[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 173 (Thursday, October 31, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 395--RECOGNIZING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAN 
                 HOSTAGE CRISIS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. ISAKSON (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Leahy) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations.

                              S. Res. 395

       Whereas, on November 4, 1979, 66 United States diplomats, 
     military personnel, and civilians were taken hostage from the 
     United States Embassy in Tehran by the Government of the 
     Islamic Republic of Iran in what became known as the Iran 
     Hostage Crisis;
       Whereas 13 of the 66 American hostages were released by 
     November 20, 1979;
       Whereas 8 members of the United States Armed Forces died in 
     an attempt to rescue the hostages on April 25, 1980;
       Whereas another American hostage was released on July 11, 
     1980, after 250 days in captivity;
       Whereas, after 444 days in captivity, the remaining 52 
     hostages were released on January 20, 1981, with the signing 
     of the Algiers Accords;
       Whereas the Iran Hostages were subjected to mock executions 
     and other forms of physical and emotional torture at the 
     hands of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
       Whereas the Iran Hostages and their families still suffer 
     from the events of the Iran Hostage Crisis;
       Whereas the Algiers Accords prevented the Iran Hostages 
     from taking legal action to pursue compensation from the 
     Islamic Republic of Iran for their time in captivity;
       Whereas many of the Iran Hostages and their families 
     finally became eligible to receive compensation through the 
     enactment in 2015 of the Justice for United States Victims of 
     State Sponsored Terrorism Act (34 U.S.C. 20144) and the 
     creation of the United States Victims of State Sponsored 
     Terrorism Fund; and
       Whereas, 40 years after its founding, the Islamic Republic 
     of Iran continues to promulgate a culture of fear, 
     oppression, and violence as one of the leading state sponsors 
     of terrorism: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the 40th anniversary of the Iran Hostage 
     Crisis;
       (2) honors the suffering of the Iran Hostages and their 
     families during the Iran Hostage Crisis, as well as the 
     sacrifices made by those who attempted to rescue the 
     hostages; and
       (3) supports the designation of a national day of 
     remembrance on November 4, 2019, for the Iran Hostage Crisis.

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