As reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
on September 12, 2013
S. 559 would establish a fund within the Department of the Treasury to make specified payments to Americans held hostage in Iran between November 3, 1979, and January 20, 1981, or to the estates of former hostages who are no longer living. The fund would be financed by a surcharge of 30 percent levied on certain monetary penalties assessed for undertaking prohibited activity with Iran.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 559 would increase net revenues by $77 million over the 2014-2023 period and would increase direct spending by $102 million over the 2014-2023 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have discretionary costs of less than $500,000 over the 2014-2018 period, assuming the availability of appropriated funds.
S. 559 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.