,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #acic ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #cj1 #bjac ,mr4 ,schumer 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,mr4 ,franken1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,ms4 ,mikulski1 ,mr4 ,nelson1 ,mr4 ,reid1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 and ,mr4 ,wyden7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to ensure that the courts of the ,united ,states may provide an impartial forum for claims brought by ,united ,states citizens and others against any railroad organized as a separate legal entity1 arising from the deportation of ,united ,states citizens and others to ,nazi concentration camps on trains owned or operated by such railroad1 and by the heirs and survivors of such persons4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,holocaust ,rail ,justice ,act4 #b4 ,congressional findings ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,during ,world ,war ,,ii1 more than #ge1jjj ,jews and thousands of other persons were deported from ,france to ,nazi concentration camps1 on trains operated for profit by the ,socit ,nationale des ,chemins de fer ,franais 7in this ,act referred to as ,,sncf71 including deportations to ,auschwitz and ,buchenwald4 ,numerous citizens and residents of the ,united ,states were among those who were on the trains or had relatives on the trains4 ,united ,states servicemen who were pilots shot down over ,france were also among the persons deported on the ,,sncf trains to ,nazi concentration camps4 7#b7 ,united ,states citizens and others have sought redress against ,,sncf by filing a class action suit in the ,united ,states ,district ,court for the ,eastern ,district of ,new ,york4 ,the named plaintiffs and class members include ,united ,states ,army ,air ,force pilots and ,united ,states citizens4 7#c7 ,the complaint filed alleges that ,,sncf1 a separate corporate entity that remained independent during ,world ,war ,,ii1 operated the deportation trains for a profit1 as ordinary commercial transactions4 ,,sncf remained under ,french civilian control throughout ,world ,war ,,ii and is alleged to have collaborated willingly with the ,german ,nazi regime4 7#d7 ,the complaint alleges that ,,sncf provided the necessary rolling stock1 scheduled the departures1 and supplied the employees to operate the trains bound for the concentration camps4 ,,sncf allegedly charged an ordinary passenger coach fare for the deportations1 calculated per person and per kilometer1 and considered these trains as ordinary commercial activities4 ,the plaintiffs further contend that ,,sncf herded as many people as possible into each car1 requiring passengers of all ages and sexes1 including the elderly and young children1 to stand throughout the trip of several days' duration1 with no provision for food or water and no sanitary facilities4 ,the complaint further alleges that ,,sncf cleaned the trains after each trip1 removing the corpses of persons who perished during transit due to the execrable conditions of the train cars4 ,the destination was in each case a camp in which the deportees were to be exterminated1 worked to death1 or made to suffer terrible and inhuman conditions4 7#e7 ,the complaint contends that ,,sncf's actions violated the ,principles of the ,nuremberg ,tribunal1 #aiej1 relating to crimes under international law 7earlier recognized by the ,martens ,clause of the ,hague ,convention ,,iv of #aijg71 and aided and abetted the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity4 ,,sncf has not denied its actions and has never disgorged the money that it was paid for the deportations or otherwise compensated the deportees or their heirs4 7#f7 ,,sncf's records concerning the deportation trains have not been made available to the plaintiffs1 and ,,sncf archives concerning its wartime activities are not accessible to the general public4 7#g7 ,,sncf moved to dismiss the lawsuit on a claim of sovereign immunity under the foreign sovereign immunities provisions of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code 7#bh ,u4,s4,c4 #accj and #afjb et seq471 even though it is one of the #ejj largest corporations in the world1 earns hundreds of millions of dollars from its commercial activities in the ,united ,states1 and is not accorded sovereign immunity under the laws of ,france4 ,,sncf's motion to dismiss the lawsuit was granted by the ,united ,states ,district ,court for the ,eastern ,district of ,new ,york4 ,plaintiffs appealed the decision1 their appeal was granted1 and the case was remanded for further proceedings4 ,subsequently1 in light of ,republic of ,austria v4 ,altmann1 #eda ,u4,s4 #fgg 7#bjjd71 in ,november #bjjd1 on remand1 the ,court of ,appeals for the ,second ,circuit recalled its prior mandate and determined that ,,sncf was entitled to immunity and affirmed the dismissal of the complaint4 ,the ,second ,circuit stated that the railroad's conduct at the time lives on in infamy but concluded that the evil actions of the ,french national railroad's former private masters in knowingly transporting thousands to death camps during ,world ,war ,,ii are not susceptible to legal redress in ,federal court today44 7#h7 ,this lawsuit1 which arises from the unique historical facts of the deportation of persons to ,nazi concentration camps1 presents issues of substantial importance to citizens and veterans of the ,united ,states4 ,many of those who have sought redress against ,,sncf are elderly and would have difficulty traveling outside the ,united ,states in order to pursue their claims elsewhere4 ,the courts of the ,united ,states are and should be a proper forum for this lawsuit4 ,the ,foreign ,sovereign ,immunities ,act of #aigf1 which had not been enacted at the time of ,,sncf's actions during ,world ,war ,,ii1 was not intended to bar suit against the ,,sncf4 #c4 ,access to ,united ,states courts for holocaust deportees 7a7 ,jurisdiction of district courts ,the ,united ,states district courts shall have original jurisdiction1 without regard to the amount in controversy1 of any civil action for damages for personal injury or death that-- 7#a7 arose from the deportation of persons to ,nazi concentration camps during the period beginning on ,january #a1 #aidb1 and ending on ,december #ca1 #aidd2 and 7#b7 is brought by any such person1 or any heir or survivor of such person1 against a railroad that-- 7,a7 owned or operated the trains on which the persons were so deported2 and 7,b7 was organized as a separate legal entity at the time of the deportation1 whether or not any of the equity interest in the railroad was owned by a foreign state4 7b7 ,other laws not applicable ,sections #accj and #afja through #afaa of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 or any other law limiting the jurisdiction of the ,united ,states courts1 whether by statute or under common law1 shall not preclude any action under subsection 7a74 7c7 ,inapplicability of statutes of limitation ,an action described in subsection 7a7 shall not be barred by a defense that the time for bringing such action has expired under a statute of limitations4 7d7 ,applicability ,this section shall apply to any action pending on ,january #a1 #bjjb1 and to any action commenced on or after that date4 #d4 ,reporting ,in furtherance of international education relating to the ,holocaust and historic and continuing anti-,semitism in ,europe and throughout the world1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the ,congress a one-time report1 outlining the status of access to wartime records and archives concerning the wartime activities of any railroad organized as a separate legal entity that engaged in the deportation of persons to ,nazi concentration camps during the period beginning on ,january #a1 #aidb1 and ending on ,december #ca1 #aidd4