Signed into law
Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025
This act permanently extends and expands judicial authority under the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016. The law allows and establishes procedures for civil claims and causes of action to recover artwork and other property lost between 1933 and 1945 because of Nazi persecution.
- Measure
- S. 1884 · 119th Congress
- Latest action
- April 13, 2026
- Policy changes
- 5
- Source
- CRS summary (Public Law) · Congress.gov
Became Public Law No: 119-82.
Who wrote it
Sponsor
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)Joined by 21 cosponsors, 7 of them from the day it was introduced. Introduced May 22, 2025.
All 21 cosponsors
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) · original
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) · original
- Sen. Cory A. Booker (D-NJ) · original
- Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL) · original
- Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) · original
- Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) · original
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) · original
- Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT)
- Sen. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA)
- Sen. David McCormick (R-PA)
- Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)
- Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH)
- Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
- Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-DE)
- Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)
- Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC)
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL)
- Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
- Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D-GA)
How Congress voted
No recorded vote: this bill moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, so there is no record of how individual members voted.
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In their own words
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What it changes — and your vote
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Provision 1
Among the changes, the act removes the deadline for filing civil claims or causes of action.
Currently, the filing deadline is December 31, 2026. (Claims must still be filed within six years of the claimant's discovery of the property in question.)
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Provision 2
Permits courts to exercise jurisdiction over civil claims or causes of action against a foreign state without regard to the nationality or citizenship of the alleged victim.
The art or property at issue must still have a connection to the foreign state's commercial activities in the United States.
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Provision 3
Additionally, the act authorizes nationwide service of process, which allows courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over defendants in any judicial district where they may be found, reside, have an agent, or transact business.
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Provision 4
Finally, the act limits the defenses that may be asserted against civil claims or causes of action, including by prohibiting:
• defenses based on the passage of time, including equitable defenses such as laches (i.e., unreasonable delays); and • discretionary bases for dismissal that are unrelated to the merits of the claim, including international comity (i.e., deference to the laws of other countries).
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Provision 5
These changes apply to pending and future civil claims or causes of action.
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