James A. Leach: “the bill would authorize up to $25 million as a U.S. contribution to organizations serving survivors of the Holocaust…”

“the bill would authorize up to $25 million as a U.S. contribution to organizations serving survivors of the Holocaust living in the United States and an additional $5 million for archival research by the U.S. Holocaust Museum to assist in the restitution of assets looted or extorted from Holocaust victims. It would also declare that it is the sense of Congress that all governments take appropriate action to ensure that artworks confiscated by the Nazis--or in the aftermath of World War II by the Soviets--be returned to their original owners or their heirs. The genesis for this proposal dates back to hearings which the Committee on Banking and Financial Services held over the past year, chronicling how the Nazis looted gold from the central banks of Europe, as well as from individual Holocaust victims. Following World War II, the Tripartite Gold Commission, consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom and France, was created to oversee the recovery and return of Nazi-looted gold to the countries from which it was stolen. Most of the gold recovered during that period was long ago returned to claimant countries. However, a small portion of that gold remains to be distributed. The amount of gold in TGC custody, amount to six metric tons, is worth anywhere from $50 million to $70 million depending on the price of gold at a given time. Fifteen nations hold claim to some portion of that gold.”