Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Armenian Victims Insurance Fairness Act''--legislation to provide states with the authority to assist survivors of the Armenian Genocide.
At the end of the 19th century, major American and European insurance companies began expanding their operations into the Ottoman Empire and thousands of Armenians in the area purchased life insurance policies as a form of savings and investment for the future. By 1915, it is reported that one French-based company had sold more than 11,000 policies in the area. Almost all of these policyholders were massacred when a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing was launched, killing more than 1.5 million Armenians.
Over eighty years later, insurance companies still have not paid the benefits due on the thousands of policies sold. Some families have tried for years to obtainowed benefits, but insurance companies have demanded that the survivors produce non-existent documents, such as death certificates.
In order to provide victims with the justice they deserve, California enacted legislation to assist both Armenian victims and Holocaust victims in recovering outstanding insurance claims. In addition to providing a right of action for claims arising out of such policies, California enacted an additional law requiring insurance companies doing business in their state to disclose information about Holocaust-era insurance policies. A similar requirement was omitted from the Armenian victims legislation because of a pending Supreme Court challenge of the Holocaust disclosure law.
In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court in AIA v. Garamendi recently struck down the California disclosure law, citing Administration efforts to settle Holocaust insurance claims and stating that ``Congress has done nothing to express disapproval of the President's policy [with respect to settling such claims and preempting state efforts in this area].''
Although no similar Administration efforts have interfered with the settlement of Armenian claims, it is important for Congress to speak clearly on this issue. Private settlement negotiations between insurance companies and families have been slow with no final resolutions reached to date. Families should not have to wait any longer for disclosure of policyholder lists.
I have introduced two pieces of legislation to specifically allow states to collect insurance information for victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. The Armenian Victims Insurance Fairness Act specifically provides states with the authority to pass disclosure laws related to insurance policies in effect at any time between 1875 and 1923 that were issued to persons domiciled in the Ottoman Empire, such as Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians.
The Armenian Victims Insurance Fairness Act, and my companion legislation the Holocaust Victims Insurance Fairness Act (H.R. 3129), specifically provide states with the authority to pass policyholder disclosure laws and explicitly express Congressional disapproval of any Executive branch policy or agreement that preempts State efforts in this area. Pleasejoin me in this effort to finally provide justice to those who have been denied it for so long.