Senator Marco Rubio said that the U.S. will work tirelessly to ensure deaths of journalists do not go unpunished.

The United States Senate approved a $10 million award for information leading to the arrest of those involved in the executions of two American journalists, the Telegraph reported Friday.

“One way we can honor the memories of James Foley and Steven Sotloff is to bring their evil murderers to justice, which this measure will help do,” Senator Marco Rubio was quoted by the Telegraph as saying.

Rubio, from Sotloff’s home state of Florida, also said it was important to send the message “That the United States will work tirelessly to ensure that the deaths of these beloved journalists do not go unpunished.”

Extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which has taken over stretches of territory in Iraq and Syria, released videos in August and September in which a masked militant beheaded Foley and Sotloff.

“Our country lost two of its own, and we must do everything possible to bring the terrorists who committed these atrocities to justice,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire said.

The approved sum would entitle the secretary of state to provide the money through the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, established in 1984.

For the bill to go into effect, which was passed unanimously, it must also be approved by the House of Representatives before it could be signed by President Barack Obama.

The bill is unlikely to reach the president until after mid-term elections in November as Congress has just begun a seven-week recess.

 
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