Paul Whelan helps craft bill to compensate Americans wrongly detained abroad

Junfu Han/USA Today Network/Imagn Images

Rep. Haley Stevens on Thursday is expected to announce a new bill meant to help Americans detained abroad when they return to the United States.

For Paul Whelan, who was detained for more than five years in Russia, it is an announcement that has been years in the making.

Whelan has spoken out about the challenges he faced when he got back home to Michigan, where Stevens is his congresswoman.

“For people like me who have come home after five-and-a-half years, we really don’t have very much. House is gone. Cars are gone. Employment’s gone. No health insurance,” he told CNN in 2025, a year after he was freed from Russia.

He and Stevens have been working on the bill, named in Whelan’s honor, in the years since.

The bill would provide compensation, in the form of a lump sum of money, to those who had been wrongfully detained abroad.

Whelan called the legislation “a huge step forward in ensuring that all American citizens who are wrongfully detained in the past, present, and future will be properly taken care of once they return home.”

Stevens said in a statement that the “legislation will make sure Americans who endure this unimaginable ordeal have the support and resources they need to regain their footing, reunite with their communities, and rebuild their lives.”

Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters

“After enduring months or even years of wrongful detention, Americans shouldn’t have to face back taxes, late fees, lost income, and financial instability when they come home,” the Michigan Democrat said. “Paul Whelan’s experience showed our country the extraordinary toll wrongful detention takes not only during captivity, but long after someone returns home.”

According to the legislation, the funds would be paid from “unobligated balances of the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund.”

Individuals who travel to countries that the State Department has listed as “Level 4: Do Not Travel” or have a travel advisory with the D indicator, meaning citizens are at risk of being detained if they go there, will broadly not be eligible for compensation, the text of the bill says. There are exceptions for those who were there on official travel or in the capacity of a journalist.

Trevor Reed, who was wrongfully detained in Russia for nearly three years, also celebrates the legislation. Both Reed and Whelan traveled to Russia before it was listed as a Level 4: Do Not Travel country.

“When I came home, I really panicked for a while trying to find out how I was going to rebuild my life savings and I still haven’t recouped those losses,” he told CNN. Reed also said his parents emptied their retirement accounts to try to help him.

“It’s very difficult for people in that situation and this bill allows those Americans time to get back on their feet,” he said.

Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

Both Whelan and Reed said they think the legislation could have a deterrent effect, with Whelan noting that “if our citizens knowingly visit a rogue nation the State Department warns against us visiting and they are taken hostage, State will work diligently to bring them home, but they would not be eligible for compensation under the Act.”

A spokesperson for Stevens said her office worked on the legislation with both Whelan and “leading organizations that work closely with Americans who have been wrongfully detained and their families, including the Foley Foundation and Hostage US.”

“Both organizations are supporting the legislation,” the spokesperson said, adding that they engaged with the State Department and the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs as the legislation was being developed.

The State Department does not comment on pending legislation.

It is unclear when the bill being introduced in the House will come to a vote.

“Congresswoman Stevens’ priority is building bipartisan support and moving the legislation through the legislative process as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said. “She is working with colleagues to build support for the bill and identify opportunities to advance it.”

Junfu Han/USA Today Network/Imagn Images

预计众议员海莉·史蒂文斯将于周四宣布一项新法案，旨在帮助被拘留在国外的美国公民返回美国时获得保护。

对于在俄罗斯被拘留五年多的保罗·惠兰来说，这是一个酝酿多年的消息。

惠兰曾公开谈论他回到家乡密歇根州后所面临的挑战，而史蒂文斯正是他的国会议员。

“像我这样在俄罗斯待了五年半后回到家乡的人，真的没什么了。房子没了，车子没了，工作也没了，也没有医疗保险。”他在2025年接受CNN采访时说道，当时距离他从俄罗斯获释已经过去了一年。

从那以后，他和史蒂文斯一直在努力推动这项以惠兰的名字命名的法案。

该法案将以一次性付款的形式，向在国外被错误拘留的人提供赔偿。

惠兰称该法案是“确保所有过去、现在和将来被错误拘留的美国公民在返回家园后都能得到妥善照顾的一大步”。

史蒂文斯在一份声明中表示，“这项立法将确保经历这种难以想象的磨难的美国人获得他们所需的帮助和资源，以重新站稳脚跟，与社区团聚，并重建他们的生活。”

沙米尔·朱马托夫/路透社

这位来自密歇根州的民主党人表示：“美国人在经历了数月甚至数年的错误拘留后，不应该在回国后还要面对补缴税款、滞纳金、收入损失和经济不稳定等问题。保罗·惠兰的遭遇向我们的国家表明，错误拘留造成的巨大伤害不仅体现在被拘留期间，也体现在获释后的很长一段时间内。”

根据该法案，这些资金将从“司法部资产没收基金的未动用余额”中支付。

法案文本指出，前往美国国务院列为“四级：请勿前往”或旅行警告级别为D（意味着公民前往这些国家可能面临被拘留的风险）的国家的个人，通常不符合获得赔偿的条件。但因公出差或以记者身份前往这些国家的人员除外。

曾被俄罗斯错误拘留近三年的特雷弗·里德也对这项立法表示欢迎。里德和惠兰都曾在俄罗斯被列为四级“请勿前往”国家之前前往过该国。

“我回家后，有好一阵子都非常恐慌，不知道该如何重建我的毕生积蓄，直到现在，我的损失仍然没有弥补回来，”他告诉CNN。里德还说，他的父母为了帮助他，甚至掏空了自己的退休账户。

他说：“对于处于那种境地的人来说，情况非常艰难，这项法案给了这些美国人时间重新站起来。”

Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

惠兰和里德都表示，他们认为这项立法可能会起到威慑作用。惠兰指出，“如果我们的公民明知故犯地访问国务院警告我们不要访问的流氓国家，并且他们被扣为人质，国务院将努力把他们带回家，但他们将没有资格根据该法案获得赔偿。”

史蒂文斯的一位发言人表示，她的办公室与惠兰以及“与被错误拘留的美国人及其家人密切合作的主要组织，包括弗利基金会和人质美国组织”共同制定了这项立法。

发言人表示：“这两个组织都支持这项立法”，并补充说，在立法制定过程中，他们与国务院和总统人质事务特使办公室进行了沟通。

美国国务院不对正在审议的立法发表评论。

目前尚不清楚众议院提出的这项法案何时会进行投票表决。

发言人表示：“史蒂文斯议员的首要任务是争取两党支持，并尽快推动法案通过立法程序。她正与同事们合作，争取对该法案的支持，并寻找推进法案通过的机会。”