Robert Smith: “I am proud to introduce with Senator Clinton, the Holocaust Victims' Assets Restitution Policy and Remembrance Act. This…”

“I am proud to introduce with Senator Clinton, the Holocaust Victims' Assets Restitution Policy and Remembrance Act. This legislation will create a public/private Foundation dedicated to educating and to completing the necessary research in the area of Holocaust-era assets and restitution policy and to promote innovative solutions to restitution issues. The Foundation is authorized for ten years at a cost of $100 million, after which it will sunset and ``spin off'' its research results and materials to private entities. It is able to accept private funds as well as public dollars. The need for the Foundation comes from the work of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States. I was proud to have served as a Commissioner along with several of my colleagues in the Senate. The Commission identified a number of policy initiatives that require U.S. leadership, including: further research and review of Holocaust-era assets in the United States and world-wide; providing for the dissemination of information about restitution programs; creating a simple mechanism to assist claimants in obtaining resolution of claims; and, supporting a modern database of Holocaust victims' claims for the restitution of personal property.”