Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) tonight released the following statement after the U.S. State Department confirmed a $400 million cash payment to Iran was contingent on the release of American prisoners:
"Following three weeks of denials the Obama Administration finally admitted what many of us already knew: the $400 million payment made to Iran was a ransom payment for four innocent Americans unlawfully held by Tehran. Make no mistake, this new dangerous precedent puts Americans overseas in harm's way. And while our government continues to appease the ayatollahs, families here at home continue to seek compensation for loved ones killed at the hands of Iranian terrorism. It's long past time we put justice for American victims ahead of cash payments to the leading state-sponsors of terrorism."
Lance will introduce the Victims Before Ransom Act when Congress returns to legislative session in September. The bill would bar the Administration from moving forward on cash payments to Iran until it pays millions in judgments awarded to the U.S. victims of its global terrorist network.