Two members of the Florida delegation--Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen--have brought back a bill to help Holocaust survivors and their heirs with insurance claims.
Nelson and Ros-Lehtinen brought out the “Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act.” at the end of September, close to the end of the congressional session. Co-sponsors included U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and California Democrats U.S. Reps. John Garemendi and Brad Sherman. Ros-Lehtinen announced this week she had brought the bill back with a new Congress in session.
After World War Two, many Holocaust victims’ families and survivors filed insurance claims only to find them rejected due to a lack of paperwork including death certificates and policy papers which were often seized or destroyed by the Nazis and their allies. Nelson’s and Ros-Lehtinen’s bill would make insurance companies reveal Holocaust-era policyholders and permit “beneficiaries of Holocaust insurance policies and their heirs to bring suits in U.S. courts to recover any proceeds under the policies to which they may be entitled.”
Ros-Lehtinen brought the bill back on Tuesday, noting that International Holocaust Remembrance Day had been held the week before.
“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,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “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.”
When she brought out the bill at the end of September, Ros-Lehtinen noted that Congress overrode then President Barack Obama’s veto of a bill allowing 9/11 victims’ families to sue Saudi Arabia and insisted her legislation was following suit.
“Congress has overwhelmingly voted – for the second time – to allow the families and victims of 9/11 to finally have their day in court after 15 years and to seek the justice that has evaded them since that fateful day,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “Now Congress has an opportunity to address the lingering injustices that Holocaust survivors have faced for over 70 years by restoring their rights and finally giving them, their heirs and the heirs of victims an opportunity to bring their cases before a federal judge. For far too long, insurance companies have been allowed to deny just compensation to victims of the Holocaust by placing undue burdens on them and by hiding behind bureaucratic red tape which has prevented cases from being brought against these insurance companies in the U.S.
Nelson’s bill was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee while Ros-Lehtinen’s was sent to the House Judiciary Committee.
