Sen. Cruz Statement Following President Trump Signing HEAR Act into Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, issued the following statement after President Donald Trump signed into law the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2025. This legislation ensures that claims of Holocaust survivors and their families related to Nazi-confiscated art are resolved in a just manner and are not barred by state statutes of limitations or other procedural defenses.

Click here or the image above to watch Sen. Cruz deliver remarks in support of the HEAR Act.

Sen. Cruz said, "I am deeply grateful President Trump has signed the HEAR Act into law. The Nazis stole more than 600,000 works of art, which experts describe as the largest displacement of art in history. This legislation helps address that injustice and will facilitate restitution for victimized families. I am proud to have worked alongside colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance and pass it."

The legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.-15).

Rep. Lee said, "I am grateful to President Trump for signing our legislation into law, reaffirming our nation's commitment to ensuring Holocaust survivors and their families have the opportunity to recover what is rightfully theirs. This law advances justice and affirms a simple principle: these cases should be decided based on truth, not technicalities, and we will continue to stand with those seeking to reclaim what was taken from them."

Click here to read the full bill text.

BACKGROUND

Nazi Germany's campaign of annihilation and genocide against the Jewish people in the Holocaust included massive theft of property, including and most notably, hundreds of thousands of works of art. Despite post-war efforts by the United States and Allies to return Nazi-looted art, and renewed efforts since the late 1990s, over 100,000 works of art have not been returned to their rightful owners. These looted art pieces are worth an estimated $100 billion dollars.

Senator Cruz introduced the original version of the HEAR Act in 2016, which was signed into law to ensure Holocaust survivors and their heirs could access U.S. courts to pursue claims for the recovery of Nazi-looted art, allowing cases to be decided on their merits rather than dismissed on time-based technical defenses. The HEAR Act of 2016 included a sunset provision and is currently set to expire on January 1, 2027.