Congressman Robert Wexler, 19th District of Florida
About Rep Wexlar Constituent Services Legislation Media Center The 19th District Contact

RSS
  » Wexler Urges Bush to Stop Assault on Family Planning Services
  July 18, 2008 Today, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) sent a letter to President George W. Bush, urging him to abandon Administration efforts to drastically alter the definition of abortion and place new (More)

  » Wexler Calls for Congressional Investigation into State Farm Insurance for Outrageous Rate Hike Request
  July 17, 2008  Today, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) called for a congressional investigation into State Farm, the largest private property insurer in the state of Florida, following reports that the company asked (More)


RSS
  » Wexler Votes for Production of 10.6 Billion Barrels of Domestic Oil
  July 17, 2008 Today, Congressman Wexler voted for the Drill Act, which would bring 10.6 billion barrels of oil immediately to American (More)

  » House Overrides Bush Veto of Critical Medicare Legislation
  July 15, 2008 Congressman Wexler voted with a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives to override President Bush's veto of  the (More)



 
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2007
Contact: Josh Rogin
Phone: (202) 225-3001
 

House Committee Passes Holocaust Insurance Bill 
Two Wexler Bills Pass Foreign Affairs Committee

(Washington, DC)  Today, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) lauded the passage of the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2007. Congressman Wexler, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, held a hearing on October 3 regarding America’s role in addressing unresolved Holocaust issues. The legislation, H.R. 1746, introduced by Congressman Wexler and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Ranking Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee, would require insurance companies doing business in the United States to publicly disclose all Holocaust-era insurance policies and allows Holocaust victims and descendents to bring action in U.S. courts to settle unresolved insurance claims.   
 
“It is unconscionable that 60 years after the end of World War II and the devastation of the Holocaust, survivors are still met with rejection, delays, bureaucratic red tape and policies that totally fail to meet the minimum requirements of justice or fairness,” Wexler said. “It is totally unacceptable that out of 870,000 life insurance policies covering Jews prior to the outbreak of World War II, only 17,000 of those policies have been paid. This bill, by requiring insurance companies to disclose information about policies held during this dark period, will give survivors and their families for the first time proof of their policy’s existence and a system for recourse.”
 
 
Congressman Wexler strongly believes that the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) process, which began in 1998 and ended in March 2007, failed to adequately identify potential policy holders and failed to administer the repayment of tens of thousands of them. As of the latest report by the ICHEIC on February 20, 2007, fewer than 5 percent of the policies estimated to have been sold to Jews at the beginning of World War II have been paid through ICHEIC. 
 
 
A second bill by Congressman Wexler authorizing funding to the Eurasia Foundation was also passed by the Foreign Affairs Committee.  The Eurasia Foundation is a privately managed non-profit organization supported by the US government and private donors that promotes civil society and private enterprise in the countries that once comprised the Soviet Union.  By authorizing grants to the Eurasia Foundation, Wexler’s legislation strengthens the US government’s ability to support efforts to promote democracy, civil society, and rule of law in former Soviet countries.

###

Congressman Wexler is Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee and a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Judiciary Committee; and he also sits on the Financial Services Committee.

back to news back to News

 
 
This is an official website of the United States House of Representatives. Privacy Policy