[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16074-16078]
[From the U.S. 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.

[[Page 16075]]

       (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--
       (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

[[Page 16076]]

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 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.

[[Page 16077]]

  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 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 1930s and 
1940s, 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.

[[Page 16078]]

  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.

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