Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would award $5 million to anyone who could provide information regarding the attacks in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012.

The bill, H.R. 4530, would mandate that the Secretary of State provide the reward to anyone who has information that would lead to the capture of a suspect, which has happened in past circumstances through the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program.

“The day after the attack, President Obama said, ‘We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done,’” Burgess said. “But it has been 19 months since the tragedy in Benghazi that killed four Americans, and no justice has been done. The families of the brave Americans who paid the ultimate price in Benghazi deserve peace after all of this time. While the Obama administration’s refusal to prioritize this investigation has certainly set us back on achieving that goal of justice, we as a Congress are doing whatever we can to get to the bottom of what happened in order to ensure a tragic event like never happens again. This bill is an important step towards closing the book on Benghazi once and for all.”

The legislation is a companion bill to S. 1661, which Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced last November.  

“The State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program exists to help the U.S. identify and apprehend its enemies, but the Obama administration has not used it to pursue the terrorists who attacked our personnel in Benghazi,” Cruz said in a written statement in November. “This legislation enables the Secretary of State to offer a substantial reward for information leading to the apprehension and prosecution of the suspects who have been identified.”

Congressman Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) is an original cosponsor of the legislation. 

"The American people are tired of waiting to learn the truth about the 2012 Benghazi attacks,” Huelskamp said. “After the latest revelation that the administration withheld emails relating to the investigation, it is clear that the pursuit of the terrorists who attacked our personnel in Benghazi is not a high priority for President Obama. By offering a substantial reward for information leading to the apprehension and prosecution of suspects in these attacks, this bill will help Americans learn the truth about Benghazi.”

Introducing this legislation is the latest in a serious of efforts by Burgess to investigate the 2012 attacks in Benghazi. He has met with House Speaker John Boehner to be briefed on the investigation and has been in regular talks with members of both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, which continue to hold hearings on this issue. Additionally, he is a cosponsor of legislation by Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) to establish a select committee to investigate the attack.

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