[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1884 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1884
To clarify the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016, to
appropriately limit the application of defenses based on the passage of
time and other non-merits defenses to claims under that Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 22, 2025
Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Booker, Mrs.
Blackburn, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Schmitt, and Mrs. Britt) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To clarify the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016, to
appropriately limit the application of defenses based on the passage of
time and other non-merits defenses to claims under that Act.
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 2025''.
SEC. 2. HOLOCAUST EXPROPRIATED ART RECOVERY ACT OF 2016 IMPROVEMENTS.
(a) In General.--The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of
2016 (22 U.S.C. 1621 note) is amended--
(1) in section 2--
(A) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph
(10);
(B) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) The intent of this Act is to permit claims to recover
Nazi-looted art to be brought, notwithstanding the passage of
time since World War II. Some courts have frustrated the intent
of this Act by dismissing recovery lawsuits in reliance on
defenses based on the passage of time, such as laches (for
example, Zuckerman v Metropolitan Museum of Art, 928 F.3d 186
(2d Cir. 2019)) or adverse possession, acquisitive
prescription, or usucapion (for example, Cassirer v. Thyssen-
Bornemisza Foundation, 89 F.4th 1226 (9th Cir. 2024)) or on
other non-merits discretionary defenses, such as the act of
state doctrine (for example, Von Saher v Norton Simon Museum,
897 F.3d 1141 (9th Cir. 2018)), forum non-conveniens,
international comity, or prudential exhaustion. In order to
effectuate the purpose of the Act to permit claims to recover
Nazi-looted art to be resolved on the merits, these defenses
must be precluded.
``(9) This Act also is intended to allow claims in
accordance with the procedures under this Act for the recovery
of artwork or other property lost during the covered period
because, or as a result, of Nazi persecution, including by a
covered government (as defined in section 1605(h)(3)(B) of
title 28, United States Code) or an agent or associate of a
covered government, regardless of the nationality or
citizenship of the alleged victim, notwithstanding the
`domestic takings' rule under Federal Republic of Germany v.
Philipp, 592 U.S. 169 (2021).''; and
(C) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated, by
striking ``will yield just and fair resolutions in a
more efficient and predictable manner'' and inserting
``may, in some circumstances, yield just and fair
resolutions as well'';
(2) in section 3(2), by inserting ``and other non-merits
defenses'' after ``statutes of limitation'';
(3) in section 5--
(A) by striking subsection (g);
(B) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as
subsections (h) and (i), respectively;
(C) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and (d)
as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively;
(D) by inserting after subsection (a) the
following:
``(b) Relation to Foreign State Immunities.--Notwithstanding any
other law or prior judicial decision, any civil claim or cause of
action covered by subsection (a) shall be deemed to be an action in
which rights in violation of international law are in issue for
purposes of 1605(a)(3) of title 28, United States Code, without regard
to the nationality or citizenship of the alleged victim.'';
(E) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, in the
matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``subsection (e)'' and inserting ``subsection (h)'';
(F) in subsection (e), as so redesignated--
(i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1),
by striking ``Subsection (a)'' and inserting
``Subsections (a), (b), (f), and (g)''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``during
the period'' and all that follows and inserting
``on or after the date of enactment of this
Act.''; and
(G) by inserting after subsection (e), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(f) Defenses Based on Passage of Time and Other Non-Merits
Defenses.--With respect to any claim that is otherwise timely under
this Act--
``(1) all defenses or substantive doctrines based on the
passage of time, including laches, adverse possession,
acquisitive prescription, and usucapion, may not be applied
with respect to the claim; and
``(2) all non-merits discretionary bases for dismissal,
including the act of state doctrine, international comity,
forum non-conveniens, prudential exhaustion, and similar
doctrines unrelated to the merits, may not be applied with
respect to the claim.
``(g) Nationwide Service of Process.--For a civil action brought
under subsection (a) in any State or Federal court, process may be
served in the judicial district where the case is brought or any other
judicial district of the United States where the defendant may be
found, resides, has an agent, or transacts business.''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY.
``If any provision of this Act, or the application of a provision
of this Act to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the
remainder of this Act, and the application of such provision to other
persons and circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect 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 on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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