HOLOCAUST PROPOSAL CRITICIZED WAXMAN INSISTS OPENING LISTS OF POLICYHOLDERS NEEDED NOW.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration came down hard Tuesday against a proposal by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, to help Holocaust survivors make claims under long-dormant insurance policies.

The international commission created to settle Nazi-era claims also opposed Waxman's measure, as did the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and a major Holocaust survivor group.

Waxman and Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who together have led a charge to force insurance companies to open their World War II-era archives to the public, said they were not deterred.

``If anything, this hearing confirmed my belief that the publication of policyholder lists is one of the key components needed to bring justice to Holocaust survivors,'' Waxman said.

The hearing before the House Government Reform Committee followed a ruling this year by the U.S. Supreme Court, which which struck down a California law that tried to force European companies with American subsidiaries to open their records or lose their license to do business in the state.

Holocaust survivors and their heirs contend that the failure of European insurance companies to open their archives makes it impossible for them to collect on policies upon which they or their relatives faithfully paid premiums before falling victim to the Nazis.

Many backed the 1999 California law saying the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) - membership in which is voluntary - works too slow.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled that California sought to ``use an iron fist where the President has consistently chosen kid gloves.''

But the court also ruled that while the state law interferes with foreign policy, Congress does have the power to act on the matter.

``It's time to take the gloves off,'' Waxman said Tuesday.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, who helped write the California law while serving in the state Legislature, added: ``I believe we ought to make it clear that Congress approves of the states ... passing laws like California's.''

Foley's bill would allow states to pass laws like California's setting requirements for insurance companies. Waxman's bill would create a national registry of European policyholders from 1920 to 1945 and companies would be subject to a $5,000-a-day fine for non-compliance.

Ambassador Randolph M. Bell, the U.S. State Department's special envoy for Holocaust issues, said those proposals would ``undercut if not completely end the current system.''

Currently, five European insurance companies voluntarily agree to turn over the names of policyholders to ICHEIC. The commission then checks names submitted to them against the companies' lists. The commission database currently contains about 520,000 names.

Bell and ICHEIC Chairman Lawrence S. Eagleburger predicted years of litigation and little gain for survivors if Congress gave up diplomatic efforts and tried to force companies to reveal names.

So far, the commission has received 61,336 claims and made 3,268 offers totaling about $46.9 million, Eagleburger said.

Several lawmakers on the committee pointed out that 80 percent of the commission's claims remain in limbo and the number of names provided by companies pales in comparison to the number of people who actually held insurance policies.