# 119-hr-2619: No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act 119-hr-2619, No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Baumgartner, Michael [R-WA-5] (R-WA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-02). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2619 - As of: 2026-09-02 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-2619 - Congress: 119 - Title: No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act - Status: in_committee - Introduced: 2025-04-03 - Sponsor: Rep. Baumgartner, Michael [R-WA-5] (R-WA) - Cosponsors: 13 - Policy area: International Affairs - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-02 ## Summary **Stops payoffs and tightens U.S. pressure to deter Iran-linked hostage-taking.** This bill would expand sanctions tools, force detailed tracking of restricted Iranian funds, and give officials new authorities to freeze assets, limit travel, and block risky travel to Iran. - Families and detained U.S. nationals: would require a President-led strategy to deter wrongful detention, include an explicit policy against ransom payments, and authorize invalidating U.S. passports for travel to Iran when travel is deemed imminently dangerous. - Oversight of Iranian funds: would force reports every 180 days on the $6 billion moved from restricted accounts in Korea to restricted accounts in Qatar, including itemized transactions, balances, and certifications about humanitarian or military use. - Sanctions and asset tracing: would expand use of the Levinson Act to identify foreign persons tied to hostage-taking, require annual determinations for six years on whether sanctions apply, and mandate reporting on blocked Iranian assets over $100,000. - Diplomats and travel: would enable visa denials and travel limits for Iranian United Nations representatives and their families based on sanctions and require follow-up reporting on such actions. ## Cosponsors (13) - Rep. Moskowitz, Jared [D-FL-23] (D-FL), 2025-04-03T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] (R-NY), 2025-04-03T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Amodei, Mark E. [R-NV-2] (R-NV), 2025-04-03T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Salazar, Maria Elvira [R-FL-27] (R-FL), 2025-04-03T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. LaMalfa, Doug [R-CA-1] (R-CA), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. McCormick, Richard [R-GA-7] (R-GA), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41] (R-CA), 2025-04-09T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA), 2025-04-14T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Baird, James R. [R-IN-4] (R-IN), 2025-04-24T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2025-10-08T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] (R-NJ), 2025-11-17T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Hamadeh, Abraham J. [R-AZ-8] (R-AZ), 2026-01-12T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Schmidt, Derek [R-KS-2] (R-KS), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Reporting on $6 billion Iran funds: benefit, high. If enacted, the President would report to Congress within 90 days and then every 180 days for 6 years about $6,000,000,000 moved from restricted Iranian accounts in Korea to restricted Qatar accounts on or after August 9, 2023. Each report would say whether any of the funds were used for non-humani… - Report on Iranian assets over $100K: benefit, medium. If enacted, the President would report to Congress within 180 days and then yearly for 3 years on identifiable Iranian assets worth more than $100,000 that were blocked or frozen in the prior two years. Reports would list each asset, note any status changes like unblocking, unfreezing, or transfers… - Work with allies to seize illicit assets: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would direct the State, Treasury, and Justice Departments to coordinate with other countries to locate, restrain, freeze, and where lawful seize or forfeit assets tied to Iran's malign activities. The President would report within 180 days and then yearly for 3 years on actions… - Defines key terms and committees: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would name which House and Senate committees receive reports (House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary; Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary). It would define 'foreign person' to include foreign states and adopt the Levinson Act meaning of 'United States national.' These definitio… - Presidential review of Levinson cases: benefit, low. If enacted, the President would review, within 180 days and then annually for 6 years, all hostage-taking and wrongful detention cases of U.S. nationals in Iran from the prior 10 years. For each case, the President would identify foreign persons believed responsible or complicit and report whether… - Strategy to prevent hostage-taking: benefit, low. If enacted, the President would deliver to Congress within 180 days a strategy to deter and prevent wrongful detention and hostage-taking by adversaries. The strategy would identify penalties, state a clear policy barring ransom payments or similar transactions, and describe coordination plans with… - Passport limits for U.S. travel to Iran: cost, low. If enacted, the Secretary of State would report to Congress within 90 days and then yearly for 3 years on whether travel to Iran poses an imminent danger to U.S. travelers and whether passports are being declared invalid for travel to, in, or through Iran. The reports would document any use or plan… - Tighter visas for Iranian U.N. reps: cost, low. If enacted, the bill would add a ground to deny U.S. admission to U.N. representatives who were sanctioned under Executive Orders 13224 or 13382 as of enactment. It would also require reports within 180 days and then yearly for 3 years listing each visa denial or travel restriction for Iranian U.N.… ## Related bills - 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act - 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025 - 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act - 119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act - 119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act ## Sources - [119-hr-2619 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2619) ## Related - [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262) - [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151) - [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422) - [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425) - [119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1628) - [119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1502) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2619 (as of 2026-09-02).