The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2225-E2226 on Oct. 16, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998
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speech of
HON. BOB CLEMENT
of tennessee
in the house of representatives
Saturday, October 10, 1998
Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, we are poised on the brink of a historic vote to help millions of our persecuted brothers and sisters of faith around the world. The words of our first President George Washington ring out across the years, as if written to us for this day: ``I beg you will be persuaded that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny and every species of religious persecution.''
Yesterday, with historic unity and courage, the Senate voted 98 to 0 stand against the horrors of religious persecution. I rise now, after more than a year of work on this bill, in heartfelt support for the International Religious Freedom Act. Let us finish the job. With one voice let us tell religious believers around the world that we have heard their cries and seen their suffering. And let us with one voice tell persecuting regimes around the world that we will not be silent, and that we will not let their crimes go unchecked.
Even as we speak, there are those suffering torture, imprisonment, rape, murder, merely because they seek to peacefully practice their faith. The International Religious Freedom Act creates a comprehensive and responsible structure for responding to that persecution. It is consistent with international and U.S. human rights law. It has many long-term avenues for change. The only option it does not allow is silence.
I commend my Senate colleagues Don Nickles, who sponsored and provided such great leadership on this bill, and Senators Joe Lieberman, Connie Mack, Dan Coats, and others, as well as all the staff who worked so hard. I commend my colleague Frank Wolf and his staff Anne Huiskes for their hard work on the bill that laid such strong groundwork for this bill today.
What is so remarkable about this bill is its bipartisan nature. I know just how bipartisan it was, because my staff Laura Bryant was one of the principal drafters of this bill, together with my colleague from the other side of the aisle Tom DeLay's staff Will Inboden. They worked together for over a year with the staff of other Senators who share a deep commitment to freedom of religion, from both sides of the aisle, including John Hanford, Steve Moffitt, Elaine Petty, Jim Jatras, Cecile Shea, Pam Sellars, and many others.
My friend Senator Coats cautioned this morning, after the overwhelming vote, that we must not think this was easy. And it was not. There were many long hours, weeks and months of negotiations, not only within the Congress, but with the Administration and with religious and other groups. I want to commend the Administration for supporting this bill, and for working so extensively with our offices as we sought to come to a common agreement. I particularly wish to thank Susan Jacobs, Mike Dennis, Alexandra Arriaga, and David Killian for the many hours and hard work they graciously devoted to negotiations on this bill. I commend Senator Nickles for his great leadership and for his will to work in such a bipartisan way.
This bill also would not have happened without the support of many groups, representing people of many faiths. The Episcopal Church was the first to support the bill, leading the charge on behalf of their brothers and sisters of faith suffering in Sudan, Pakistan, and around the world. I particularly wish to thank their representatives Tom Hart and Jere Skipper, whose great dedication and unflagging effort were critical in rallying widespread support for this bill. I ask unanimous consent to enter the powerful statement of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold into the Record. True to its proud tradition defending human rights, the American Jewish Committee also led the charge from the beginning, particularly Rich Foltin who spent long hours working on this bill.
The Christian Coalition was another critical and outspoken supporter, and I particularly wish to mention the hard work of Jeff Taylor, director of the Washington Office. The Southern Baptists, who are headquartered in my district, also have members suffering persecution around the world. Will Dodson of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission provided essential support and encouragement. The United States Catholic Conference provided critical help, through Cynthia Phillips and several other representatives. The Ant-Defamation League, particularly Stacy Burdett, broadened and rallied support, true to its historical defense of victims of persecution. There are many others who have provided critical help, including Chuck Colson, head of Justice Fellowship, Nagy Kheir of the American Coptic Association and many others. To all of these, I say thank you.
Two years ago, we unanimously passed a resolution condemning Christian persecution worldwide, a resolution I was proud to cosponsor. The International Religious Freedom Act admirably implements those principles. It is comprehensive, far-reaching and tough. Yet it is carefully designed to craft policies individually for each country, addressing the sad truth that persecuting regimes have developed great sophistication and variety in their methods of oppression.
Let me briefly address the cornerstones of this bill. First, it establishes a high-level Ambassador at Large who will forcefully advocate for religious freedom around the world. It establishes a high-
level, independent Commission of experts to provide policy recommendations. We hope for the kind of great work that the State Department Advisory Committee, under the able leadership of John Shattuck and Alex Arriaga, have provided so far.
Secondly, every year the State Department will report on the status of religious freedom around the world, and on the actions our government has taken to combat violations of that freedom. In the tradition of the Human Rights Report, the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom will shed the light of exposure on religious persecution.
