Skip to content
Congress Index

119th Congress

Menu

119th Congress

S. 1884 · 119th Congress (2025–2027)

Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025

This act permanently extends and expands judicial authority under the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016. The law allows and establishes procedures for civil claims and causes of action to recover artwork and other property lost between 1933 and 1945 because of Nazi persecution.

Among the changes, the act removes the deadline for filing civil claims or causes of action. Currently, the filing deadline is December 31, 2026. (Claims must still be filed within six years of the claimant's discovery of the property in question.)

The act permits courts to exercise jurisdiction over civil claims or causes of action against a foreign state without regard to the nationality or citizenship of the alleged victim. The art or property at issue must still have a connection to the foreign state's commercial activities in the United States.

Additionally, the act authorizes nationwide service of process, which allows courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over defendants in any judicial district where they may be found, reside, have an agent, or transact business.

Finally, the act limits the defenses that may be asserted against civil claims or causes of action, including by prohibiting

  • defenses based on the passage of time, including equitable defenses such as laches (i.e., unreasonable delays); and
  • discretionary bases for dismissal that are unrelated to the merits of the claim, including international comity (i.e., deference to the laws of other countries).

These changes apply to pending and future civil claims or causes of action.

Show official title

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 defenses to claims under that Act.

Enacted

Public law number: P.L. 119-82

This bill’s path

326 days after it was introduced

This is S. 1884’s recorded path, not a universal congressional workflow.

How bills become lawAll actions

  1. Introduced7 months

  2. Passed Senate3 months

  3. Passed House

  4. Resolving differences

    Not neededsame bill text

  5. Sent to President

  6. Signed into law

Sponsor
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Cosponsors
21 cosponsors

7 original · 14 later

10 R · 11 D

  1. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)· Original · May 22, 2025
  2. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)· Original · May 22, 2025
  3. Sen. Cory A. Booker (D-NJ)· Original · May 22, 2025
  4. Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL)· Original · May 22, 2025
  5. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)· Original · May 22, 2025
  6. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO)· Original · May 22, 2025
  7. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)· Original · May 22, 2025
  8. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT)· Later · Jun 3, 2025
  9. Sen. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA)· Later · Jun 4, 2025
  10. Sen. David McCormick (R-PA)· Later · Sep 19, 2025
  11. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)· Later · Oct 8, 2025
  12. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY)· Later · Oct 14, 2025
  13. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH)· Later · Oct 14, 2025
  14. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)· Later · Oct 20, 2025
  15. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)· Later · Oct 28, 2025
  16. Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-DE)· Later · Nov 6, 2025
  17. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)· Later · Nov 6, 2025
  18. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)· Later · Nov 6, 2025
  19. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL)· Later · Dec 8, 2025
  20. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV)· Later · Dec 9, 2025
  21. Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D-GA)· Later · Dec 9, 2025
Policy area
Law
Subjects
  • Art, artists, authorship
  • Civil actions and liability
  • Conflicts and wars
  • Crime victims
  • Historical and cultural resources
  • Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
  • War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity
  • World history

On this page

Spending

The enacted law text (Public Law 119–82) is not available locally.

Timeline

i

In chronological order. Major procedural acts are shown in full. Committee work and ordinary amendments fold in place where they happened, so they do not jump the sequence or stretch the timeline.

Jump to latest

  1. Introduced in Senate

    Document: Introduced in Senate

    Sources
  2. ▸ 3 committee actions · May 22, 2025 – Nov 18, 2025

    1. Referred to committee

      Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

      Sources

    2. Ordered reported

      Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.

      Sources

    3. Reported by committee

      Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Grassley with amendments. Without written report.

      Sources

  3. Passed Senate

    Congressional Record S8628-8629; text: CR S8629

    Passed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent.

    The Senate passed the bill.

    Document: Engrossed in Senate

    Sources

  4. Passed House

    Congressional Record H2497

    On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.

    The House passed the bill.

    Sources

  5. Enrolled Bill

    Congress published an enrolled text of the bill.

    Document: Enrolled Bill

    Sources

  6. Presented to the President

    Presented to President.

    Sources
  7. Latest

    Law

    Signed by President

    Became Public Law 119–82.

    Document: Public Law

    Sources

Committees

  1. SenateJudiciaryReferred May 22, 2025 · Markup Nov 6, 2025 · Reported Nov 18, 2025

    1. Nov 6, 2025 · Meeting

      Business meeting to consider S.1884, 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 defenses to claims under that Act, and the nominations of Robert P. Chamberlin, and James D. Maxwell II, both to be a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi, Thomas Ferguson III, to be United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, James Kruger, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Scott Leary, of Mississippi, to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, Andrew Duva, of Florida, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, William J. Crain, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Alexander C. Van Hook, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, and Ryan Anthony Kriegshauser, of Kansas, to be United States Attorney for the District of Kansas.

Floor record

i

Explicit consideration evidence: the measure’s bill-status citation matched a GovInfo title, headline, or first paragraph. Incidental mentions are not listed.

  1. Dec 10, 2025 · Senate · Passed Senate with amendments by Unanimous ConsentCongressional Record S8628–S8629

    Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025

  2. Mar 16, 2026 · House · Considered under suspension of the rulesCongressional Record H2497–H2500

    Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025

Text & titles

i

Each distinct name Congress.gov recorded, once. Official, short, display, and popular titles stay distinct when the wording differs. The same wording is not repeated for every text version.

Text versions
VersionDateLinks
Introduced in Senate
Reported to Senate
Engrossed in Senate
Public Law
Enrolled Bill—
Titles (2)

  1. Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025

    Short title, Display title · Enrolled Bill, Engrossed in Senate, Reported to Senate, Introduced in Senate

  2. 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 defenses to claims under that Act.

    Official title · Introduced in Senate