Prepared by the Office of Congressional Relations

As of December 23, 1998

1. Enacted Legislation

S. 1564/HR 2591: Holocaust Victims Redress Act

Purpose of the Legislation: The Act (1) authorizes the President to commit the US to contribute up to $25 million over three years to an international fund to benefit Holocaust survivors, (2) authorizes the President to commit $5 million for archival research and translation services to assist in the restitution of assets looted or extorted from victims of the Holocaust, and (3) commits the Congress to seek appropriate means for addressing the issue of restituting private property, including works of art.

Status: S. 1564 passed the Senate and House; signed into law February 23, 1998 – P.L. 105-158.

Key Supporters: Sen. D’Amato (R-NY) in the Senate and Rep. Leach (R-IA) and 17 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.

Legislative History: S. 1564 was originally introduced as S. 1390.

 

S. 1900/HR 3662: US Holocaust Assets Commission Act of 1998

Purpose of Legislation: Establishes an independent Presidential commission to examine the role of the U.S. before, during, and after WW II in the disposition of Holocaust-era assets.

Status: S. 1900 passed the Senate and House; signed into law June 23, 1998 – P.L. 105-186.

Key Supporters: Sen. D’Amato (R-NY) and 26 co-sponsors in the Senate, and Rep. Leach (R-IA) and 35 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.

 

S. 1379/HR 4007: Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act

Purpose of the Legislation: S. 1379 calls for the establishment of the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group to locate, identify, and make available to the public Nazi war criminal records. The legislation would amend section 552 of title 5 of the U.S. Code, and the National Security Act of 1947, to require disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act regarding certain persons, and would provide for the disclosure of Nazi war criminal records that would not impair any investigation or prosecution conducted by the Department of Justice.

Status: S. 1379 passed the Senate and the House; signed into law October 8, 1998 – P.L. 105-246.

Key Supporters: Sen. DeWine (R-OH) and 22 co-sponsors in the Senate, and Rep. C. Maloney and 58 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.

Legislative History: H.R. 4007 was originally introduced as H.R.235.

 

2. Passed the House

Purpose of the Legislation: Non-binding resolution expressing the support of the House of Representatives for U.S. government efforts to identify Holocaust-era assets.

Status: Passed the House (427-0) on October 9, 1998.

Key Supporters: Rep. Lantos (D-CA) and 32 co-sponsors.

Purpose of the Legislation: S. Con. Res. 39 expresses the sense of the Congress that the German government should expand and simplify its reparations system, provide reparations to Holocaust survivors in Eastern and Central Europe, and set up a fund to help cover the medical expenses of Holocaust survivors. Many of these survivors were excluded from reparation agreements made in the early 1950’s between the West German government and Jewish organizations, and are now being denied assistance on technical grounds.

Status: The Senate passed S. Con. Res. 39 by unanimous consent; introduced in the House. Referred to the House Committee on International Relations on January 27, 1998.

Key Supporters: Sen. Moynihan (D-NY) and six co-sponsors, and Rep. C. Maloney (D-NY) and 37 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.

4. Introduced Legislation

Purpose of the Legislation: Requires disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) of any matter in the possession or control of specified federal agencies that relates to any individual who participated in the persecution of any person because of race, religion, national origin, or political opinion at the direction of, or in association with, Nazi Germany.

Status: Referred to the Committee on Judiciary in the Senate.

Key Supporters: Sen. Moynihan (D-NY) and two co-sponsors in the Senate.

Purpose of the Legislation: Prohibits the imposition of any Federal income tax on any amount received by an individual as a result of any settlement or adjudication arising out of any injustice experienced by the individual as a Holocaust victim.

Status: Referred to the Committee on Finance in the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means in the House of Representatives.

Key Supporter: Sen. D’Amato (R-NY) in the Senate and Rep. McIntosh (R-IN) and 31 co-sponsors in the House.

Purpose of Legislation: The resolutions urge the reform of or compensation for wrongly confiscated foreign properties in formerly Communist countries and by certain foreign financial institutions; the victims specified include Jewish individuals and communities who suffered under the Nazis and their collaborators and subsequently under Communist regimes.

Status: Introduced in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. Introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on International Relations.

Key Supporters: Sen. D’Amato (R-NY) and seven co-sponsors in the Senate, and Rep. C. Smith (R-NJ) and seven co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.

Purpose of the Legislation: H.R. 1531 would allow Holocaust survivors who are currently U.S. citizens and who have been denied reparations by the German Government to sue the German Government in U.S. courts for restitution. It would amend the Foreign Sovereigns Immunity Act (FSIA) which currently protects Germany from suits by U.S. citizens. U.S. federal courts would only obtain jurisdiction after a claimant had exhausted all other available remedies.

Status: H.R. 1531 was introduced by Rep. Slaughter on May 5, 1997, and was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. It was referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims on May 29, 1997, and to the Subcommittee on Crime on May 29, 1997.

Key Supporters: Rep. Slaughter (D-NY) and 85 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.

Purpose of Legislation: H.R. 3121 would require anyone engaged in the insurance business in the United States during the period from 1920 to 1945 to report to the Secretary of the Treasury on the number of insurance policies issued during that period; the holder, beneficiary, and current status of those policies; any attempts made to locate the beneficiaries for policies on which no benefits claims have been made; a comparison of the names of the holders and beneficiaries of those policies with the names of victims of the Holocaust; and reasons why any of the requested information cannot be provided. If it is determined that a person who was engaged in the insurance business during that period issued insurance policies to individuals who were victims of the Holocaust, the insurer would then be required to pay the beneficiaries or descendants of the victims the proceeds of the policies.

Status: H.R. 3121 was introduced by Rep. Engel on January 28, 1998. It was referred to the House Committee on Commerce on January 28, 1998, and then to the Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials on February 11, 1998.

Key Supporters: Rep. Engel (D-NY) and 25 co-sponsors.

Purpose of Legislation: H.R. 3143 would prohibit 16 foreign insurance companies and their American subsidiaries from conducting any business in the U.S. and prohibit these same insurance companies from conducting business with a federally insured depository institution or the institution’s foreign subsidiaries unless the insurance companies disclose to the US Attorney General any and all financial dealings they had with individuals who survived or died in the Holocaust.

Status: H.R. 3143 was introduced on February 3, 1998 and was referred to the Committee on Commerce and the Committee on Financial Services. On February 11, 1998 it was referred to the Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials, and on February 20, 1998 it was referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutes and Consumer Credit.

Key Supporters: Rep. Foley (R-FL) and 17 co-sponsors.

Purpose of the Legislation: Provides victims of the Holocaust access to their insurance policies.

Status: Referred to the Committees on Commerce and International Relations.

Key Supporters: Rep. Sherman (D-CA) and five co-sponsors.

Purpose of Legislation: To encourage the Secretary of State, foreign nations, and others to work together to help reunite family members separated during the Holocaust.

Status: Introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on International Relations on February 5, 1997.

Key Supporters: Rep. Franks (R-NJ) and 32 co-sponsors.