Holocaust Restitution Bill Set To Challenge Republican Legislation Blockade

House Republicans who have vowed to vote down all legislation until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act will face an uncomfortable test next week when the chamber is scheduled to vote on a bill to return Nazi-looted art to Holocaust survivors and their families.The bill, known as the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act, passed the Senate with unanimous support in December. The measure builds on a 2016 law set to expire this year and ensures that restitution claims cannot be dismissed on the basis of time passed so long as families file within six years of discovering the artwork’s location.The Act has drawn endorsements from prominent Jewish organizations including the American Jewish Committee, the World Jewish Congress, and the Jewish Federations of North America.Dr Paul Gachet, Vincent van Gogh, 1890, From the collection of: Musée d’Orsay, Paris.The bill is scheduled to come to a vote, however, as several Republican representatives have vowed to shut down the House floor in an effort to pressure the Senate to pass legislation requiring proof of citizenship and photo ID to cast a ballot, known as the SAVE America Act.Representatives Randy Fine, Keith Self, and Mark Harris penned an op-ed Wednesday declaring they would vote no on any Senate-passed legislation until the chamber advances the SAVE Act, which they described as “a lifeline for the republic” that ensures “only American voices shape America’s future.”“Enough is enough. It’s time for House Republicans to draw a line in the sand,” the three congressmen wrote. They join a blockade initiated Sunday by President Trump, who posted on Truth Social that he would not sign any legislation until the SAVE Act is passed — with the exception of a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security — calling the measure something that “supersedes everything else” that “must be done immediately.”The SAVE Act passed the House last month, though it faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where it would need the support of some Democratic lawmakers to clear the 60-vote threshold. Democrats largely view the measure as a means of disenfranchising voters and are expected to unanimously oppose it if brought to the floor.St. Justa and St. Rufina, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1665-66, From the collection of: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo.While the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act is unlikely to lack the votes to pass, the blockade could put Republican representatives in an awkward position. Particularly Mr. Fine, a practicing Jew active in Jewish advocacy, who has not publicly stated his position on the upcoming vote. Neither he nor his colleagues have responded to the Sun’s request for comment.America is one of many countries with established legal frameworks allowing Holocaust survivors and their heirs to recover art stolen by the Nazis, though 80 years after the end of World War II, an estimated 100,000 pieces have yet to be returned to their rightful owners.

Holocaust Restitution Bill Set To Challenge Republican Legislation Blockade

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