PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Nov 17, 2003
Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection Act - Bans the importation into the United States of any archaeological or cultural material of Iraq that was removed from Iraq after the issuance of Executive Order 12722 of August 2, 1990, unless the Department of Homeland Security determines that such material was legally exported from Iraq. Requires U.S. customs officers to detain such material until it can be certified as legally exported from Iraq. Allows such import restrictions to be lifted after the expiration of certain sanctions imposed upon Iraq by the United Nations Security Council.
Subjects to seizure and forfeiture any Iraqi archaeological or cultural material that is illegally imported into the United States or that cannot be certified as legally exported from Iraq. Requires the return to Iraq of any archaeological or cultural material forfeited under this Act.
Defines "country of origin" for purposes of applying U.S. tariff and customs laws to certain archaeological materials.
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Amends the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act to: (1) redefine an object of archaeological interest as one that is at least 100 years old (currently, at least 250 years old); (2) classify certain coins or coin-like objects as objects of archaeological interest if such coins are at least 250 years old; (3) limit the period during which import restrictions under the Act may be placed on the archaeological or ethnological material of any country to ten years (subject to extensions by the President for emergency conditions) after the date such restrictions are published in the Federal Register; (4) make changes in the membership of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee; and (5) extend from five to ten years the effective period of bilateral or multilateral agreements for import restrictions on archaeological or ethnological materials.
People & committees
Rep. English, Phil [R-PA-3] · R–PA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 18, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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