[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 126 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 126

  To provide for the recovery of insurance issued for victims of the 
                               Holocaust.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 1999

  Mr. Engel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the recovery of insurance issued for victims of the 
                               Holocaust.

    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 ``Holocaust Victims Insurance Act''.

SEC. 2. STATUS OF POLICIES.

    (a) Report.--Any person engaged in the business of insurance in the 
United States directly or through a related company during the period 
1920 to 1945 shall, within 90 days of the enactment of this Act, report 
to the Secretary of the Commerce on--
            (1) the number of insurance policies issued during such 
        period;
            (2) the holder, beneficiary, and current status of those 
        policies;
            (3) the attempts made by such person to locate the 
        beneficiaries of such policies for which no claim of benefits 
        has been made;
            (4) a comparison of the names of the holders and 
        beneficiaries of such policies and the names of the victims of 
        the Holocaust;
            (5) the reason such person is unable, after reasonable and 
        good faith efforts, to provide information described in 
        paragraphs (1) through (4); and
            (6) any money contributed to a fund established to 
        compensate victims of the Holocaust as discussed in section 
        3(b) of this Act.
    (b) Penalty.--Any person who does not file a report as required by 
subsection (a) shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for each 
day such a report is not filed as required.
    (c) Transmission of Report.--The Secretary of Commerce shall 
immediately upon receipt transmit the report required by subsection (a) 
to the Committees on Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate.

SEC. 3. PAYMENT OF PROCEEDS OF INSURANCE.

    (a) Payments.--If such a person engaged in the business of 
insurance determines that it issued insurance policies to individuals 
who were victims of the Holocaust, such person shall pay to the 
beneficiaries or descendants of the victims the proceeds of such 
policies.
    (b) Fund.--Any such person who does not have records of the 
individuals to whom it issued life insurance policies during the period 
1920 to 1945 is strongly encouraged to establish a substantial monetary 
fund to compensate victims of the Holocaust. Such fund should be 
derived from sources including the policies for which there is no one 
entitled to its proceeds because the holder and all beneficiaries 
perished in the Holocaust.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with State insurance 
commissioners, shall, within 180 days of the enactment of this Act, 
report to the Committees on Commerce of the House of Representatives 
and the Senate, to the extent possible, on--
            (1) the number of individuals who were victims of the 
        Holocaust who held life insurance policies during the period 
        1920 to 1945;
            (2) the number of such individuals for whom payment was 
        made under such policies and the amount of such payments;
            (3) the number of such policies for which no payment has 
        been made;
            (4) the number of such policies for which payment was made 
        to persons other than the policy holder or their beneficiaries;
            (5) the names of the companies which issued such policies; 
        and
            (6) the relationship (if any) between such companies and 
        the governments of Germany, Italy, Austria, Croatia, Vichy 
        France, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland, and other provisional 
        governments in Nazi occupied countries.

SEC. 5. REGISTRY.

    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shall develop a 
registry of those who died in the Holocaust which shall be made 
available to the general public, including insurance companies 
preparing a report under section 2(a). Such sums as may be necessary 
are authorized to be appropriated for this purpose.

SEC. 6. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.

    Any action brought by Holocaust victim or heir or beneficiary of a 
Holocaust victim, seeking proceeds of such policies issued or in effect 
between 1920 and 1945 shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with 
the applicable statute of limitations or laches provided the action is 
commenced on or before December 31, 2010.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purpose of this Act:
            (1) Related company.--The term ``related company'' means 
        any parent, subsidiaries, or affiliated companies at least 50 
        percent of whose stock is in common ownership with an insurance 
        carrier doing business in the United States.
            (2) Victim of the holocaust.--The term ``victim of the 
        Holocaust'' means any person who lost his or her life or 
        property as a result of discriminatory laws, policies, or 
        actions targeted against discrete groups of persons between 
        April 1933 and May 1945 in Nazi Germany, areas occupied by Nazi 
        Germany, and or countries allied with Nazi Germany.
            (3) Insurance policies.--The term `insurance policies'' 
        means, but is not limited to, life insurance, property 
        insurance, dowry, or education policies.
            (4) Proceeds of such policies.--The term ``proceeds of such 
        policies'' means the face or other payout value of policies and 
        annuities plus reasonable interest to date of payment without 
        diminution for wartime or immediate postwar currency 
        devaluation.
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