Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2010 - Declares that no executive agreement between the United States and any foreign country shall invalidate or preempt any state law creating a cause of action against an insurer or related company based upon a claim arising out of or related to a covered insurance policy that: (1) was in effect at any time after January 30, 1933, and before December 31, 1945; and (2) was issued to a policyholder domiciled in any area occupied or controlled by Nazi Germany.
Deems any state law enacted as of March 1, 1998, which requires an insurer doing business in that state to disclose information regarding such a covered policy to be effective upon its enactment.
Authorizes the President to waive application of this Act upon: (1) a determination that the executive agreement is vital to U.S. national security interests; and (2) presentation of a report by the President to certain congressional committees explaining the reasons for such determination.
Prohibits a court from dismissing a claim that is brought under a state law within 10 years after enactment of this Act on the ground that the claim is barred under any statute of limitations.
Declares this Act applicable to any claim brought under state law before, on, or after enactment of this Act including: (1) any claim dismissed on the ground of executive preemption before the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) any claim that is deemed released as a result of the settlement of a class action entered into before enactment of this Act if the claimant did not receive any payment pursuant to the settlement.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4596 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4596
To allow for enforcement of State disclosure laws and access to courts
for covered Holocaust-era insurance policy claims.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 4, 2010
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Klein of Florida, Mr. Pence, Mr.
Garamendi, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Lincoln Diaz-
Balart of Florida, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mrs.
Blackburn, and Mr. Kirk) 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 allow for enforcement of State disclosure laws and access to courts
for covered Holocaust-era insurance policy claims.
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 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Holocaust, an event in which millions of people
endured enormous suffering through torture and other violence,
including the murder of 6,000,000 Jews and millions of others,
the destruction of families and communities, and the theft of
their assets, was one of the most heinous crimes in human
history.
(2) Before and during World War II, millions of people
purchased insurance policies to safeguard family assets, plan
for retirement, provide for a dowry, or save for their
children's education.
(3) When Holocaust survivors or heirs of Holocaust victims
presented claims to insurance companies after World War II,
many were rejected because they did not have death certificates
or physical possession of policy documents that had been
confiscated by the Nazis or lost in the devastation of the
Holocaust.
(4) In many instances, insurance company records and
records in government archives are the only proof of the
existence of insurance policies belonging to Holocaust victims.
(5) Holocaust survivors and heirs have been attempting for
decades to persuade insurance companies to settle unpaid
insurance claims.
(6) In 1998, the International Commission on Holocaust Era
Insurance Claims (in this section referred to as ``ICHEIC'')
was established by the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners in cooperation with several European insurance
companies, European regulators, the Government of Israel, and
non-governmental organizations with the promise that it would
expeditiously address the issue of unpaid insurance policies
issued to Holocaust victims.
(7) On July 17, 2000, the United States and Germany signed
an executive agreement in support of the German Foundation
``Remembrance, Responsibility, and the Future'', which
designated ICHEIC to resolve all Holocaust-era insurance
policies issued by German companies and their subsidiaries.
(8) On January 17, 2001, the United States and Austria
signed an executive agreement, which designated ICHEIC to
resolve all Holocaust-era insurance policies issued by Austrian
companies and their subsidiaries.
(9) The ICHEIC process ended in 2007 and companies holding
Holocaust-era insurance policies continue to withhold names of
owners and beneficiaries of thousands of insurance policies
sold to Jewish customers prior to World War II.
(10) Experts estimate that only a small fraction of the
policies estimated to have been sold to Jews living in Europe
at the beginning of World War II have been paid through ICHEIC.
(11) In American Insurance Association, Inc., v. Garamendi,
the United States Supreme Court held that under the supremacy
clause of the Constitution of the United States, executive
agreements and Federal Government policy calling for insurance
claims against German and Austrian companies to be handled
within ICHEIC preempted State laws authorizing State insurance
commissioners to subpoena company records and require
publication of the names of Holocaust era policy holders.
(12) In the Garamendi case, the Supreme Court stated that
Congress, which has the power to regulate international
commerce and prescribe Federal court jurisdiction, had not
addressed disclosure and restitution of insurance policies of
Holocaust victims.
