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What is House Bill H.R. 1493?

This bill would create a Coordinator position (within the Dept. of State) for International Cultural Property Protection. They would be responsible for coordinating and promoting federal efforts to address international cultural property protection activities. A Coordinating Committee on international cultural property protection would be established to help the Coordinator’s work.

The President would be directed to apply import restrictions covering archaeological or ethnological material from Syria. These restrictions would treat Syria as if it were a party to an international agreement aimed at stopping the illegal import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property. Specifically, it would apply to historically or culturally important items that left Syria on or after March 15, 2011.

Any agency involved in international cultural property protection also get help in their efforts (temporarily) from the Smithsonian Institution. The Coordinator would be at the Assistant Secretary level of the State Department or higher, and would serve in both capacities at the same time.

Impact

People who would import cultural property from Syria, federal agencies involved in prohibiting these transactions, the State Department, the Coordinator and the Coordinating Committee, the President.

Cost of House Bill H.R. 1493

$500.00 Thousand

The CBO estimates that implementing this bill would cost less than $500,000 over the 2016-2020 period. The restriction on importing materials from Syria that are culturally or historically significant would result in revenue loss of an additional $500,000 over the 2016-2025 period.

More Information

Of Note: ISIS has destroyed numerous culturally significant artifacts in Syria, Iraq, and Libya including churches, mosques, shrines, ancient sites, and artifacts in museums as it has expanded its influence in the Middle East. The ancient Roman ruins at Palmyra in Syria — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — have been threatened by ISIS since May 2015. In late August 2015 ISIS destroyed a major temple at Palmyra known as the Temple of Bel.

The import restriction imposed by this bill on cultural property from Syria is very similar to an existing restricting imports of cultural property from Iraq, enacted in 2008. That restriction covered ceramics, stone, metal, glass, ivory, bone, shell, textile, paper, parchment, wood, and paintings — but did allow for imports that were accompanied by documentation showing that it left Iraq prior to August 6, 1990.

A Hollywood film weighed in on the theft of cultural property with The Monuments Men, which focused on cultural artifacts stolen by the Nazis and efforts by the Allies to retrieve the items, and was loosely based on a non-fiction book.

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) cited this bill’s historical context in his press release, noting that “Wars have long caused terrible destruction and looting of priceless cultural property, from Nazi theft of artwork during World War II to Syria’s bombing of Aleppo to ISIL’s selling-off of ancient treasures. We need to strengthen our ability to stop history’s looters from profiting off their crimes.”

This bill also has bipartisan support with five Democratic and three Republican cosponsors, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) praised this legislation’s efforts to help “priceless treasures stand a better chance in the face of this despicable campaign.”

The Society for American Archaeology and its 7,000 members expressed their strong support for this bill, saying that it would allow the U.S. to “rapidly increase its presence and impact in this often under-appreciated, but vital, area that resides at the intersection of trade, defense, and foreign affairs.”

Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: "Temple of Bel, Palmyra, Syria - 3" by James Gordon from Los Angeles, California, USA - Temple of Bel, Palmyra, Syria. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

AKA

Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act

Official Title

To protect and preserve international cultural property at risk due to political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters, and for other purposes.

bill Progress

EnactedMay 9th, 2016
The President signed this bill into law
The senate Passed April 13th, 2016
Passed by Voice Vote
The house Passed June 2nd, 2015
Passed by Voice Vote
IntroducedMarch 19th, 2015