Washington D.C. – Foreign Relations Committee, November 25, 2024
U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Chris Coons (D-Del.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced the Countering Wrongful Detention Act, which would create new tools for the U.S. government to deter states from wrongfully detaining Americans abroad and support wrongful detainees upon their return home. The House companion bill was introduced by Representatives Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and French Hill (R-Ark.).
“Protecting Americans abroad is an important responsibility of the U.S. government,” said Senator Risch. “Unfortunately, pariahs like Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, Syria, and others choose to take Americans and others hostage to leverage them for political or financial gain. The United States must create a more effective deterrent to preventing the wrongful detention of Americans abroad. The Countering Wrongful Detention Act creates that deterrence by naming and shaming those who wrongfully detain Americans and tasks the executive branch with creating a strategy to reduce the likelihood of U.S. nationals being unlawfully or wrongfully detained in the future. It is time we put those who wish to do America and its citizens harm on notice. This bill will help us do that.”
“I am proud of President Biden’s work bringing more than 70 Americans who were wrongfully detained or held hostage overseas safely home,” said Senator Coons. “As the United States continues its efforts to secure the release of every unjustly held American, we must also do more to protect Americans from being taken by our adversaries in the first place and used as political leverage. A more comprehensive U.S. strategy to counter this deplorable practice, as well as increased punishments for states that engage in wrongful detention and heightened awareness among the American public, is long overdue. As a longtime advocate for American hostages and their families, I urge my colleagues to swiftly take up the Countering Wrongful Detention Act.”
