HR 4863 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
Fairness for Khobar Act of 2025
To amend the Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act to provide for lump sum catch-up payments for certain 1983 Beirut barracks bombing victims and 1996 Khobar Towers bombing victims.
Summary
This bill amends the Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act to authorize lump sum catch-up payments for victims of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing. The bill addresses a situation where certain victims did not apply for lump sum payments based on prior Department of Justice guidance stating that only one application per claim was allowed and that victims already receiving regular payments were ineligible for lump sum payments. The bill directs the Special Master of the compensation fund to authorize these catch-up payments and to establish procedures allowing victims to demonstrate their reliance on the earlier DOJ guidance through documentation or sworn statements. The catch-up payments will be funded from the reserve fund or from the compensation fund itself.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
6 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Pete Sessions’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- BANKERS LIFE $12,400
- ELEMENTS MASSAGE $12,400
- DEASON CAPITAL SERVICES $11,900
- NULL $10,900
- HIGHLANDER PARTNERS $9,900
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Pete Sessions → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Aug 1, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Aug 1, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 1, 2025
Mr. Sessions introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act to provide for lump sum catch-up payments for certain 1983 Beirut barracks bombing victims and 1996 Khobar Towers bombing victims.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Fairness for Khobar Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. LUMP SUM CATCH-UP PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN 1983 BEIRUT BARRACKS BOMBING VICTIMS AND 1996 KHOBAR TOWERS BOMBING VICTIMS.
Section 404(d)(4)(D) of the Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act (34 U.S.C. 20144(d)(4)(D)) by adding at the end the following:
“(v) Lump sum catch-up payments for certain 1983 beirut barracks bombing victims and 1996 khobar towers bombing victims.— Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the following shall apply:
“(I) The Special Master shall authorize lump sum catch-up payments to those 1983 Beirut barracks bombing victims and 1996 Khobar Towers bombing victims who did not apply for those payments because of Department of Justice guidance that stated that only one application may be submitted for each claim and that Fund claimants previously found eligible for regular payment distributions are not eligible for lump sum catch-up payments.
“(II) Not later than 30 days after the effective date of this subclause, the Special Master shall publish such procedures and other guidance necessary to implement subclause (I). The Special Master shall permit 1983 Beirut barracks bombing victims and 1996 Khobar Towers bombing victims covered by this clause to demonstrate their reliance on Department of Justice guidance through documentation of written or verbal communications with the Fund, a sworn statement that describes reliance on that guidance, or any other method identified by the Special Master.
“(III) The Special Master shall authorize lump sum catch-up payments pursuant to this clause from the reserve fund established in clause (iv) or from the Fund, to the extent sufficient reserve funds are not available.”. <all>
Comments