[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 176 (Wednesday, December 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7330-H7333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HOLOCAUST EXPROPRIATED ART RECOVERY ACT OF 2016
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 6130) to provide the victims of Holocaust-era persecution
and their heirs a fair opportunity to recover works of art confiscated
or misappropriated by the Nazis.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6130
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 Expropriated Art
Recovery Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) It is estimated that the Nazis confiscated or otherwise
misappropriated hundreds of thousands of works of art and
other property throughout Europe as part of their genocidal
campaign against the Jewish people and other persecuted
groups. This has been described as the ``greatest
displacement of art in human history''.
(2) Following World War II, the United States and its
allies attempted to return the stolen artworks to their
countries of origin. Despite these efforts, many works of art
were never reunited with their owners. Some of the art has
since been discovered in the United States.
(3) In 1998, the United States convened a conference with
43 other nations in Washington, DC, known as the Washington
Conference, which produced Principles on Nazi-Confiscated
Art. One of these principles is that ``steps should be taken
expeditiously to achieve a just and fair solution'' to claims
involving such art that has not been restituted if the owners
or their heirs can be identified.
(4) The same year, Congress enacted the Holocaust Victims
Redress Act (Public Law 105-158, 112 Stat. 15), which
expressed the sense of Congress that ``all governments should
undertake good faith efforts to facilitate the return of
private and public property, such as works of art, to the
rightful owners in cases where assets were confiscated from
the claimant during the period of Nazi rule and there is
reasonable proof that the claimant is the rightful owner.''.
(5) In 2009, the United States participated in a Holocaust
Era Assets Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, with 45
other nations. At the conclusion of this conference, the
participating nations issued the Terezin Declaration, which
reaffirmed the 1998 Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-
Confiscated Art and urged all participants ``to ensure that
their legal systems or alternative processes, while taking
into account the different legal traditions, facilitate just
and fair solutions with regard to Nazi-confiscated and looted
art, and to make certain that claims to recover such art are
resolved expeditiously and based on the facts and merits of
the claims and all the relevant documents submitted by all
parties.''. The Declaration also urged participants to
``consider all relevant issues when applying various legal
provisions that may impede the restitution of art and
cultural property, in order to achieve just and fair
solutions, as well as alternative dispute resolution, where
appropriate under law.''.
(6) Victims of Nazi persecution and their heirs have taken
legal action in the United States to recover Nazi-confiscated
art. These lawsuits face significant procedural obstacles
partly due to State statutes of limitations, which typically
bar claims within some limited number of years from either
the date of the loss or the date that the claim should have
been discovered. In some cases, this means that the claims
expired before World War II even ended. (See, e.g., Detroit
Institute of Arts v. Ullin, No. 06-10333, 2007 WL 1016996
(E.D. Mich. Mar. 31, 2007).) The unique and horrific
circumstances of World War II and the Holocaust make statutes
of limitations especially burdensome to the victims and their
heirs. Those seeking recovery of Nazi-confiscated art must
painstakingly piece together their cases from a fragmentary
historical record ravaged by persecution, war, and genocide.
This costly process often cannot be done within the time
constraints imposed by existing law.
(7) Federal legislation is needed because the only court
that has considered the question held that the Constitution
prohibits States from making exceptions to their statutes of
limitations to accommodate claims involving the recovery of
Nazi-confiscated art. In Von Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of
Art, 592 F.3d 954 (9th Cir. 2009), the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit invalidated a California law
that extended the State statute of limitations for claims
seeking recovery of Holocaust-era artwork. The Court held
that the law was an unconstitutional infringement of the
Federal Government's exclusive authority over foreign
affairs, which includes the resolution of war-related
disputes. In light of this precedent, the enactment of a
Federal law is necessary to ensure that claims to Nazi-
confiscated art are adjudicated in accordance with United
States policy as expressed in the Washington Conference
Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, the Holocaust Victims
Redress Act, and the Terezin Declaration.
