H.R. 889: Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act

114th Congress · introduced 2015-02-11 · Law · Latest: Received in the Senate.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-02-11 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Chabot, Steve [R-OH-1] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Received in the Senate. 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

Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act

Plain summary

Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act Amends the federal judicial code with respect to denial of a foreign state's sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. or state courts in commercial activity cases where rights in property taken in violation of international law are in issue and that property, or any property exchanged for it, is: (1) present in the United States in connection with a commercial activity carried on by the foreign state in the United States; or (2) owned by an agency or instrumentality of the foreign state and that agency or instrumentality is engaged in a commercial activity in the United States. Grants a foreign state or certain carriers immunity from federal or state court jurisdiction for any activity in the United States associated with a temporary exhibition or display of a work of art or other object of cultural significance if: the work of art or other object of cultural significance is imported into the United States from any foreign country pursuant to an agreement for its temporary exhibition or display between a foreign state that is its owner or custodian and the United States or U.S. cultural or educational institutions; and the President has determined that such work is culturally significant and its temporary exhibition or display is in the national interest. Denies immunity, however, in cases concerning rights in property taken in violation of international law in which: (1) the action is based upon a claim that the work was taken between January 30, 1933, and May 8, 1945, by the government of Germany or any government in Europe occupied, assisted, or allied by the German government; (2) the court determines that the activity associated with the exhibition or display is commercial; and (3) that determination is necessary for the court to exercise jurisdiction over the foreign state.

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

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Chabot, Steve [R-OH-1] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 889, Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (2015-03-31)

Cosponsors on this site

Steve Cohen (D-TN)

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 (1)

Jurisdiction: The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114hr889.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/hr>

Record fed-us-cong114-hr889 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114