I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2877 
To designate an existing Federal officer to coordinate efforts to secure the 
release of United States persons who are hostages of hostile groups 
or state sponsors of terrorism, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 24, 2015 
Mr. HUNTER (for himself and Mr. DELANEY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To designate an existing Federal officer to coordinate efforts 
to secure the release of United States persons who are 
hostages of hostile groups or state sponsors of terrorism, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. INTERAGENCY HOSTAGE RECOVERY COORDI-
NATOR. 
(a) INTERAGENCY HOSTAGE RECOVERY COORDI-
NATOR.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 
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shall designate an existing Federal officer to coordi-
nate efforts to secure the release of United States 
persons who are hostages of hostile groups or state 
sponsors of terrorism. For purposes of carrying out 
the duties described in paragraph (2), such officer 
shall have the title of ‘‘Interagency Hostage Recov-
ery Coordinator’’. 
(2) DUTIES.—The Interagency Hostage Recov-
ery Coordinator shall have the following duties: 
(A) Coordinate and direct all activities of 
the Federal Government relating to each hos-
tage situation described in paragraph (1) to en-
sure efforts to secure the release of all hostages 
in a hostage situation are properly resourced 
and correct lines of authority are established 
and maintained. 
(B) Establish and direct a fusion cell con-
sisting of appropriate personnel of the Federal 
Government with purview over each hostage sit-
uation described in paragraph (1). 
(C) Develop a strategy to keep family 
members of hostages described in paragraph (1) 
informed of the status of such hostages and in-
form such family members of updates, proce-
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dures, and policies that do not compromise the 
national security of the United States. 
(b) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY.—The authority of 
the Interagency Hostage Recovery Coordinator shall be 
limited to hostage cases outside the United States. 
(c) QUARTERLY REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On a quarterly basis, the 
Interagency Hostage Recovery Coordinator shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
and the members of Congress described in para-
graph (2) a report that includes a summary of each 
hostage situation described in subsection (a)(1) and 
efforts to secure the release of all hostages in such 
hostage situation. 
(2) MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DESCRIBED.—The 
members of Congress described in this paragraph 
are, with respect to a United States person hostage 
covered by a report under paragraph (1), the Sen-
ators representing the State, and the Member, Dele-
gate, or Resident Commissioner of the House of 
Representatives representing the district, where a 
hostage described in subjection (a)(1) resides. 
(3) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report under this 
subsection may be submitted in classified or unclas-
sified form. 
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(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed as authorizing the Federal Govern-
ment to negotiate with a state sponsor of terrorism or an 
organization that the Secretary of State has designated 
as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189) 
or any other hostage-takers. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) 
HOSTILE
GROUP.—The 
term 
‘‘hostile 
group’’ means— 
(A) a group that is designated as a foreign 
terrorist organization under section 219(a) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1189(a)); 
(B) a group that is engaged in armed con-
flict with the United States; or 
(C) any other group that the President de-
termines to be a hostile group for purposes of 
this paragraph. 
(2) STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM.—The term 
‘‘state sponsor of terrorism’’— 
(A) means a country the government of 
which the Secretary of State has determined, 
for purposes of section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export 
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 
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2405(j)(1)(A)) (as continued in effect pursuant 
to the International Emergency Economic Pow-
ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)), section 
620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
(22 U.S.C. 2371(a)), section 40(d) of the Arms 
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)), or any 
other provision of law, to be a government that 
has repeatedly provided support for acts of 
international terrorism; and 
(B) includes North Korea. 
Æ 
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