WASHINGTON (JTA) — Claimants seeking the return of Nazi-looted artworks would have more time under a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate.
The measure introduced last week would reset the statute of limitations, making it six years from the date that the art in question is identified and located, and from when the claimant has shown evidence of possession of the art.
In some cases, defendants were able to avoid restitution because states had statutes of limitations as short as three years.
The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act was introduced last week by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is running for the presidency, along with Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
The measure “will empower the victims of this horrific persecution, and help ensure that our legal system does everything it can to redress the widespread looting of cultural property by the Third Reich as part of its genocidal campaign against the Jewish people and other groups,” Cruz said in a statement.
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