NOTICIAS

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation tonight blocking the Obama Administration from making ransom payments to Iran:
 
“I am pleased the House voted to stop the Obama Administration from making more ransom payments to Iran. The legislation passed by the House includes elements of the No Ransom Payments Act I introduced at the start of this month. It’s shameful that 162 Democrats voted in support of sending more ransom money to the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, and that they continue to defend President Obama’s disastrous nuclear deal with Iran.
 
“The Obama Administration’s lies about the Iran deal have been exposed time and time again. Rewarding the ayatollahs with pallets of cash as they continue to take Americans hostage only enriches and emboldens this anti-American and anti-Israel regime. The American people deserve better, and Congress must not allow this president or the next to continue sending taxpayer dollars to authoritarians in Tehran seeking to annihilate Israel and kill Americans. Now that the House has acted, I hope the Senate will follow suit and send a clear message to President Obama that his outrageous approach to Iran must end.”
 
Rubio’s bill, S.3285, is cosponsored by 28 other Republican Senators.
 
The House bill, the Prohibiting Future Ransom Payments to Iran Act (H.R. 5931), includes two provisions from Rubio’s Senate bill. One requires sanctions against Iranians who kidnap or unjustly detain U.S. citizens, dual citizens, or permanent residents. The other provision codifies the prohibition on U.S. officials paying ransoms to those who kidnap or unjustly detain Americans, with an exception to allow the U.S. government to provide assistance to the families of hostages.