(8) While litigation may be used to resolve claims to
recover Nazi-confiscated art, it is the sense of Congress
that the private resolution of claims by parties involved, on
the merits and through the use of alternative dispute
resolution such as mediation panels established for this
purpose with the aid of experts in provenance research and
history, will yield just and fair resolutions in a more
efficient and predictable manner.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are the following:
(1) To ensure that laws governing claims to Nazi-
confiscated art and other property further United States
policy as set forth in the Washington Conference Principles
on Nazi-Confiscated Art, the Holocaust Victims Redress Act,
and the Terezin Declaration.
(2) To ensure that claims to artwork and other property
stolen or misappropriated by the Nazis are not unfairly
barred by statutes of limitations but are resolved in a just
and fair manner.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Actual discovery.--The term ``actual discovery'' means
knowledge.
(2) Artwork or other property.--The term ``artwork or other
property'' means--
(A) pictures, paintings, and drawings;
(B) statuary art and sculpture;
(C) engravings, prints, lithographs, and works of graphic
art;
(D) applied art and original artistic assemblages and
montages;
(E) books, archives, musical objects and manuscripts
(including musical manuscripts and sheets), and sound,
photographic, and cinematographic archives and mediums; and
(F) sacred and ceremonial objects and Judaica.
(3) Covered period.--The term ``covered period'' means the
period beginning on January 1, 1933, and ending on December
31, 1945.
(4) Knowledge.--The term ``knowledge'' means having actual
knowledge of a fact or circumstance or sufficient information
with regard to a relevant fact or circumstance to amount to
actual knowledge thereof.
(5) Nazi persecution.--The term ``Nazi persecution'' means
any persecution of a specific group of individuals based on
Nazi ideology by the Government of Germany, its allies or
agents, members of the Nazi Party, or their agents or
associates, during the covered period.
SEC. 5. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
Federal or State law or any defense at law relating to the
passage of time, and except as otherwise provided in this
section, a civil claim or cause of action against a defendant
to recover any artwork or other property that was lost during
the covered period because of Nazi persecution may be
commenced not later than 6 years after the actual discovery
by the claimant or the agent of the claimant of--
(1) the identity and location of the artwork or other
property; and
(2) a possessory interest of the claimant in the artwork or
other property.
(b) Possible Misidentification.--For purposes of subsection
(a)(1), in a case in which the artwork or other property is
one of a group of substantially similar multiple artworks or
other property, actual discovery of the identity and location
of the artwork or other property shall be deemed to occur on
the date on which there are facts sufficient to form a
substantial basis to believe that the artwork or other
property is the artwork or other property that was lost.
(c) Preexisting Claims.--Except as provided in subsection
(e), a civil claim or cause of action described in subsection
(a) shall be deemed to have been actually discovered on the
date of enactment of this Act if--
(1) before the date of enactment of this Act--
(A) a claimant had knowledge of the elements set forth in
subsection (a); and
(B) the civil claim or cause of action was barred by a
Federal or State statute of limitations; or
(2)(A) before the date of enactment of this Act, a claimant
had knowledge of the elements set forth in subsection (a);
and
(B) on the date of enactment of this Act, the civil claim
or cause of action was not barred by a Federal or State
statute of limitations.
(d) Applicability.--Subsection (a) shall apply to any civil
claim or cause of action that is--
(1) pending in any court on the date of enactment of this
Act, including any civil claim or cause of action that is
pending on appeal or for which the time to file an appeal has
not expired; or
(2) filed during the period beginning on the date of
enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2026.
(e) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to any civil
claim or cause of action barred on the day before the date of
enactment of this Act by a Federal or State statute of
limitations if--
[[Page H7331]]
(1) the claimant or a predecessor-in-interest of the
claimant had knowledge of the elements set forth in
subsection (a) on or after January 1, 1999; and
(2) not less than 6 years have passed from the date such
claimant or predecessor-in-interest acquired such knowledge
and during which time the civil claim or cause of action was
not barred by a Federal or State statute of limitations.
(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to create a civil claim or cause of action under
Federal or State law.
