A group of House members introduced legislation on Friday that aims to bolster efforts by Holocaust survivors’ families to reclaim or receive recompense for art stolen from their relatives during World War II, addressing issues in past legislation that have hampered repatriation efforts in the courts.

Identical legislation was recently introduced in the Senate by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). The House bill is being sponsored by Reps. Laurel Lee (R-FL), Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Maggie Goodlander (D-NH).

The new bill, the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act Improvements of 2025, aims to fill gaps left by the original HEAR Act, passed in 2016. The legislation eliminates a time limit included in the original bill that led some courts to dismiss suits filed under the original law. It also extends the law in perpetuity, beyond its original 2026 expiration date.

The bill also specifically addresses issues raised in recent Supreme Court cases, in which the court has ruled against the families of Holocaust survivors, stating that, “in order to effectuate the purpose of the Act to permit claims to recover Nazi-looted art to be resolved on the merits, these defenses must be precluded.”

The new bill aims to ensure that the defenses used in those cases cannot be applied going forward, and aims to ensure that such cases are not thrown out or defeated on technicalities.

“The Nazi regime stole not only lives but legacies, including cultural and family treasures that carry deep personal and historical meaning,” Lee said in a statement. “This bill ensures that families who lost everything during the Holocaust are given a fair shot at justice. These claims should be decided on the truth, not on legal loopholes or paperwork deadlines. With this legislation, we reaffirm our commitment to standing with Holocaust survivors and their families. They deserve to have their stories heard and their property returned. It’s never too late to do the right thing.”

Nadler, a lead sponsor of the original HEAR Act said, “As a matter of principle, we affirm that in the United States, everyone who has a credible claim deserves to have their day in court. This bill realizes that principle and ensures that every family has the right to a fair and just process based solely on the merits of their claim. We cannot fix the past, but this bill is a promise to the victims of the Holocaust that the United States is committed to creating a fair judicial process for the return of property that was wrongfully stolen during the darkest period of human history.”

David Schaecter, a Holocaust survivor and president of Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA, said, “To allow museums here and in Europe, and foreign governments to keep Nazi looted art perpetuates the crimes of the Nazi regime, and demeans the memory of six million Jewish souls.  We applaud Congress for making sure that families can recover their treasured legacies, and that the true history of the Nazis’ brutal campaign of murder and theft cannot be erased or trivialized by the scoundrels who refuse to return looted art.”

Gideon Taylor, the president of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, said that reclaiming these stolen belongings “is not simply about returning possessions; it is about restoring history, identity, and a measure of justice to those who lost everything.”

Joel Greenberg, president of Art Ashes, which helps fund the recovery of Nazi-looted art, said the legislation “renews and strengthens the HEAR Act, which is set to expire, by closing critical loopholes and addressing key oversights.”

“It reaffirms our commitment to ensuring that rightful owners of Nazi-looted art — and their families — receive the restitution they are owed,” Greenberg continued. “Any museum that knowingly retains stolen works is complicit in perpetuating the injustice inflicted on Holocaust victims. We have both a moral and legal obligation to correct these wrongs and to ensure the crimes of the Holocaust are neither forgiven nor forgotten.”

The legislation is supported by around two dozen Jewish and pro-Israel organizations.