REPORT CONCERNING THE GERMAN FOUNDATION “REMEM BRANCE, RESPONSIBILITY, AND THE FUTURE”.

SEC. 704. REPORT CONCERNING THE GERMAN FOUNDATION “REMEM BRANCE, RESPONSIBILITY, AND THE FUTURE”. (a) Report Concerning the German Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility, and the Future”.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter until all funds made available to the German Foundation have been disbursed, the Secretary shall report to the appropriate congressional committees on the status of the implementation of the Agreement and, to the extent possible, on whether or not— (1) during the 180-day period preceding the date of the report, the German Bundestag has authorized the allocation of funds to the Foundation, in accordance with section 17 of 116 STAT. 1422the law on the creation of the Foundation, enacted by the Federal Republic of Germany on August 8, 2000; (2) the entire sum of 10,000,000,000 deutsche marks has been made available to the German Foundation in accordance with Annex B to the Joint Statement of July 17, 2000; (3) during the 180-day period preceding the date of the report, any company or companies investigating a claim, who are members of ICHEIC, were required to provide to the claimant, within 90 days after receiving the claim, a status report on the claim, or a decision that included— (A) an explanation of the decision, pursuant to those standards of ICHEIC to be applied in approving claims; (B) all documents relevant to the claim that were retrieved in the investigation; and (C) an explanation of the procedures for appeal of the decision; (4) during the 180-day period preceding the date of the report, any entity that elected to determine claims under Article 1(4) of the Agreement was required to comply with the standards of proof, criteria for publishing policyholder names, valuation standards, auditing requirements, and decisions of the Chairman of ICHEIC; (5) during the 180-day period preceding the date of the report, an independent process to appeal decisions made by any entity that elected to determine claims under Article 1(4) of the Agreement was available to and accessible by any claimant wishing to appeal such a decision, and the appellate body had the jurisdiction and resources necessary to fully investigate each claim on appeal and provide a timely response; (6) an independent audit of compliance by every entity that has elected to determine claims under Article 1(4) of the Agreement has been conducted; and (7) the administrative and operational expenses incurred by the companies that are members of ICHEIC are appropriate for the administration of claims described in paragraph (3). The Secretary’s report shall include the Secretary’s justification for each determination under this subsection. (b) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of the Congress that— (1) the resolution of slave and forced labor claims is an urgent issue for aging Holocaust survivors, and the German Bundestag should allocate funds for disbursement by the German Foundation to Holocaust survivors as soon as possible; and (2) ICHEIC should work in consultation with the Secretary in gathering the information required for the report under subsection (a). (c) Definitions.—In this section: (1) Agreement.—The term “Agreement” means the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future”, done at Berlin July 17, 2000. (2) Annex b to the joint statement of july 17, 2000.—The term “Annex B to the Joint Statement of July 17, 2000” means Annex B to the Joint Statement on occasion of the final plenary meeting concluding international talks on the 116 STAT. 1423preparation of the Federal Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future”, done at Berlin on July 17, 2000. (3) German foundation.—The term “German Foundation” means the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future” referred to in the Agreement. (4) ICHEIC.—The term “ICHEIC” means the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims referred to in Article 1(4) of the Agreement.