(g) Sunset.--This Act shall cease to have effect on January
1, 2027, except that this Act shall continue to apply to any
civil claim or cause of action described in subsection (a)
that is pending on January 1, 2027. Any civil claim or cause
of action commenced on or after that date to recover artwork
or other property described in this Act shall be subject to
any applicable Federal or State statute of limitations or any
other Federal or State defense at law relating to the passage
of time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
General Leave
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and to include extraneous materials on H.R. 6130, currently under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
From 1933, when Hitler took power in Germany, until 1945, when the
Allied Forces liberated Europe, the Nazis and their collaborators stole
countless works of art and cultural objects from museums and private
collections throughout Europe.
Indeed, according to the American Alliance of Museums, the Nazi
regime orchestrated a system of theft, confiscation, coercive transfer,
looting, pillage, and the destruction of objects of art and other
cultural property in Europe on a massive and an unprecedented scale.
Millions of such objects were unlawfully and often forcibly taken from
their rightful owners. This systematic looting and confiscation of the
cultural property of the Jews and of other persecuted groups has been
described as the greatest displacement of art in human history.
In order to provide the victims of the Holocaust and their heirs a
fair opportunity in our courts to recover artwork that had been
confiscated or misappropriated by the Nazis, Representative Nadler and
I, along with several other bipartisan cosponsors, introduced the
Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act, or HEAR Act. Companion
legislation has been introduced by Senators Cornyn and Schumer in the
Senate.
Since World War II ended, the United States has pursued policies to
help Holocaust victims reclaim artwork and other cultural property that
was unlawfully taken.
In recent years, the United States has joined with other nations to
declare the importance of restoring Nazi-looted and confiscated art to
its rightful owners. For instance, in the 1998 Washington Conference
Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, the United States and 43 other
nations declared that Holocaust victims and their heirs should be
encouraged to come forward and make known their claims to art that was
confiscated by the Nazis and not subsequently restituted and that steps
should be taken expeditiously to achieve a just and fair solution to
such claims.
In 2009, we joined with 48 other countries in declaring that
governments should ensure that their legal systems facilitate just and
fair solutions with regard to Nazi-confiscated and looted art and make
certain that the claims to recover such art are resolved expeditiously
and based on the facts and merits of the claims.
The enactment of the HEAR Act is an important step in following
through on these principles. The vast majority of victims whose
property was misappropriated during the Holocaust simply lacked the
information, resources, and sometimes wherewithal to pursue litigation
to recover their property. Even for those with the resources, locating
and proving ownership of Nazi-looted art proved to be extremely
difficult. Moreover, the psychological trauma of the Holocaust often
prevented victims from pursuing lost property.
Those who have seen the recent movie ``Woman in Gold,'' which tells
the story of Maria Altmann's arduous legal battle to recover her
family's possessions that were seized by the Nazis, including the
famous portrait of her aunt by Gustav Klimt, can understand just how
difficult litigation to reclaim Nazi-confiscated art can be.
{time} 1745
Ms. Altmann was in litigation for many years before her family's
artwork was recovered from the Austrian Government in 2006. At least in
Ms. Altmann's case, litigation was successful.
However, as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has observed: ``Many
obstacles face those who attempt to recover Holocaust-era art through
lawsuits,'' including ``procedural hurdles, such as statutes of
limitations'' that prevent the merits of claims from ever being
adjudicated.
Given the unique and horrific circumstances of World War II and the
Holocaust, State statutes of limitations can be an unfair impediment to
the victims and their heirs and contrary to the stated policy of the
United States.
Accordingly, the HEAR Act's uniform, 6-year Federal limitations
period is needed to ensure that the United States fulfills its promises
to ``facilitate just and fair solution with regard to Nazi-confiscated
and looted art'' and to ``make certain that claims to recover such art
are resolved expeditiously and based on the facts and merits of the
claims.''
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation so that cases
involving Nazi-confiscated artwork are resolved in our courts in a just
and fair manner on the merits of those claims.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I appreciate the work Mr. Conyers, the ranking member, has done on
this bill; Mr. Goodlatte, the chairman and the sponsor; and Mr. Nadler,
our Democratic colead.
