No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 2619 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2619 To require a report on sanctions under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 3, 2025 Mr. Baumgartner (for himself, Mr. Moskowitz, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Amodei of Nevada, and Ms. Salazar) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To require a report on sanctions under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long history of hostage-taking and wrongful detention of United States nationals, including its illegal detention of 52 American diplomats from 1979 to 1981. (2) The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.), named in honor of Robert Levinson, the longest-held hostage in United States history who is presumed to have been killed by the regime while in Iranian custody, authorizes sanctions with respect to foreign persons who are responsible for or complicit in hostage-taking or unlawful or wrongful detention of United States nationals abroad. SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. It shall be the policy of the United St