Legislative Ban on Syrian Cultural Property Moves Forward in the Senate

Since the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reworked the language of the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act in February, the proposed legislation is steadily moving through the halls of Capitol Hill. Yesterday the full senate passed the measure by unanimous consent.

The heart of H.R. 1493 calls for emergency import restrictions on at-risk Syrian cultural property within 90 days of the law’s passage. It no longer mandates a cultural property czar like its predecessor legislation. Instead, the bill suggests that an interagency executive committee be created to help protect international cultural property.

Because the House of Representatives originally passed H.R. 1493 in a form that is different from what the Senate adopted, House lawmakers now must now consider the Senate’s version of the legislation.

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