,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bgfc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #g1     
#bjaf ,mr4 ,cornyn 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,cruz1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 and ,mr4          
,blumenthal7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a 
,,bill  ,to provide the victims of      
,holocaust-era persecution and their    
heirs a fair opportunity to recover     
works of art confiscated or             
misappropriated by the ,nazis4  #a4     
,short title  ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,holocaust ,expropriated ,art      
,recovery ,act of #bjaf4  #b4 ,findings 
,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,it 
is estimated that the ,nazis confiscated
 or otherwise misappropriated as many as
 #fej1jjj works of art throughout       
,europe as part of their genocidal      
campaign against the ,jewish people and 
other persecuted groups4 ,this has been 
described as the greatest displacement  
of art in human history4  7#b7          

,following ,world ,war ,,ii1 the ,united
 ,states and its allies attempted to    
return the stolen artworks to their     
countries of origin4 ,despite these     
efforts1 many works of art were never   
reunited with their owners4 ,some of the
 art has since been discovered in the   
,united ,states4  7#c7 ,in #aiih1 the   
,united ,states convened a conference   
with #dd nations in ,washington1 ,,dc1  
known as the ,washington ,conference1   
which produced ,principles on           
,nazi-,confiscated ,art4 ,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 identified4
  7#d7 ,the same year1 ,congress enacted
 the ,holocaust ,victims ,redress ,act  
7,public ,law #aje-aeh1 #aab ,stat4     
#ae71 which expressed the sense of      
,congress that all governments should   
undertake good faith efforts to         
facilitate the return of private and    

public property1 such as works of art1  
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 owner44  7#e7  
,in #bjji1 the ,united ,states          
participated in a ,holocaust ,era       
,assets ,conference in ,prague1 ,czech  
,republic1 with #de other nations4 ,at  
the conclusion of this conference1 the  
participating nations issued the        
,terezin ,declaration1 which reaffirmed 
the #aiih ,washington ,conference       
,principles on ,nazi-,confiscated ,art  
and urged all participants to ensure    
that their legal systems or alternative 
processes1 while taking into account the
 different legal traditions1 facilitate 
just and fair solutions with regard to  
,nazi-confiscated and looted art1 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 parties44 ,the         
,declaration also urged participants to 
consider all relevant issues when       
applying various legal provisions that  
may impede the restitution of art and   
cultural property1 in order to achieve  
just and fair solutions1 as well as     
alternative dispute resolution1 where   
appropriate under law44  7#f7 ,numerous 
victims of ,nazi persecution and their  
heirs have taken legal action to recover
 ,nazi-confiscated art4 ,these lawsuits 
face significant procedural obstacles   
partly due to ,state statutes of        
limitations1 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        
discovered4 ,in some cases1 this means  
that the claims expired before ,world   
,war ,,ii even ended4 7,see1 e4g41 ,the 
,detroit ,institute of ,arts v4 ,ullin1 
,no4 #jf-ajccc1 #bjjg ,,wl #ajafiif     
7,e4,d4 ,mich4 ,mar4 #ca1 #bjjg747 ,the 
unique and horrific circumstances of    

,world ,war ,,ii and the ,holocaust make
 statutes of limitations and other      
time-based procedural defenses          
especially burdensome to the victims and
 their heirs4 ,those seeking recovery of
 ,nazi-confiscated art must             
painstakingly piece together their cases
 from a fragmentary historical record   
ravaged by persecution1 war1 and        
genocide4 ,this costly process often    
cannot be done within the time          
constraints imposed by existing law4    
7#g7 ,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 art4 ,in ,von ,saher  
v4 ,norton ,simon ,museum of ,art1 #eib 
,f4#c;d #ied 7#ith ,cir4 #bjji71 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      
artwork4 ,the ,court held that the law  
was an unconstitutional infringement of 
the ,federal ,government's exclusive    
authority over foreign affairs1 which   
includes the resolution of war-related  
disputes4 ,in light of this precedent1  
the enactment of a ,federal law is the  
best way to ensure that claims to       
,nazi-confiscated art are adjudicated on
 their merits4  #c4 ,purposes ,the      
purposes of this ,act are the following3
 7#a7 ,to ensure that laws governing    
claims to ,nazi-confiscated art further 
,united ,states policy as set forth in  
the ,washington ,conference ,principles 
on ,nazi-,confiscated ,art1 the         
,holocaust ,victims ,redress ,act1 and  
the ,terezin ,declaration4  7#b7 ,to    
ensure that claims to artwork stolen or 
misappropriated by the ,nazis are not   
barred by statutes of limitations and   
other similar legal doctrines but are   
resolved in a just and fair manner on   

the merits4  #d4 ,definitions ,in this  
,act-- 7#a7 the term actual discovery   
does not include any constructive       
knowledge imputed by law2  7#b7 the term
 artwork or other cultural property     
includes any painting1 sculpture1       
drawing1 work of graphic art1 print1    
multiples1 book1 manuscript1 archive1 or
 sacred or ceremonial object2  7#c7 the 
term persecution during the ,nazi era   
means any persecution by the ,nazis or  
their allies during the period from     
,january #a1 #aicc1 to ,december #ca1   
#aide1 that was based on race1          
ethnicity1 or religion2 and  7#d7 the   
term unlawfully lost includes any theft1
 seizure1 forced sale1 sale under       
duress1 or any other loss of an artwork 
or cultural property that would not have
 occurred absent persecution during the 
,nazi era4  #e4 ,statute of limitations 
7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any    
other provision of ,federal law1 any    
provision of ,state law1 or any defense 
at law or equity relating to the passage

 of time 7including the doctrine of     
laches71 a civil claim or cause of      
action against a defendant to recover   
any artwork or other cultural property  
unlawfully lost because of persecution  
during the ,nazi era or for damages for 
the taking or detaining of any artwork  
or other cultural property unlawfully   
lost because of persecution during the  
,nazi era may be commenced not later    
than #f years after the actual discovery
 by the claimant or the agent of the    
claimant of--  7#a7 the identity and    
location of the artwork or cultural     
property2 and  7#b7 information or facts
 sufficient to indicate that the        
claimant has a claim for a possessory   
interest in the artwork or cultural     
property that was unlawfully lost4  7b7 
,possible misidentification ,for        
purposes of subsection 7a77#a71 in a    
case in which there is a possibility of 
misidentification of the artwork or     
cultural property1 the identification of
 the artwork or cultural property shall 

occur on the date on which there are    
facts sufficient to determine that the  
artwork or cultural property is likely  
to be the artwork or cultural property  
that was unlawfully lost4  7c7          
,applicability  7#a7 ,in general        
,subsection 7a7 shall apply to any civil
 claim or cause of action 7including a  
civil claim or cause of action described
 in paragraph 7#b77 that is--  7,a7     
pending on the date of enactment of this
 ,act2 or  7,b7 filed during the period 
beginning on the date of enactment of   
this ,act and ending on ,december #ca1  
#bjbf4  7#b7 ,inclusion of previously   
dismissed claims ,a civil claim or cause
 of action described in this paragraph  
is a civil claim or cause of action--   
7,a7 that was dismissed before the date 
of enactment of this ,act based on the  
expiration of a ,federal or ,state      
statute of limitations or any other     
defense at law or equity relating to the
 passage of time 7including the doctrine
 of laches72 and  7,b7 in which final   

judgment has not been entered4