119-hr3008

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3008 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3008

 To provide for the restoration of legal rights for claimants under 
 holocaust-era insurance policies.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 24, 2025

 Mr. Kustoff (for himself and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
 and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
 of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
 concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To provide for the restoration of legal rights for claimants under 
 holocaust-era insurance policies.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Holocaust Insurance Accountability 
Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

 The purposes of this Act are to--

    (1) allow for the enforcement of State laws requiring the 
 disclosure of information about Holocaust-era insurance 
 policies, notwithstanding the holding of the Supreme Court of 
 the United States in American Insurance Association v. 
 Garamendi, 539 U.S. 396

    (2003) that such laws are preempted by 
 the foreign policy espoused by the executive branch of the 
 Federal Government addressed in that case;

    (2) facilitate the disclosure of information about 
 Holocaust-era insurance policies under applicable State laws so 
 that citizens of the United States (and other persons on whose 
 behalf such laws were enacted) may know whether they hold any 
 rights under the policies;

    (3) create a new Federal private cause of action and 
 subject matter jurisdiction to allow the beneficiaries of 
 Holocaust-era insurance policies, many of whom are citizens of 
 the United States, to bring suits in the courts of the United 
 States to recover any proceeds under the policies to which they 
 may be entitled, notwithstanding the defense that such suits 
 are preempted by the executive branch foreign policy addressed 
 in Garamendi, with the State law of the forum or Federal common 
 law providing the rule of decision governing the right of a 
 beneficiary to recover under such policies;

    (4) foreclose defenses to claims brought under 

section 4 of 
 this Act arising from any prior judgments or settlement 
 agreements (including the class action judgment and settlement 
 agreement (M21-89, United States District Court for the 
 Southern District of New York) in In re: Assicurazioni General 
 S.p.A. Holocaust Insurance Litigation) that were entered and 
 approved based on the erroneous conclusion that State law 
 claims to recover under Holocaust-era insurance claims are 
 preempted by the executive branch foreign policy addressed in 
 Garamendi;

    (5) provide for a uniform statute of limitations of 10 
 years after the date of enactment of this Act in any action to 
 recover under Holocaust-era insurance policies under this Act 
 or State law; and

    (6) in carrying out the purposes described in paragraphs

    (1) through

    (5) , preserve the lawmaking powers of Congress 
 under article I of the Constitution of the United States, with 
 which the judicial decisions cited in this section are 
 inconsistent.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Beneficiary.--The term ``beneficiary'' includes--
        (A) a named insured or named beneficiary under a 
 covered policy; and
        (B) an heir, assignee, or legal representative of a 
 named insured or named beneficiary described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) .

    (2) Covered 

=== policy ===
-The term ``covered policy'' means any 
 life, dowry, education, annuity, property, or other insurance 
 policy that was--
        (A) in effect at any time during the period 
 beginning on January 31, 1933, and ending on December 
 31, 1945; and
        (B) issued to a policyholder domiciled in--
            (i) any area that was occupied or 
 controlled by Nazi Germany; or
            (ii) the territorial jurisdiction of 
 Switzerland.

    (3) Insurer.--The term ``insurer''--
        (A) means any person engaged in the business of 
 insurance (including reinsurance) in interstate or 
 foreign commerce that issued a covered policy; and
        (B) includes any successor in interest to a person 
 described in subparagraph
        (A) .

    (4) Nazi germany.--The term ``Nazi Germany'' means--
        (A) the Nazi Government of Germany; and
        (B) any government that--
            (i) had friendly relations with the Nazi 
 Government of Germany;
            (ii) was allied with or controlled by the 
 Nazi Government of Germany; or
            (iii) exercised or claimed sovereignty over 
 any area occupied by the military forces of the 
 Nazi Government of Germany.

    (5) Related company.--The term ``related company'' means an 
 affiliate, as that term is defined in 

section 104

    (g) of the 
 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6701

    (g) ).

SEC. 4. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION; CIVIL ACTIONS.

    (a) Civil Actions To Recover Under Covered Policies.--This Act 
creates a new Federal private cause of action and Federal subject 
matter jurisdiction for a beneficiary of a covered policy to bring a 
civil action against the insurer for the covered policy or a related 
company of the insurer to recover proceeds due under the covered policy 
or otherwise to enforce any rights under the covered policy. The rule 
of decision governing the right of a beneficiary to recover under a 
covered policy shall be the law of the forum State in which the civil 
action is filed, or Federal common law, at the option of the 
beneficiary.

