[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE HOLOCAUST VICTIMS INSURANCE FAIRNESS ACT

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                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 17, 2003

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to introduce the ``Holocaust 
Victims Insurance Fairness Act''--legislation to provide states with 
the authority to assist survivors of the Holocaust.
  Before and during the Holocaust, millions of European Jews purchased 
life insurance policies with certain European insurance companies as a 
form of savings and investment for the future. After World War II, 
however, insurance companies rejected many claims presented by 
Holocaust survivors or heirs of Holocaust victims because the claimants 
lacked the requisite documentation such as death certificates that had 
been confiscated by the Nazi regime.
  Some families have tried for years to obtain promised benefits, but 
insurance companies continue to demand that the survivors produce non-
existent documents. In 1998, the International Commission on Holocaust 
Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) was established to address the issue of 
unpaid insurance policies and to expedite payouts to Holocaust victims.
  ICHEIC has received over 90,000 claims, but has only made a few 
thousand settlement offers. This shortfall has forced disillusioned 
claimants to turn to the states for assistance in obtaining the swift 
justice they deserve. To continue to deny these claims would be a 
further injustice to these survivors and would only serve to perpetuate 
the horrible acts that occurred years ago.
  In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court in ALA v. Garamendi recently 
struck down a California law aimed at assisting thousands of Holocaust 
survivors and their families in collecting on millions of dollars of 
outstanding Holocaust-era insurance policies. The court narrowly 
rejected the right of states to require insurance companies doing 
business in their state to disclose information about Holocaust 
survivor insurance policies.
  The court in Garamendi maintained that the president's preference is 
for Holocaust-era insurance claims to be handled by the International 
Commission of Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims--an approach that has 
wholly failed Holocaust victims.
  I believe that states should have the authority to assist survivors 
of the Holocaust to recover benefits from policies lost or stolen 
before and during these tragic events. Therefore, I am introducing 
legislation to specifically allow states to collect insurance 
information for victims of the Holocaust. Unlike similar pieces of 
legislation that have been introduced, the ``Holocaust Victims 
Insurance Fairness Act'' also explicitly expresses Congressional 
disapproval of any Executive branch policy or agreement that preempts 
State efforts to collect insurance information for victims of the 
Holocaust to resolve outstanding claims. Please join me in this effort 
to finally provide justice to those who have been denied it for so 
long.

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