I rise in support of H.R. 6130, the Holocaust Expropriated Art
Recovery Act of 2016. H.R. 6130 creates a new 6-year Federal statute of
limitations for civil claims filed in Federal or State court to allow a
claimant to recover artwork and other cultural property that was
stolen, seized, sold under duress, or otherwise lost as a result of
Nazi persecution during the period from January 1, 1933, to December
31, 1945.
The bill provides that this limitation period begins upon a
claimant's ``actual discovery'' of the identity and location of the art
that was unlawfully lost, and information or facts sufficient to
indicate that the claimant has a possessory interest in the art.
In addition, the bill specifies that this new limitations period
applies to cases filed prior to December 31, 2026. Finally, the bill's
provisions sunset on January 1, 2027.
The new Federal limitations period established by H.R. 6130 is
necessary because State statutes of limitations often bar claims if
they are not filed within some specified number of years from the date
of the loss.
For Holocaust-era claims concerning stolen art, this means that most
statutes of limitations would bar cases even before victims are able to
have actual knowledge of whether their art or other cultural property
had been stolen by the Nazis and been located and still was present.
Importantly, H.R. 6130 restores the claims that were barred by
existing State statutes of limitations by deeming the bill's date of
enactment as the moment of ``actual discovery'' for purposes of
triggering the bill's new 6-year limitations period.
This critical legislation reinforces longstanding American policy,
encouraging restitution for victims of the Nazi government or its
allies and agents, including with respect to Nazi-confiscated or looted
art.
As recently as this morning, a feature article was in The New York
Times: ``Jewish Dealer's Heirs File Suit Over Art in Bavarian State
Collection.'' Indeed, that case is about the facts, but it shows that
there are still
[[Page H7332]]
active cases where it has been discovered that there was art that was
owned by Jewish people that was taken by others and put in the hands of
the Nazis, and there is an issue about whether or not there is a right
to recovery.
This would guarantee that those people who discover art--and this art
was discovered some person's house that had been hidden for years in a
person's house behind walls, and all of this valuable art that had been
stolen and hidden was only discovered about 3 years ago--that the
rightful owners, or heirs to the owners, would have a right in American
courts to pursue justice.
In recognition of the Nazi government's deliberate campaign to steal
artwork and other cultural property from its victims, H.R. 6130
rightfully ensures victims are given a chance to have their day in
court to pursue justice.
Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes and 36 seconds to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).
Mr. NADLER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6130, the Holocaust
Expropriated Art Recovery Act. This legislation will help restore
artwork and heritage stolen by the Nazis during the Holocaust to the
rightful owners or heirs.
I was proud to join Chairman Goodlatte in introducing this bill, and
I appreciate his efforts in moving it forward.
In addition to their crimes of genocide and mass murder, the Nazis
engaged in comprehensive, systemic theft of art and property mostly,
but not entirely, from Jews all across Europe. The scope of their theft
was massive, and the damaging effects remain with us today, with
victims still seeking justice and some form of compensation.
Nearly 20 years ago, in 1998, the United States brought together 44
nations to produce a set of principles on Nazi confiscated art. They
agreed that steps should be taken expeditiously to achieve a just and
fair solution to the outstanding claims.
In 2009, the United States joined 45 other nations in Prague to issue
what was known as the Terezin Declaration, which reaffirmed these
principles.
Unfortunately, today, 71 years after the defeat of the Nazis and the
liberation of Europe, many American victims are still unable to pursue
their claims in court because of restrictive statutes of limitations in
the States. These laws generally require a claimant to bring a case
within a limited number of years from when the loss occurred or should
have been discovered; but in many instances, the information required
to file a claim regarding artwork stolen by the Nazis was not brought
to light until many years later, forcing courts to dismiss cases before
they could be judged on the merits. In some cases, the law would have
required a claim to be brought even before World War II ended. This is
obviously unjust.
Some States have attempted to make an exception to their statutes of
limitations to accommodate these claims, but such efforts have been
ruled unconstitutional, as an infringement on the Federal Government's
exclusive authority over foreign affairs. Federal legislation,
therefore, is needed to bring justice to this area.
