Cornyn, Colleagues’ Bill to Aid Recovery of Nazi-Confiscated Art Passes House Unanimously

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Cornyn, Colleagues’ Bill to Aid Recovery of Nazi-Confiscated Art Passes House Unanimously

March 17, 2026

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Fetterman (D-PA), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and Katie Britt (R-AL) released the following statements after their Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act, which would aid in the recovery of Nazi-looted art and deliver justice for Holocaust survivors and their families, passed the House unanimously and now heads to the President’s desk:

“The thousands of missing pieces of art looted from Jewish families by Hitler’s regime during the Holocaust are a painful reminder of a time when cruelty and hatred reigned,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation renews our commitment to Holocaust survivors and their families by ensuring cases are heard on their merit, offering a path to restitution and assurance that such injustices are never forgotten.”

“The theft of art by the Nazi regime was more than a pilfering of property—it was an act of inhumanity,”said Sen. Blumenthal.“Our bipartisan effort seeks to strengthen measures to bring long overdue justice to families whose cherished art was brazenly stolen by the Nazis.”

“This legislation helps to right a historic wrong committed during one of the darkest chapters in history,” said Sen. Tillis.“By eliminating unnecessary legal obstacles, the HEAR Act establishes a clear path to restitution for Holocaust survivors and their families, ensuring that art and cultural property stolen by the Nazis can finally be returned to their rightful owners.”

“Despite decades’ long efforts by the United States and allies to return Nazi-looted art to Holocaust victims and their heirs, over 100,000 works of art have yet to be recovered and returned to their rightful owners,” said Sen. Booker. “I’m pleased this law will soon be signed into law so that survivors and their heirs will finally regain possession of their stolen art.”

“Hundreds of thousands of pieces of artwork were taken from the Jewish people during the Holocaust, and survivors in the United States should not be unfairly barred from claiming artwork that is theirs,” said Sen. Blackburn. “The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act will ensure Holocaust survivors and their heirs have a fair opportunity to recover artwork stolen from them by resolving claims based on merits.”

“There is no denying the pure evil of the Holocaust and the lasting trauma endured by millions of survivors. We have a moral responsibility to do right by the victims of these atrocities, including working together to restore personal and meaningful possessions,”said Sen. Fetterman.“I’m proud to join my colleagues on the HEAR Act and I’m glad to see it advance. Updating the federal law is a commonsense move so survivors and their heirs have an opportunity to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis.”

“The theft of artwork by the Nazi regime is yet another atrocity in the long list of injustices committed against victims of the Holocaust and their families,”said Sen. Schmitt.“This legislation seeks to right that historic wrong by facilitating the return of stolen art to its rightful owners by extending an already existing law.”

“The HEAR Act of 2025 empowers Holocaust survivors and their families to continue to be heard in court and to reclaim their part of history,” said Sen. Britt. “I’m proud to see our bipartisan bill pass the House and head to President’s Trump’s desk to honor and dignify the families of individuals whose property was stolen or sold by the Nazi regime over 80 years ago.”

U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Dave McCormick (R-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rick Scott (R-FL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) are also cosponsors of this legislation, which passed the Senate unanimously on Dec. 10, 2025.

Background:

Nazi Germany’s campaign of annihilation and genocide against the Jewish people in the Holocaust included massive theft of property, including hundreds of thousands of works of art. Despite post-war efforts by the United States and allies to return Nazi-looted art and renewed efforts since the late 1990s, more than 100,000 works of art have not been returned to their rightful owners.

In 2016, Congress unanimously passed the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act, spearheaded in the Senate by Senator Cornyn, to ensure Holocaust survivors and their heirs could access U.S. courts to pursue claims for the recovery of Nazi-looted art, allowing cases to be decided on their factual merits rather than dismissed on time-based technical defenses. Congress found that the circumstances of the Holocaust imposed extraordinary obstacles to survivors and heirs to locate and recover stolen art, nece