I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4235 
To clarify the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016, to appro-
priately limit the application of defenses based on the passage of time 
and other non-merits defenses to claims under that Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 27, 2025 
Ms. LEE
of Florida (for herself, Mr. NADLER, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. 
GOODLANDER, and Mr. FITZGERALD) introduced the following bill; which 
was 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 de-
fenses to claims under that Act. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. 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 amend-
ed— 
(1) in section 2— 
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(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, notwith-
standing the passage of time since World War II. 
Some courts have frustrated the intent of this Act 
by dismissing recovery lawsuits in reliance on de-
fenses 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 pos-
session, acquisitive prescription, or usucapion (for 
example, Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Founda-
tion, 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 pru-
dential exhaustion. In order to effectuate the pur-
pose of the Act to permit claims to recover Nazi- 
looted art to be resolved on the merits, these de-
fenses must be precluded. 
‘‘(9) This Act also is intended to allow claims 
in accordance with the procedures under this Act for 
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the recovery of artwork or other property lost during 
the covered period because of Nazi persecution, re-
gardless of the nationality or citizenship of the al-
leged 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), respec-
tively; 
(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 
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(a) shall be deemed to be an action in which rights in vio-
lation 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 strik-
ing ‘‘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 in-
serting ‘‘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 en-
actment 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 
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possession, acquisitive prescription, and usucapion, 
may not be applied with respect to the claim; and 
‘‘(2) all non-merits discretionary bases for dis-
missal, including the act of state doctrine, inter-
national 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 dis-
trict where the case is brought or any other judicial dis-
trict 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 sub-
section (a) shall apply with respect to any civil claim or 
cause of action that is— 
(1) pending in any court on the date of enact-
ment of this Act, including any civil claim or cause 
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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. 
Æ 
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