New law aims to keep terrorists from profiting from sale of cultural artifacts

WASHINGTON — President Obama has signed into law legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., that is aimed at preventing terrorists from profiting from the looting and selling of cultural artifacts.

Perdue, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was an original co-sponsor of the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act, which was a bipartisan effort.

“ISIS is raiding the cradle of civilization — destroying cultural property and selling artifacts on the black market — to help fund its reign of terror and purge the Middle East of non-Islamic history,” Perdue said Monday after the president signed the law.

“Similar crimes have been committed throughout history, and the United States has led international efforts to protect cultural property and heritage,” Perdue said. “I am glad we were able to come together and stem the flow of money to ISIS by preventing these terrorists and their networks from selling stolen antiquities to anyone in the United States.”

Perdue and Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Bob Casey, D-Pa., introduced the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act in the Senate last July. U.S. Reps. Ed Royce, R-Calif., and Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., had introduced the House version of the bill the month before.

The Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act unanimously passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Feb. 2 and the Senate on April 13.