S 2579: A bill to require the Secretary of State to offer rewards totaling up to $5,000,000 for information on the kidnapping and murder of Naftali Fraenkel, a dual United States-Israeli citizen, that began on June 12, 2014.

Congress: 113 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: pro-Israel

Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).

Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for S 2579.

Sponsor: Cruz, Ted (R-Texas)

Summary

Directs the Secretary of State, in accordance with the Rewards for Justice program authorized under the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, to offer a reward of up to $5 million to any individual who furnishes information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual for committing, conspiring or attempting to commit, or aiding or abetting in the commission of the kidnapping and murder of Naftali Fraenkel.

Editorial Explainer

The bill directs the Secretary of State to offer up to $5 million in rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Naftali Fraenkel, a U.S.-Israeli citizen, in 2014. The reward would be administered through the existing State Department Rewards for Justice program.

Why it matters

This uses U.S. law enforcement tools to pursue accountability for a specific 2014 crime. It represents congressional focus on a case with dual U.S.-Israeli dimensions, though similar reward authorities exist for other kidnapping and murder cases.