Remembering American Hostages Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Remembering American Hostages Act of 2025 amends the federal statute governing the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag. It adds key dates in hostage and wrongful detention history, including November 4 and January 20 for the Iranian hostage crisis, August 19 for the death of James Foley, and October 7 for the Hamas attack in which more than 240 people were taken hostage, including 12 Americans.
The bill expands where and when the flag is displayed. It adds the Attorney General and the Secretaries of Education, Transportation, and Commerce to covered federal officials. It adds domestic Department of State offices, U.S. embassies and consulates, domestic Department of Justice offices unless otherwise specified by the Attorney General, and passport locations where individuals can initiate, renew, or obtain U.S. passports. For those added locations, the flag is displayed on any day the United States flag is displayed. The bill also states that the federal government should strongly encourage state and local governments and airports, in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, to fly the flag on specified days and for hostage returns or deaths in captivity.
Who Benefits and How
Current and former hostages, wrongful detainees, and families of hostages benefit from expanded public recognition at federal facilities, passport locations, embassies, and consulates. Hostage advocacy organizations benefit because the bill adds specific remembrance dates and broader display locations. Travelers using passport facilities and visitors to U.S. diplomatic posts encounter more visible recognition of hostage and wrongful detention cases.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of State, Department of Justice, passport facility managers, embassies, consulates, and newly covered federal officials must administer additional flag displays. The Federal Aviation Administration may need to coordinate federal encouragement of airport displays. State governments, local governments, and airports are not mandated, but they may face operational tasks if they follow the federal encouragement.
Key Provisions
- Adds key hostage and wrongful detention remembrance dates to the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag statute.
- Expands covered federal officials to include the Attorney General and the Secretaries of Education, Transportation, and Commerce.
- Requires flag display at domestic State Department offices, U.S. embassies and consulates, domestic Justice Department offices, and visible passport locations.
- Provides that added locations display the flag on any day the United States flag is displayed.
- Encourages state governments, local governments, and airports to fly the flag on specified remembrance and hostage-related days.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Expands federal display of the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag by adding key hostage-history dates, more federal officials and facilities, U.S. embassies and consulates, and passport locations, while encouraging state, local, and airport flag displays.
Key Policy Areas
Hostages, Wrongful Detention, Federal Facilities, Diplomacy, Symbolic Recognition
Primary Purpose
Expands federal display of the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag by adding key hostage-history dates, more federal officials and facilities, U.S. embassies and consulates, and passport locations, while encouraging state, local, and airport flag displays.
Policy Domains
Sections 2 and 3 Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag display expansion
Identified Gains
- Families of American hostages
- Former American hostages
- Wrongful detainee advocacy organizations
- Travelers using passport facilities
Identified Costs
- Department of State facility managers
- United States embassy administrators
- Department of Justice facility managers
- Passport acceptance facility managers
- Federal Aviation Administration airport coordination staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Kean (for himself and Mr. Moskowitz) introduced the following …
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of State facility managers, Passport acceptance facility managers, United States embassy administrators
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "faa"
- → Federal Aviation Administration
- "covered_facilities"
- → Federal offices, embassies, consulates, and passport locations added by the bill
- "state_local_airports"
- → State governments, local governments, and airports encouraged to fly the flag
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
November 4 and January 20 for the Iranian hostage crisis, August 19 for the death of James Foley, and October 7 for the Hamas hostage attack described in the bill.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology