[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             U.S. VICTIMS OF STATE SPONSORED TERRORISM FUND

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I commend my colleague from New York for 
his tireless work to ensure that the brave men and women who selflessly 
responded to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, receive the 
compensation and care they deserve. Out of respect for his work and 
their sacrifice I do not want to hold up the passage of this bill. 
However, I think it is also important that we remember the other 
Americans who have suffered and lost loved ones at the hands of foreign 
terrorists. In 1979, a group of Americans were taken hostage from the 
U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran.
  In 1981, after 444 days of torture, 52 of them were finally released. 
Years later, I had the opportunity to meet with several of these brave 
Americans who reside in my State. In 2015, I worked with my colleagues 
in this body to ensure that these victims, their families, and other 
victims of international terrorism were able to receive compensation 
through the creation of the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism 
Fund. Congress was clear that this fund was created specifically to 
help the Tehran hostages and other victims of state-sponsored terrorism 
who were not eligible to participate in other compensation funds.
  However, due to a misinterpretation of the statute, the fund has 
become overwhelmed. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the 
Iran Hostage Crisis. Time is not on our side. People who have been 
waiting for decades are now dying without the compensation they were 
promised.
  Will Senator Schumer work with me and Chairman Graham to secure a 
solution to this problem in the next appropriate vehicle so that the 
Tehran hostages and other victims of state-sponsored terrorism can 
finally receive their due?
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I promise to work with Senator Isakson to 
ensure that the Tehran hostages receive the compensation they deserve 
and provide equitable treatment for all victims of terrorism.

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