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WASHINGTON,
DC
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In
response
to
the
Obama
Administration’s
ransom
payments
to
Iran,
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
joined
Senator
Marco
Rubio
(R-FL)
and
other
colleagues
today
to
introduce
the
No
Ransom
Payments
Act.
The
legislation,
authored
by
Rubio, would
prohibit
the
federal
government
from
paying
ransom,
and
stop
payments
to
Iran
from
the
U.S.
Treasury
Department’s
Judgment
Fund
until
Iran
returns
the
ransom
money
it
received
and
pays
the
American
victims
of
Iranian
terrorism
what
they
are
owed.
"First
President
Obama
signs
a
terrible
nuclear deal
with
Iran,
and
months
later
the
American
people
find
out
about
a
$400
million
ransom
payment
to
the
Iranian
government.
While
we
are
certainly
pleased
these
unjustly
imprisoned
Americans
are
back
home,
even
the
State
Department’s
own
spokesperson
said
the
$400
million
was
used
as
a
“leverage”
to
get
back
them
back.
This
has
set
a
terrible
precedent,
and
has
put
a
price
on
American
lives
all
around
the
globe. The
Obama
administration’s
decision
has
put
thousands
of
Americans,
both
at
home
and
abroad,
in
vulnerable
situations.
All
of
this
happened despite
the
fact
that
Iran
has
shown
us
time
and
time
again
they
cannot
be
trusted.
Earlier
this
year,
Iran
captured
and
detained
10
of
our
sailors,
and
last
month
Iranian
vessels
harassed
a
U.S.
Navy
ship
near
the
Persian
Gulf,
which
resulted
in
our
personnel
being
forced
to
fire
warning
shots.
All
of
this,
and
the
Obama
Administration
responds
by
further
funding
Iranian
terrorism – it’s
just
unreal
and
completely
unacceptable. I’m
proud
to
join
Senator
Rubio
to
introduce
the
No
Ransom
Payments
Act
to
put
a
stop
to
these
dangerous
decisions
being
made
by
the
Obama
Administration.”
The
No
Ransom
Payments
Act
was
introduced
by
Senator
Rubio
and
is
also
co-sponsored
by
Senators
John
Cornyn
(R-TX),
Mark
Kirk
(R-IL),
Kelly
Ayotte
(R-NH),
John
Barrasso
(R-WY),
and
Shelley
Moore
Capito
(R-WV).
It
was
also
introduced
today
in
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives
by
Rep.
Mike
Pompeo
(KS-04).
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