S. 1884 · 119th Congress

Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025

Introduced on May 22, 2025 by John Cornyn (R-TX). 21 cosponsors, 11 of them from another party. Became Public Law 119-82.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 119-82
Introduced
May 22, 2025
Cosponsors
21
11 from the other party
Policy area
Law
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

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.

Subjects

  • Art, artists, authorship
  • Civil actions and liability
  • Conflicts and wars
  • Crime victims
  • Historical and cultural resources
  • Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
  • War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity
  • World history

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Apr 13, 2026). Public domain.

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.

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.)

The act 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.

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.

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).

These changes apply to pending and future civil claims or causes of action.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

John CornynR-TXSponsor

Democrats · 11

Republicans · 10

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. May 22, 2025Introduced in Senate
  2. May 22, 2025 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  3. Nov 6, 2025 · SenateCommittee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
  4. Nov 18, 2025Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley with amendments. Without written report.
  5. Nov 18, 2025 · SenateCommittee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley with amendments. Without written report.
  6. Nov 18, 2025 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 271.
  7. Dec 10, 2025Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent.
  8. Dec 10, 2025 · SenatePassed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8628-8629; text: CR S8629)
  9. Dec 11, 2025 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  10. Dec 11, 2025 · HouseReceived in the House.
  11. Dec 11, 2025 · HouseHeld at the desk.
  12. Mar 16, 2026 · HouseMs. Lee (FL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  13. Mar 16, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2497-2500)
  14. Mar 16, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 1884.
  15. Mar 16, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2497)
  16. Mar 16, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2497)
  17. Mar 16, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  18. Apr 2, 2026Presented to President.
  19. Apr 2, 2026 · HousePresented to President.
  20. Apr 13, 2026Signed by President.
  21. Apr 13, 2026Signed by President.
  22. Apr 13, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-82.
  23. Apr 13, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-82.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. WORLD JEWISH RESTITUTION ORGANIZATION5 reports
  2. REPUBLICAN JEWISH COALITION4 reports
    $400K reported (all issues)
  3. Art Restitution to Assist Survivors of the Holocaust Emergency Services Fdn.3 reports
    $70K reported (all issues)
  4. Federal Bar Association2 reports
    $120K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.