Lawmakers offer rewards for information on journalists’ killers

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced a bill Monday that would authorize up to $10 million in rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals involved in the kidnapping and murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. 

Rubio was joined by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). 

{mosads}“James Foley and Steven Sotloff nobly risked their lives in the pursuit of truth, and the United States will not stand idly by after two of its own were brutally murdered at the hands of fundamentally evil and freedom-hating extremists,” Rubio said. 

The bill would update the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program, founded in 1984, to offer rewards to anyone providing information on those responsible for committing, conspiring, or aiding in the kidnapping and murders of Foley and Sotloff. 

“James and Steven contributed greatly to the world through their reporting, and we must vigorously pursue those responsible for their murders,” Shaheen said.

“Terrorists around the world must know that if they harm Americans, we will hunt them down and bring them to justice,” Ayotte added. 

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has released videos showing the executions of Foley and Sotloff. Both were beheaded and had been captured by ISIS in Syria while reporting on that country’s civil war. 

Cruz said the murder of Foley and Sotloff was a “stark reminder of the radical Islamic terrorism that threatens the United States.” 

“There could be no better use for the Rewards for Justice program than the capturing or killing of these savage Jihadists who will only keep trying to destroy Americans until we stop them,” he said.