Third, every year our government must take action in each country where violations occur. This is the essential core of the bill. We provide a vast number of options to address the persecution, from diplomatic discussions to targeted economic sanctions. We know that each country and each situation is different, and this bill acknowledges that strategic reality.
In every country where particularly severe violations occur, each year our government will have to take stronger action. This action is geared to create the greatest possible leverage for change in the behaviour of persecuting regimes. Prior to imposing any sanction, the President must first seek an agreement for change with the foreign country. He must consult with religious groups and others who best know the country to devise the best possible measure. He must also consult with United States business interests to fully weigh any unintended economic risk to the United States. The President has the flexibility, if necessary, to waive economic actions because they might be harmful to the persecuted people, or because another important national US interest requires it.
Finally, there is extensive long-term promotion of change in this bill--from broadcasting to awards for foreign service officers who promote religious freedom. And we require training on human rights and on conditions of religious persecution around the world, for all those who might be faced with cases of such persecution directly, from Ambassadors to foreign service officers to immigration officers.
Mr. Speaker, this bill promotes wise, long-term change. As Senator Nickles has said, this bill is not designed to punish but to change behavior. The International Religious Freedom Act is comprehensive and strong but it is calibrated, flexible and responsible. The only option it does not allow is silence.
Long ago, in times of terrible hardship for the people of God, the prophet Isaiah said that what is acceptable to God is ``to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free''. Mr. Speaker, this is not just a bill. This is a stand for the most precious freedom, the right dearest to every human heart. This is a historic stand for the freedom of the people of God in every country to worship Him in freedom and in truth.
Mr. Speaker, I urge each of my colleagues to join with the Senate in saying to the world, with one voice, that the United States stands for freedom of religion in every country, for every people, for every man and woman. We cannot be silent.
The Episcopal Church Center,
New York, NY,
September 29, 1998.
Open Letter to Congress Concerning Religious Persecution Abroad
Dear Members of the House and Senate: I have recently returned from a once-a-decade meeting of all Anglican bishops around the world known as the Lambeth Conference. Nearly 750 bishops from every Church of the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church in the United States is one, met for three weeks to worship, learn, and discuss issues of our experience in God's world. One of the inescapable and profoundly moving realities of the Lambeth Conference is the diversity of experience, of background, of culture, which characterizes the world's 70 million Anglicans, representing 165 countries. I returned to the United States challenged and stretched by stories of differing circumstances and divergent view points.
This amazing richness of experience and faith within the Anglican family causes me to appreciate once again the richness of all faiths here in the United States. While I have chosen a path in the Anglican tradition of Christianity, I celebrate the rich diversity enjoyed in this country, and the freedom that we have to practice our faith. Another lesson learned at the Lambeth Conference was that these freedoms which we so easily take for granted do not exist in many parts of the world. Stories of religious intolerance, restrictions, persecution, and even murder jolted bishops from the West to the stark reality of people's suffering for what they believe.
Bishops form Sudan, our fastest growing church in the world, told how their believers have suffered torture and enslavement. Food and medicine are used to coerce Christians to renounce their faith. Fear of genocide and systematic persecution have forced thousands of people into refugee camps. In Pakistan, Anglicans are often beaten, their churches and villages raided, while women are raped and kidnaped. These and other stories moved the Lambeth Conference to call on governments around the world to
``strive for creation of just and free conditions for people of all religions to practice their beliefs.'' Today, I call on you.
I commend the work of so many in Congress for raising religious persecution abroad before our government and the nation at large. Legislation in both the House and Senate has served to heighten awareness and concern for those around the world who suffer for their faith. Now, it is time to finish the job.
I believe the compromise legislation designed by Senators Nickles and Lieberman takes a positive and meaningful step in the cause of religious liberty worldwide. The Nickles-Lieberman bill requires the Administration to take one of a broad range of options currently available under U.S. law--from private diplomatic protest to certain economic sanctions--to respond to countries that engage in religious persecution. The bill asks the State Department to report on the wide range of religious intolerance experienced worldwide. It requires consultation with religious communities, both here and abroad, prior to any action to ensure that any U.S. response will help, not harm, the religious minority on the ground. It gives the Administration a flexible, case-by-case response, because one response cannot fit all circumstances. I believe this is a moderate, flexible response to human rights abuses that strikes the right balance between imposing inflexible sanctions and overlooking serious human rights abuses.
The West cannot impose its way of doing things on other parts of the world. Different conditions require different actions. I do not make this call for religious freedom as a way of imposing our ideals on a resistant world. I carry this message to you as a clear call from our brother and sister Anglicans and other people of faith abroad. I hope that you and I can be faithful to that call.
Thank you for your fullest consideration of this legislation.
Yours sincerely,
The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold,
Presiding Bishop and Primate.
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