The Senate Foreign Relations panel approved legislation on Tuesday that would compensate the 52 Americans who were held hostage by Iranian Islamist revolutionaries for 444 days starting in 1979, The Hill reported.
According to the report, the legislation from Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican from Georgia, would set aside $4.4 million for each surviving hostage and their families - $10,000 for each day of captivity – from fees collected from violations of Iran sanctions.
The hostages are barred from suing Iran
Under the 1981 deal negotiated under President Ronald Reagan to secure their release, the hostages are bassed from suing Iran. They received $22,000 from the federal government – $50 per day of captivity – five years after their release.
“For too long, the 52 Americans held hostage in Iran have been denied the opportunity to seek redress for their terrible ordeal,” panel chairman Robert Menendez (R-N.J.) said, according to The Hill. “Nothing can compensate them for their suffering, but this bill offers a measure of solace for the days they were held hostage in Iran.”