice for the Amer-
ican Diplomats Held Hostage in Tehran Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 1979, agents of the Islamic Republic of 
Iran stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, 
taking American military and diplomatic personnel 
hostage. 
(2) The Iranian Government then held United 
States Embassy personnel as hostages for 444 days, 
subjecting them to profound physical and mental 
abuse, and forcing the United States to negotiate 
their release, under duress. 
(3) In the resultant agreement (commonly 
known as the Algiers Accords) the United States 
agreed, among other steps, to bar and preclude the 
hostages from prosecuting any claim against Iran in 
United States courts. 
(4) The Algiers Accords were never submitted 
to Congress for ratification and none of the hostages 
or their family members was consulted by the 
United States Government or consented to these 
provisions precluding prosecution of their claims. 
(5) Notwithstanding the applicability of legal 
principles which allowed the United States to re-
nounce this obligation to bar and preclude the pros-
ecution of claims in United States courts because 
they were so clearly negotiated under duress, the 
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United States Government has repeatedly intervened 
in United States courts to preclude the prosecution 
of any claim by the hostages against Iran, arguing 
that, in its opinion, compliance with this agreement 
served overriding national security interests which 
justified the taking of the hostages’ right to pursue 
compensation from Iran in United States courts. 
(6) The United States Government has failed to 
propose any process by which the hostages and their 
family members could be compensated for the inju-
ries and damages suffered by them by reason of the 
horrific and heinous treatment while in captivity. 
(7) Congress has determined that the provision 
of compensation to the hostages and their families 
through, among other sources, funds obtained by 
vesting and liquidating property in which Iran and 
its surrogates claim an interest (including any funds 
held by the United States, including in trust) is fully 
consistent with the Algiers Accords. 
(8) Congress has determined that, only upon 
the payment of such compensation, should the agree-
ment by the United States Government to bar and 
preclude prosecution of such claims in United States 
courts be confirmed and ratified by legislation, not-
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