Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn have temporarily put aside their longstanding differences on a bid to make it easier for the families of Holocaust victims to recover priceless artworks stolen by the Nazis.
The Texas Republicans, along with Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, are co-sponsoring the "Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act."
It would give families who discover stolen artwork that belongs to them six years to sue for its recovery, ending the statutes of limitation that many states now have,
The Texas Tribune reports.
"The quest to reunite the families of Holocaust victims with their stolen heritage is ultimately a quest to help them reclaim a tangible link to a happier time in their family's history — a time before the darkness of the Holocaust," Cruz said during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.
"That is far more valuable than whatever economic value the works of art or cultural artifacts might have today. Indeed, that is priceless."
During the hearing, Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren also testified in support of the bill. She starred in the 2015 film, "
Woman in Gold" the true story of a Jewish refugee who battles the Austrian government to recover artwork she believes the Nazis stole from her family.
Over the years, thousands countless numbers of missing artworks have ended up in museums and private collections.
Ron Lauder, former U.S. ambassador to Austria and chair of the Jewish Restitution Organization, told The Tribune as many as 300,000 major pieces of art are still missing.
While Cruz and Cornyn bonded on the stolen-art bill, they've butted heads over the years with Cruz, a storming tea party insurgent versus Cornyn, a GOP establishment figure.
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