[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 447 Referred in House (RFH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 447


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 12, 2017

              Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To require reporting on acts of certain foreign countries on Holocaust 
                     era assets and related issues.

    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 ``Justice for Uncompensated Survivors 
Today (JUST) Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. REPORT ON HOLOCAUST ERA ASSETS AND RELATED ISSUES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Covered countries.--The term ``covered countries'' 
        means participants in the 2009 Holocaust Era Assets Conference 
        that are determined by the Secretary of State, or the 
        Secretary's designee, in consultation with expert 
        nongovernmental organizations, to be countries of particular 
        concern relative to the issues listed in subsection (b).
            (3) Wrongfully seized or transferred.--The term 
        ``wrongfully seized or transferred'' includes confiscations, 
        expropriations, nationalizations, forced sales or transfers, 
        and sales or transfers under duress during the Holocaust era or 
        the period of Communist rule of a covered country.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to 
the appropriate congressional committees that assesses and describes 
the nature and extent of national laws and enforceable policies of 
covered countries regarding the identification and the return of or 
restitution for wrongfully seized or transferred Holocaust era assets 
consistent with, and evaluated with respect to, the goals and 
objectives of the 2009 Holocaust Era Assets Conference, including--
            (1) the return to the rightful owner of any property, 
        including religious or communal property, that was wrongfully 
        seized or transferred;
            (2) if return of any property described in paragraph (1) is 
        no longer possible, the provision of comparable substitute 
        property or the payment of equitable compensation to the 
        rightful owner in accordance with principles of justice and 
        through an expeditious claims-driven administrative process 
        that is just, transparent, and fair;
            (3) in the case of heirless property, the provision of 
        property or compensation to assist needy Holocaust survivors, 
        to support Holocaust education, and for other purposes;
            (4) the extent to which such laws and policies are 
        implemented and enforced in practice, including through any 
        applicable administrative or judicial processes; and
            (5) to the extent practicable, the mechanism for and an 
        overview of progress toward the resolution of claims for United 
        States citizen Holocaust survivors and United States citizen 
        family members of Holocaust victims.
    (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that after the 
submission of the report described in subsection (b), the Secretary of 
State should continue to report to Congress on Holocaust era assets and 
related issues in a manner that is consistent with the manner in which 
the Department of State reported on such matters before the date of the 
enactment of the Act.

            Passed the Senate December 12, 2017.

            Attest:

                                                JULIE E. ADAMS,

                                                             Secretary.