I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5265 
To provide for the restoration of legal rights for claimants under holocaust- 
era insurance policies. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 22, 2019 
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself and Mr. ZELDIN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 
in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for the restoration of legal rights for claimants 
under holocaust-era insurance policies. 
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 ‘‘Holocaust Insurance 
Accountability Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) allow for the enforcement of State laws re-
quiring the disclosure of information about Holo-
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caust-era insurance policies, notwithstanding the 
holding of the Supreme Court of the United States 
in American Insurance Association v. Garamendi, 
539 U.S. 396 (2003) that such laws are preempted 
by the foreign policy espoused by the executive 
branch of the Federal Government addressed in that 
case; 
(2) facilitate the disclosure of information about 
Holocaust-era insurance policies under applicable 
State laws so that citizens of the United States (and 
other persons on whose behalf such laws were en-
acted) may know whether they hold any rights under 
the policies; 
(3) create a new Federal private cause of action 
and subject matter jurisdiction to allow the bene-
ficiaries of Holocaust-era insurance policies, many of 
whom are citizens of the United States, to bring 
suits in the courts of the United States to recover 
any proceeds under the policies to which they may 
be entitled, notwithstanding the defense that such 
suits are preempted by the executive branch foreign 
policy addressed in Garamendi, with the State law of 
the forum or Federal common law providing the rule 
of decision governing the right of a beneficiary to re-
cover under such policies; 
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(4) foreclose defenses to claims brought under 
section 4 of this Act arising from any prior judg-
ments or settlement agreements (including the class 
action judgment and settlement agreement (M21– 
89, United States District Court for the Southern 
District of New York) in In re: Assicurazioni Gen-
eral S.p.A. Holocaust Insurance Litigation) that 
were entered and approved based on the erroneous 
conclusion that State law claims to recover under 
Holocaust-era insurance claims are preempted by 
the executive branch foreign policy addressed in 
Garamendi; 
(5) provide for a uniform statute of limitations 
of 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act 
in any action to recover under Holocaust-era insur-
ance policies under this Act or State law; and 
(6) in carrying out the purposes described in 
paragraphs (1) through (5), preserve the lawmaking 
powers of Congress under article I of the Constitu-
tion of the United States, with which the judicial de-
cisions cited in this section are inconsistent. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) BENEFICIARY.—The term ‘‘beneficiary’’ in-
cludes— 
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(A) a named insured or named beneficiary 
under a covered policy; and 
(B) an heir, assignee, or legal representa-
tive of a named insured or named beneficiary 
described in subparagraph (A). 
(2) COVERED POLICY.—The term ‘‘covered pol-
icy’’ means any life, dowry, education, annuity, prop-
erty, or other insurance policy that was— 
(A) in effect at any time during the period 
beginning on January 31, 1933, and ending on 
December 31, 1945; and 
(B) issued to a policyholder domiciled in— 
(i) any area that was occupied or con-
trolled by Nazi Germany; or 
(ii) the territorial jurisdiction of Swit-
zerland. 
(3) INSURER.—The term ‘‘insurer’’— 
(A) means any person engaged in the busi-
ness of insurance (including reinsurance) in 
interstate or foreign commerce that issued a 
covered policy; and 
(B) includes any successor in interest to a 
person described in subparagraph (A). 
(4) NAZI
GERMANY.—The term ‘‘Nazi Ger-
many’’ means— 
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(A) the Nazi government of Germany; and 
(B) any government that— 
(i) had friendly relations with the 
Nazi government of Germany; 
(ii) was allied with or controlled by 
the Nazi government of Germany; or 
(iii) exercised or claimed sovereignty 
over any area occupied by the military 
forces of the Nazi government of Germany. 
(5) RELATED
COMPANY.—The term ‘‘related 
company’’ means an affiliate, as that term is defined 
in section 104(g) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act 
(15 U.S.C. 6701(g)). 
SEC. 4. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION; CIVIL ACTIONS. 
(a) CIVIL ACTIONS TO RECOVER UNDER COVERED 
POLICIES.—This Act creates a new Federal private cause 
of action and Federal subject matter jurisdiction for a 
beneficiary of a covered policy to bring a civil action 
against the insurer for the covered policy or a related com-
pany of the insurer to recover proceeds due under the cov-
ered policy or otherwise to enforce any rights under the 
covered policy. The rule of decision governing the right 
of a beneficiary to recover under a covered policy shall be 
the law of the forum State in which the civil action is filed, 
or Federal common law, at the option of the beneficiary. 
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(b) NATIONWIDE SERVICE OF PROCESS.—For a civil 
action brought under subsection (a) in a district court of 
the United States, 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. 
