Sen. Johnny Isakson, shown speaking at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta in January, sponsored the legislation to compensate surviving hostages and their families. David Goldman/AP
Compensation for Iran Hostages Cleared by Senate Panel
Isakson measure would tap fines on sanctions violators.
Long-sought legislation to provide financial relief to survivors and relatives of the 52 Americans held hostage by Iranian revolutionaries in 1979-81 cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
The bipartisan measure, sponsored by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., would compensate as many as 151 individuals directly or indirectly affected by the torture and abuse of 52 U.S. diplomats held over 444 days in Iran’s Evin Prison.
Isakson’s legislation would direct the Treasury secretary, who enforces U.S. sanctions on Iran, to establish a specific account funded by Iran sanctions that would be dedicated to compensating the hostages.
Compensation was disallowed by the 1981 Algiers Accords signed by President Jimmy Carter that freed the hostages but shielded the Iranian government from later legal attack. The case has been litigated for years.
Approval for floor action came after procedural language was inserted in the Senate budget resolution that passed last week.
“It has been one of my top priorities as a public servant to see to it that these Americans who were serving our country in Iran and were forced to endure unimaginable fear, despair and torture for 444 days receive overdue compensation for their suffering and sacrifice,” said Isakson, “I am pleased this measure has the support of Chairman Corker and the State Department, as well as my colleagues from both sides of the aisle.”
The hostages did receive, five years after their release, some $22,000 each, or $50 for each day held captive, from the U.S. government, Isakson said in a release. His bill would allow hostages and their spouses to collect damages consistent with legal precedents. It would mean $6,750 for every day they were held as hostages, for a total of about $3 million per hostage. In addition, spouses of hostages would receive a lump sum of $600,000.
The source of the funds would be either a surcharge on penalties imposed on businesses or individuals doing business with Iran, or other sources the president identifies.