S. 634: Holocaust Rail Justice Act

112th Congress · introduced 2011-03-17 · Law · Latest: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-551.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2011-03-17 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-551. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Holocaust Rail Justice Act

Plain summary

Holocaust Rail Justice Act - Grants U.S. district courts original jurisdiction over any civil action for damages for personal injury or death that: (1) arose from the deportation of persons to Nazi concentration camps between January 1, 1942, and December 31, 1944; and (2) is brought by or on behalf of such person against a railroad that owned or operated the trains on which the persons were deported and that was organized as a separate legal entity. Declares that: (1) no law limiting the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts shall preclude any such action; and (2) no such action shall be barred because a statute of limitations has expired. Makes this Act applicable to any action pending on or commenced after January 1, 2002. Directs the Secretary of State to report to Congress on the status of access to wartime records and archives concerning the wartime activities of any such railroad that engaged in the deportation of such persons to Nazi concentration camps.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Holocaust Rail Justice Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] · 19 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Bernard Sanders (I-VT)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] reported raising $1.2 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Jurisdiction: The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s634.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s634 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112