(c) REMEDIES.— 
(1) DAMAGES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A court shall award to 
a prevailing beneficiary in a civil action brought 
under subsection (a)— 
(i) the amount of the proceeds due 
under the covered policy; 
(ii) prejudgment interest on the 
amount described in clause (i) from the 
date the amount was due until the date of 
judgment, calculated at a rate of 6 percent 
per year, compounded annually; and 
(iii) any other appropriate relief nec-
essary to enforce rights under the covered 
policy. 
(B) TREBLE DAMAGES.—If a court finds 
that an insurer or related company of the in-
surer acted in bad faith, the court shall award 
damages in an amount equal to 3 times the 
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amount otherwise to be awarded under sub-
paragraph (A). 
(2) ATTORNEY’S
FEES
AND
COSTS.—A court 
shall award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to 
a prevailing beneficiary in a civil action brought 
under subsection (a). 
(d) LIMITATION.—A civil action may not be brought 
under this section on or after the date that is 10 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. EFFECT OF PRIOR JUDGMENTS AND RELEASES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) EFFECT.—Subject to subsection (b)(1), a 
judgment or release described in paragraph (2) shall 
not preclude, foreclose, bar, release, waive, acquit, 
discharge, or otherwise impair any claim brought 
under section 4 by any person. 
(2) JUDGMENTS AND RELEASES.—A judgment 
or release described in this paragraph is— 
(A) a judgment entered before the date of 
enactment of this Act for any claim arising 
under a covered policy in any civil action in a 
Federal or State court; or 
(B) an agreement entered into before the 
date of enactment of this Act under which any 
person (on behalf of the person, any other per-
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son, or a class of persons) agrees not to assert 
or agrees to waive or release any claim de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), regardless of 
whether the agreement is— 
(i) denominated as a release, dis-
charge, covenant not to sue, or otherwise; 
or 
(ii) approved by a court. 
(b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), nothing in this section shall affect the va-
lidity or enforceability of any agreement entered into 
between any claimant under a covered policy and the 
International Commission on Holocaust Era Insur-
ance Claims or an insurer under which the claimant 
has agreed to release or waive any claim in consider-
ation for payment under a covered policy. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to any agreement for which the payment is de-
nominated as humanitarian by the International 
Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims. 
SEC. 6. EFFECT OF EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EXECU-
TIVE FOREIGN POLICY. 
(a) EFFECT OF EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EX-
ECUTIVE FOREIGN POLICY ON STATE LAWS.—An execu-
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tive agreement described in subsection (c)(1) and an exec-
utive foreign policy described in subsection (c)(2) shall not 
supercede or preempt the law of any State— 
(1) relating to a claim under or relating to a 
covered policy against the insurer for the covered 
policy or a related company of the insurer; or 
(2) that requires an insurer doing business in 
the State or any related company of the insurer to 
disclose information regarding a covered policy 
issued by the insurer. 
(b) EFFECT OF EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EX-
ECUTIVE FOREIGN POLICY ON CLAIMS BROUGHT UNDER 
THIS ACT.—An executive agreement described in sub-
section (c)(1) and an executive foreign policy described in 
subsection (c)(2) shall not compromise, settle, extinguish, 
waive, preclude, bar, or foreclose a claim brought under 
section 4. 
(c) EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EXECUTIVE FOR-
EIGN POLICY COVERED.— 
(1) EXECUTIVE
AGREEMENTS.—An executive 
agreement described in this paragraph is an execu-
tive agreement between the United States and a for-
eign government entered into before, on, or after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
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(2) EXECUTIVE FOREIGN POLICY.—An execu-
tive foreign policy described in this paragraph is a 
foreign policy of the executive branch of the Federal 
Government established before, on, or after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 7. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS. 
Nothing in this Act shall supersede or preempt any 
State law except to the extent the law of the State conflicts 
with this Act. 
SEC. 8. TIMELINESS OF ACTIONS BROUGHT UNDER STATE 
LAW. 
A claim brought under any State law described in 
section 6(a) shall not be deemed untimely on the basis 
of any State or Federal statute of limitations or on the 
basis of any other legal or equitable rule or doctrine (in-
cluding laches) governing the timeliness of claims if the 
claim is filed not later than 10 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act or the application of such 
provision to any person or circumstance is held to be un-
constitutional, the remainder of this Act and the applica-
tion of such provision to any other person or circumstance 
shall not be affected thereby. 
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SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 
This Act shall— 
(1) take effect on the date of enactment of this 
Act; and 
(2) apply to any claim relating to a covered pol-
icy that is brought before, on, or after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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