    (b) Nationwide Service of Process.--For a civil action brought 
under subsection

    (a) in a district court of the United States, process 
may be served in the judicial district where the case is brought or any 
other judicial district of the United States where the defendant may be 
found, resides, has an agent, or transacts business.
            (c) Remedies.--

    (1) Damages.--
        (A) In general.--A court shall award to a 
 prevailing beneficiary in a civil action brought under 
 subsection

    (a) --
            (i) the amount of the proceeds due under 
 the covered policy;
            (ii) prejudgment interest on the amount 
 described in clause
            (i) from the date the 
 amount was due until the date of judgment, 
 calculated at a rate of 6 percent per year, 
 compounded annually; and
            (iii) any other appropriate relief 
 necessary to enforce rights under the covered 
 policy.
        (B) Treble damages.--If a court finds that an 
 insurer or related company of the insurer acted in bad 
 faith, the court shall award damages in an amount equal 
 to 3 times the amount otherwise to be awarded under 
 subparagraph
        (A) .

    (2) Attorney's fees and costs.--A court shall award 
 reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing 
 beneficiary in a civil action brought under subsection

    (a) .
            (d) Limitation.--A civil action may not be brought under this 
section on or after the date that is 10 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. EFFECT OF PRIOR JUDGMENTS AND RELEASES.

    (a) In General.--

    (1) Effect.--Subject to subsection

    (b)

    (1) , a judgment or 
 release described in paragraph

    (2) shall not preclude, 
 foreclose, bar, release, waive, acquit, discharge, or otherwise 
 impair any claim brought under 

section 4 by any person.

    (2) Judgments and releases.--A judgment or release 
 described in this paragraph is--
        (A) a judgment entered before the date of enactment 
 of this Act for any claim arising under a covered 
 policy in any civil action in a Federal or State court; 
 or
        (B) an agreement entered into before the date of 
 enactment of this Act under which any person (on behalf 
 of the person, any other person, or a class of persons) 
 agrees not to assert or agrees to waive or release any 
 claim described in subparagraph
        (A) , regardless of 
 whether the agreement is--
            (i) denominated as a release, discharge, 
 covenant not to sue, or otherwise; or
            (ii) approved by a court.

    (b) Rules of Construction.--

    (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph

    (2) , 
 nothing in this section shall affect the validity or 
 enforceability of any agreement entered into between any 
 claimant under a covered policy and the International 
 Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims or an insurer 
 under which the claimant has agreed to release or waive any 
 claim in consideration for payment under a covered policy.

    (2) Exception.--Paragraph

    (1) shall not apply to any 
 agreement for which the payment is denominated as humanitarian 
 by the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance 
 Claims.

SEC. 6. EFFECT OF EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS AND EXECUTIVE FOREIGN POLICY.

    (a) Effect of Executive Agreements and Executive Foreign Policy on 
State Laws.--An executive agreement described in subsection
            (c) (1) and 
an executive foreign policy described in subsection
            (c) (2) shall not 
supercede or preempt the law of any State--

    (1) relating to a claim under or relating to a covered 
 policy against the insurer for the covered policy or a related 
 company of the insurer; or

    (2) that requires an insurer doing business in the State or 
 any related company of the insurer to disclose information 
 regarding a covered policy issued by the insurer.

    (b) Effect of Executive Agreements and Executive Foreign Policy on 
Claims Brought Under This Act.--An executive agreement described in 
subsection
            (c) (1) and an executive foreign policy described in 
subsection
            (c) (2) shall not compromise, settle, extinguish, waive, 
preclude, bar, or foreclose a claim brought under 

section 4.
            (c) Executive Agreements and Executive Foreign Policy Covered.--

    (1) Executive agreements.--An executive agreement described 
 in this paragraph is an executive agreement between the United 
 States and a foreign government entered into before, on, or 
 after the date of enactment of this Act.

    (2) Executive foreign 

=== policy ===
-An executive foreign policy 
 described in this paragraph is a foreign policy of the 
 executive branch of the Federal Government established before, 
 on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS.

 Nothing in this Act shall supersede or preempt any State law except 
to the extent the law of the State conflicts with this Act.

SEC. 8. TIMELINESS OF ACTIONS BROUGHT UNDER STATE LAW.

 A claim brought under any State law described in 

section 6

    (a) shall 
not be deemed untimely on the basis of any State or Federal statute of 
limitations or on the basis of any other legal or equitable rule or 
doctrine (including laches) governing the timeliness of claims if the 
claim is filed not later than 10 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY.

 If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision 
to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the 
remainder of this Act and the application of such provision to any 
other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.

 This Act shall--

    (1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and

    (2) apply to any claim relating to a covered policy that is 
 brought before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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