This bill would set a uniform 6-year Federal statute of limitations
for the claims of Nazi-confiscated art from the time that the identity
and location of the artwork and the ownership interests of the claimant
are actually discovered. It would also restore the claims of those
claimants whose cases were dismissed previously because of a statute of
limitations.
This bill would finally ensure that the rightful owners and their
decedents can have their claims properly adjudicated.
I thank Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, for
his determined efforts to see that this issue is resolved; and Chairman
Goodlatte for working with me and our colleagues to bring this
legislation forward.
While no legislation or act of contrition will ever reverse the many
horrors committed by the Nazis, one thing we can do is establish a fair
judicial process so that some victims can achieve some small measure of
justice.
Mr. Speaker, I urge strong support for this legislation.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers and I am prepared
to close.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman
from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), the carrier of the spirit of
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the manager, Mr. Cohen; the
chairman of the committee; both sponsors; the lead sponsor, Mr. Nadler
of New York; and I thank the ranking member, Mr. Conyers.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 6130, the Holocaust Expropriated Art
Recovery Act of 2016. I am very grateful that my colleagues have
brought this to the attention of the House. This important legislation
tries to bring some remedy and solace to a devastating era of genocide,
the Holocaust. It provides the victims of Holocaust-era persecution and
genocide and their heirs a fair opportunity to recover works of art
confiscated or misappropriated by the Nazis, and there were many.
People wishing to claim ownership of art lost or confiscated during
the Holocaust would have the proper time necessary to do so under H.R.
6130. The bill would apply to art and other antiquities, such as books,
that were stolen from Jewish people and other persecuted groups by the
German Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945.
In the times that I visited Israel, I have spent much time in the
Holocaust Museum, as I have spent time in the Holocaust exhibit and
tribute here in Washington, and our own Holocaust Museum in Houston,
Texas.
I have been on the advisory board of the Holocaust Museum in Houston,
Texas, and have participated in the Holocaust ceremonies here.
This is a very important legal remedy. While the United States is a
signatory of the 2009 Terezin Declaration, which states legal systems
can facilitate claims of ownership of items lost during the Holocaust,
the claims of potential owners in the U.S. have, however, faced
barriers because of State statutes of limitation, which in some cases
would have expired even before the end of World War II.
Under this legislation, individuals would have as much as 6 years
from the time they discover the identity and location of a piece of art
or other property or learned that they may have ownership of such art
or property to file an ownership claim.
The bill's findings would express the sense of Congress that setting
one Federal statute of limitations will allow claims to be settled
through alternative dispute resolution methods that will produce more
just and fair outcomes.
The actual bottom line of this legislation, as we were able to see in
the Academy Award-winning actress in the film ``Woman in Gold,'' which
many of us saw, is that it is a fair and just relief for those so
persecuted.
What more can be taken from you--your life, your liberty, your lost
loved ones--and then those special artifacts, antiquities that would
bring back the memories of your family and your history?
This legislation is well needed. It is a relief for those who are in
pain. I support and ask my colleagues to support the Holocaust
Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6130, the ``Holocaust
Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016''.
I thank our colleague, Chairman Goodlatte for his work in guiding
this legislation through the people's House.
This legislation provides the victims of Holocaust-era persecution
and genocide and their heirs a fair opportunity to recover works of art
confiscated or misappropriated by the Nazis.
People wishing to claim ownership of art lost or confiscated during
the Holocaust would have the proper time necessary to do so under H.R.
6130.
The bill would apply to art and other antiquities, such as books,
that were stolen from Jewish people and other persecuted groups by the
German Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945.
While the United States is a signatory of the 2009 Terezin
Declaration, which urged legal systems can facilitate claims of
ownership of items lost during the Holocaust, the claims of
[[Page H7333]]
potential owners in the U.S. have, however, faced barriers because of
state statutes of limitation, which in some cases would have expired
even before the end of World War II.