(13) Subsequent court decisions have dismissed survivors'
suits against an Italian insurance company, even though there
is no executive agreement between the United States and Italy.
(14) Congress supports the rights of Holocaust survivors
and the heirs and beneficiaries of Holocaust victims to obtain
information from insurers and to bring legal actions in courts,
wherever jurisdiction requirements are met, to recover unpaid
funds from entities that participated in the theft of family
insurance assets or the affiliates of such entities.
(15) Congress intends for this Act to be interpreted to
allow for State causes of action and disclosure requirement
laws regarding Holocaust-era insurance policies to be valid and
not preempted.
(16) This Act expresses the intent of Congress to deem
valid State laws protecting the rights of Holocaust survivors
and the heirs and beneficiaries of Holocaust victims to obtain
information from insurers and to bring actions in courts of
proper jurisdiction to recover unpaid funds from entities that
participated in the theft of family insurance assets or the
affiliates of such entities.
(17) Insurance payments should be expedited to the victims
of the most heinous crime of the 20th century to ensure that
justice is served.
(18) This Act will enable survivors, heirs, and
beneficiaries to obtain compensation commensurate with the real
monetary value of their losses.
(19) Under the circumstances faced by Holocaust victims and
their families, courts should be open to Holocaust victims and
their families for a reasonable number of years after the
enactment of this Act, without regard to any other statutes of
limitation.
SEC. 3. VALIDITY OF STATE LAWS.
(a) Validity of Laws Creating Cause of Action.--Any State law
creating a cause of action against any insurer or related company based
on a claim arising out of or related to a covered policy shall not be
invalid or preempted by reason of any executive agreement between the
United States and any foreign country.
(b) Validity of Laws Requiring Disclosure of Information.--Any
State law that is enacted on or after March 1, 1998, and that requires
an insurer doing business in that State, including any related company,
to disclose information regarding any covered policy shall be deemed to
be in effect on the date of the enactment of such law and shall not be
invalid or preempted by reason of any executive agreement between the
United States and any foreign country.
(c) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of subsection
(a) or (b) with respect to any executive agreement that is entered into
between the United States and a foreign country on or after the date of
the enactment of this Act and that involves covered policies if, not
later than 30 legislative days before the signing of the executive
agreement--
(1) the President determines that the executive agreement
is vital to the national security interests of the United
States; and
(2) the President provides to the appropriate congressional
committees a report explaining the reasons for such
determination.
(d) Statements of Interest.--No funds may be used by the Department
of State, or any other department or agency of the United States, for
the purpose of issuing a statement of interest seeking to encourage a
court in the United States to dismiss any claim brought to recover
compensation arising out of or related to a covered policy.
(e) Statute of Limitations.--No court may dismiss a claim that is
brought under a State law described in subsection (a) or (b) within 10
years after the date of the enactment of this Act on the ground that
the claim is barred under any statute of limitations.
SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.
This Act shall apply to any claim that is brought, before, on, or
after the date of the enactment of this Act, under a State law
described in subsection (a) or (b), including--
(1) any claim dismissed, before the date of the enactment
of this Act, on the ground of executive preemption; and
(2) any claim that is deemed released as a result of the
settlement of a class action that was entered into before the
date of the enactment of this Act, if the claimant did not
receive any payment pursuant to the settlement.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
Foreign Affairs in the House of Representatives, the Committee
on Foreign Relations in the Senate, and the Committees on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
(2) Covered policy.--
(A) In general.--The term ``covered policy'' means
any life, dowry, education, property, or other
insurance policy that--
(i) was in effect at any time after January
30, 1933, and before December 31, 1945; and
(ii) was issued to a policyholder domiciled
in any area that was occupied or controlled by
Nazi Germany.
(B) Nazi germany.--In this paragraph, the term
``Nazi Germany'' means--
(i) the Nazi government of Germany; and
(ii) any government in any area occupied by
the military forces of the Nazi government of
Germany.
(3) Insurer.--The term ``insurer'' means any person engaged
in the business of insurance (including reinsurance) in
interstate or foreign commerce, if the person issued a covered
policy, or a successor in interest to such person.
(4) Legislative days.--The term ``legislative days'' means
those days on which both Houses of Congress are in session.
(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)).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to House Foreign Affairs
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.
Referred to House Judiciary
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
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