Bill Will Create a Foundation to Study Restitution Issues
WASHINGTON–Today, Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) introduced the Holocaust Victims Assets, Restitution Policy, and Remembrance Act of 2003 that will create a public-private Foundation dedicated to supporting research and education in the area of Holocaust-era assets and restitution policy.
"The restitution of property is part of a larger process of obtaining a measure of justice for the victims of Europe's major human disasters of the 20th Century - fascism and communism," said Smith. "Justice for these individuals is long overdue and I only hope that sixty years after the Holocaust we can provide some solace for the victims and their families by concentrating our efforts to resolve their claims."
"Justice is timeless and it is time for us to take the necessary steps and help Holocaust survivors reunite with their assets and belongings," Clinton said. "For many survivors and family members, a painting, a piece of furniture, or a family heirloom are the only remaining connections between them and their loved ones who died in the Holocaust. This legislation is long overdue. I hope that it reunites many victims and families with those items that have been missing for too many years."
The Act was crafted in response to recommendations from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets which suggested the need for further research and review of Holocaust-era assets in the United States and worldwide. This would entail disseminating information about restitution programs, creating a simple mechanism to assist claimants in obtaining resolution of claims, and supporting a modern database of Holocaust victims' claims for the restitution of personal property.
Senators Smith and Clinton introduced similar legislation in 2001.
