I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4138
To encourage the identification and return of stolen artwork.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 25, 1998
Mr. SCHUMER (for himself and Mrs. LOWEY) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To encourage the identification and return of stolen artwork.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stolen Artwork Res-
titution Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. GRANTS TO RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP
IDENTIFY AND RELOCATE STOLEN ARTWORK.
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Attorney General may make
grants to qualified research organizations to identify and
relocate stolen artwork.
(b) QUALIFIED
RESEARCH
ORGANIZATIONS
DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘qualified research or-
ganizations’’ means research organizations which the At-
torney General finds to be qualified, by reason of demon-
strable ability, to identify and relocate stolen artwork.
(c) TERMS
AND CONDITIONS.—Grants under this
section may be made under such terms and conditions as
the Attorney General may require. The Attorney General
shall require such reports from the recipients of grants
as the Attorney General considers necessary to ensure that
the grants are being used appropriately and effectively.
(d) REPORT.—The Attorney General shall transmit
an annual report to the Congress listing the organizations
which have received grants under this section.
SEC. 3. PRIVATE INQUIRY WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN ART-
WORK.
(a) INQUIRY REQUIRED ON REQUEST.—If a request
is made under subsection (b), the seller or the purchaser
of artwork with a sales price of $5,000 or more, that at
any time has been shipped in interstate or foreign com-
merce, shall before the sale undertake a documented, rea-
sonable inquiry into the ownership history of the artwork,
including obtaining information from one or more missing
or stolen artwork registries.
(b) REQUEST.—Before a sale described in subsection
(a), an individual may request an inquiry under that sub-
section if the individual produces sufficient evidence, ac-
cording to standards established by the Attorney General,
that the artwork for which the individual requests an in-
quiry was stolen from the individual or from a member
of the individual’s family.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply to
artwork sold 60 days or more after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
SEC. 4. INQUIRY WITH RESPECT TO FEDERALLY-OWNED
ARTWORK.
(a) INQUIRY.—The Attorney General shall undertake
a documented, reasonable, multisource inquiry, including
obtaining information from one or more missing or stolen
artwork registries, with respect to all artwork in the pos-
session of the Federal Government to determine whether
any such artwork has been stolen.
(b) COOPERATION.—Each department, agency, and
instrumentality of the United States shall cooperate with
the Attorney General in connection with the inquiry un-
dertaken pursuant to this section.
(c) REPORT.—The Attorney General shall transmit
a report to the Congress describing the results of the in-
quiry undertaken pursuant to this section.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) a purchaser or seller of artwork who fails to
undertake an inquiry required under section 3(a)
should not be permitted to assert in a court in the
United States a claim, under Federal, State, or oth-
erwise applicable law, to ownership or former owner-
ship of the artwork;
(2) all museums and auction houses should un-
dertake documented, reasonable, multisource inquir-
ies, including obtaining information from one or
more missing or stolen artwork registries, with re-
spect to the artwork in their possession to determine
whether any such artwork has been stolen;
(3) all governments in possession of artwork
stolen from victims of the Holocaust should return
that artwork to its rightful owners; and
(4) parties disputing the ownership of stolen
artwork should attempt to resolve their disputes by
alternative means, such as by arbitration, before
seeking judicial remedies.
SEC. 6. EXCLUSION.
For the purposes of this Act, published or unpub-
lished literary works shall not be considered artwork.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘member of the individual’s fam-
ily’’ means a spouse, child, sibling, parent, uncle,
aunt, nephew, niece, grandparent, grandchild, great
uncle, great aunt, grand nephew, or grand niece of
the individual; and
(2) the term ‘‘missing or stolen artwork reg-
istries’’ means international registries of artwork,
each of which maintains a computerized database of
not fewer than 50,000 missing or stolen works.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
For the period encompassing fiscal years 1999
through 2001 there are authorized to be appropriated to
the Attorney General $15,000,000 to carry out this Act.
Of such amount, $5,000,000 may only be awarded as
grants under section 2.
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