Revamped Nazi-loot restitution bill passed by US Senate

"In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement on Wednesday (10 December), the US Senate unanimously passed the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (Hear) Act of 2025. The bill, which would extend and expand the original Hear Act of 2016 (due to expire at the end of 2026), now heads to the House of Representatives; if it is passed there, it will head to the desk of US president Donald Trump to be signed into law."

"The bill's advancement was applauded by organisations that support the restitution of Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust, including the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) and Art Ashes. "This bipartisan effort will assist Holocaust survivors and their families who are seeking the return of artwork now held in museums and collections across the United States," Mark Weitzman, WJRO's chief operating officer, said in a statement. "By clarifying and strengthening the legal framework, the bill helps ensure that these claims can be evaluated on their merits, advancing justice and accountability.""

"The Hear Act of 2016 remedied obstacles to Nazi-era art-restitution cases created by state statutes of limitations, granting a national six-year time limit to sue after the claimant's actual discovery of certain aspects of their claim. If signed into law, the new bill will maintain that six-year limit and deny certain defences that can currently be raised in such cases, including delay in bringing a claim, prolonged and unchallenged possession, and seizure within its own borders by a foreign state of its citizens' property."

The US Senate unanimously passed the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (Hear) Act of 2025, which would extend and expand the original 2016 Hear Act due to expire at the end of 2026. The bill now proceeds to the House of Representatives and, if approved there, to the president for signature. Restitution organisations including the World Jewish Restitution Organization and Art Ashes praised the advancement. The legislation preserves a national six-year discovery-based time limit to sue and removes certain defences such as delay, prolonged unchallenged possession, and seizure by a foreign state of its citizens' property.

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