In a 2009 case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled
that a law in California that sought to extend the statute of
limitations for Holocaust art recovery infringed on federal authority
over foreign affairs.
Under this legislation, individuals would have as many as six years
from the time they discovered the identity and location of a piece of
art or other property, or learned that they may have ownership of such
art or property, to file an ownership claim.
The bill's findings would express the sense of Congress that setting
one federal statute of limitations will allow claims to be settled
through alternative dispute resolution methods that will produce more
just and fair outcomes.
Pre-existing claims would be considered discovered on the date of the
bill's enactment, including claims that had previously been barred by
federal or state statutes of limitation.
While we can never erase the horrors of the Holocaust from human
history, we can do our part to bring these treasures back to the
families of those who suffered and sacrificed so much during that dark
time.
I join the American Society of Appraisers, B'nai B'rith
International, the Federal Bar Association, the World Jewish Congress,
and the World Jewish Restitution Organization in supporting this
important legislation.
Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren, who starred in the 2015
film ``Woman in Gold,'' about the real life Maria Altmann's fight to
reclaim a painting taken from her family during this horrific atrocity,
has pledged her support as well, testifying on behalf of companion bi-
partisan legislation introduced in the Senate Judiciary Committee by
the Senior Senator from Texas, my friend John Cornyn.
We know there are many cases that still cry out for justice.
For 75 years, since the start of World War II, these unremedied
claims have seared festering wounds into the lives of brave survivors
and their families.
This legislation will finally allow us to celebrate the heirlooms and
artifacts of varied heritage that stitch together the diversity of
American culture with the thread of age-old and integral property
rights we still cherish today.
The legislation before us is intended to help us remove that stain
once and for all.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I strongly support this legislation and urge
all Members to join me in voting for its passage.
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
This legislation is supported by many, including the American Jewish
Committee, B'nai B'rith International, the Commission for Art Recovery,
the World Jewish Congress, the World Jewish Restitution Organization,
and the Association of Art Museum Directors.
I do applaud Chairman Goodlatte and Mr. Nadler for their work on this
important legislation. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Just kind of parenthetically, I watched a movie called ``Race,''
which was put out last fall, about Jesse Owens. It was a movie about
the 1936 Olympics and how Hitler didn't want him to participate and how
there were two Jewish runners who were supposed to participate and they
were scratched by our American Olympic chairman because he didn't want
the Jewish men to run in front of Hitler and win--because they would
have--and the Americans won by a large amount of space and time, and
that was not allowed.
Things that happened there should never be forgotten. Elie Wiesel was
remembered at the Holocaust Museum recently, after he passed earlier
this year. He told us that we can never forget, and we always should
bear witness.
We should bear witness and remember and try to do justice for the
victims of the Holocaust, as we should to the people who have been
disenfranchised and damaged and hurt by our periods of Jim Crow and
slavery. Keep us attuned and aware and alert.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, this is important legislation. I commend
my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, as well as Members on
this side of the aisle, for their bipartisan spirit in passing this.
This will only do a small thing relative to trying to right the
wrongs of the history of the Nazi regime, but it is an important step
in that process. I strongly support the bill and urge my colleagues to
do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6130, the
``Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016.''
This bill creates a new uniform Federal 6-year statute of limitations
for Nazi-stolen artwork and other cultural property and would allow
Nazi-era stolen art claims currently barred by existing statutes of
limitations to proceed in court. It also makes clear that the statute
of limitations begins only after a claimant makes an actual discovery
of his or her claim to artwork of disputed provenance.
Victims of Nazi theft of artwork deserve access to the courts so that
they can try to get some justice for the wrongs committed against them.
This bill is critical to giving them that chance. The Nazis were
notorious for, among other things, stealing hundreds of thousands of
artworks from Europe during their reign of terror in the 1930's and
1940's, in what has been described as the greatest displacement of art
in human history.
The American Jewish Congress, B'nai B'rith International, and the
Association of Art Museum Directors, among others, support this bill.
While nothing we do can ever fully compensate victims of the Nazis,
we can at least take this modest step towards helping those victims get
some measure of restitution.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6130.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________