As if 444 days in life-threatening captivity wasn’t enough, the federal government’s embarrassing refusal for 31 years to let the Iran hostages sue Tehran for compensation is finally nearing an end with a new proposal that would give most $4.4 million and allow Uncle Sam to save face with a terrorist nation it continues to hope for normal relations with.
Under a bipartisan proposal artfully written by Reps. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, and Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., fines on U.S. firms wrongfully found to be doing business with Tehran would be doubled and half the cash put in a kitty for the hostages. Congressional officials estimate that the fines will total $800 million, providing $420 million for the hostages. Those kept in Iran the longest, 52 of the original 66, would get up to $4.4 million each.
“This will bring their odyssey to an end,” said a spokesman for Braley who plans to introduce his bill this week. One of the hostages is from his district.
The hostages were released in 1981 under a deal that barred them from seeking payment from Iran. Congress eventually rewarded them at a rate of $50 per day. The new deal would provide another $10,000 per day paid to the hostages, their families or estates.
The hostages have often complained that the Feds were letting Iran off the hook. Over time, administrations officials have fought disrupting the so-called Algiers Accords governing the hostage release because it would be diplomatically embarrassing to Uncle Sam.
The new legislation provides an “end run” around the previous diplomatic deal by instead going after business transactions that happen but are already illegal. A congressional official said that most of the firms involved are in the high-tech and finance. JP Morgan Chase, for example, was slapped with an $88 million fine in 2011.
The bill also provides an alternate funding mechanism that gives the president the authority to pay the hostages out of frozen Iranian assets.
