Hearing of the House Judiciary Committee - Markup of: H.R. 889

Hearing

I'd like to begin by thanking Mr. Chabot for introducing this legislation and Mr. Conyers and Mr. Cohen for their support as well. The Foreign Cultural Exchange Immunity Clarification Act strengthens the ability of U.S. museums and educational institutions to borrow foreign government-owned artwork and cultural artifacts for temporary exhibition or display.

The United States has long recognized the importance of encouraging the cultural exchange of ideas through exhibitions of artwork and other artifacts loaned from other countries. These exchanges expose Americans to other cultures and foster understanding between people of different nationalities, languages, religions, and races.

Unfortunately, the future success of cultural exchanges is severely threatened by a disconnect between the Immunity From Seizure Act and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

Loans of artwork and cultural objects depend on foreign lenders having confidence that the items they loan will be returned and that the loan will not open them up to lawsuits in U.S. courts. For forty years, the Immunity From Seizure Act provided foreign government lenders with this confidence. However, rulings in several recent federal cases have undermined the protection provided by this law.

In these decisions, the federal courts have held that the Immunity From Seizure Act does not preempt the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The effect has been to open foreign governments up to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts simply because they loaned artwork or cultural objects to an American museum or educational institution.

This has significantly impeded the ability of U.S. institutions to borrow foreign government-owned items. It has also resulted in cultural exchanges being curtailed as foreign governments have become hesitant to permit their cultural property to travel to the United States.

This bill addresses this situation. It provides that if the State Department grants immunity to a loan of artwork or cultural objects under the Immunity From Seizure Act, then the loan cannot subject a foreign government to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

This is very narrow legislation. It only applies to one of the many grounds for jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. And, it requires the State Department to grant the artwork immunity before its provisions apply.

Moreover, in order to preserve the claims of victims of the Nazi government and its allies during World War II, the bill has an exception for claims brought by these victims.

If we want to encourage foreign governments to continue to lend artwork and other artifacts, we must enact this legislation. Without the protections this bill provides, foreign governments will avoid the risk of lending their cultural items to American museums and educational institutions, and the American public will lose the opportunity to view and appreciate these cultural objects from abroad.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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