President Donald Trump Signs Rep. Laurel Lee’s HEAR Act Into Law

Washington, D.C. - Today, the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2025, led by Rep. Laurel Lee, was signed into law by President Donald Trump. Rep. Lee worked alongside bipartisan colleagues in both the House and Senate to advance this legislation.

The enactment of the HEAR Act marks a meaningful step toward ensuring that Holocaust survivors and their families have a fair opportunity to recover artwork and cultural property stolen during one of history's darkest chapters. The law helps ensure that these claims are decided on their merits and reflects the United States' enduring commitment to justice for victims of Nazi persecution.

During the Holocaust, the Nazi regime murdered millions of Jews and devastated entire families, communities, and livelihoods. Alongside these atrocities, the regime carried out the widespread and systematic theft of cultural property. Hundreds of thousands of works of art-including paintings, sculptures, and treasured collections-were confiscated across Europe, often through coercion, forced sales, or discriminatory laws. Many of these items were retained, traded, or sold by Nazi authorities, depriving families of both financial assets and deeply personal pieces of their heritage.

The HEAR Act of 2025 builds on prior efforts by ensuring that claims to recover stolen art are evaluated on their merits rather than dismissed on technical legal grounds, providing a clearer path for victims and their families to seek justice.

"I am grateful to President Trump for signing my legislation into law, reaffirming our nation's commitment to ensuring Holocaust survivors and their families have the opportunity to recover what is rightfully theirs," said Rep. Laurel Lee. "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."