Bill to allow Holocaust survivors to pursue justice

WASHINGTON, DC—U.S Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, made the following statement after introducing H.R. 762, the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2017, alongside Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and John Garamendi (D-CA). Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced a companion bill in the Senate. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

“Just days ago, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the world commemorated the millions of Jews and other innocent victims who were systematically murdered at the hands of the Nazi regime. Yet, incredibly, more than 72 years later, Holocaust survivors and their heirs are still being denied justice from those that benefited from their suffering. We cannot sit idly by and allow these survivors to continue to be victimized and denied their day in court That is why I am pleased to once again be joined by Brad and John in reintroducing this bill that will finally allow survivors the ability to bring their cases before the U.S. court system and seek redress from the insurance companies that continue to shirk their moral and legal responsibilities.

NOTE: Following World War II, Holocaust survivors and the heirs of victims filed claims on policies with their insurance companies. In many cases, the insurance companies rejected these claims due to the absence of death certificates and policy documents, which were often confiscated by Nazi authorities, leaving the insurance companies themselves with the only proof of the existence of insurance policies.