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“UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2015” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6808-H6811 on Oct. 6, 2015.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2015
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(S. 2078) to reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 2078
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom--
(1) was created by Congress to independently assess and to accurately and unflinchingly describe threats to religious freedom around the world; and
(2) in carrying out its prescribed duties, should use its authorized powers to ensure that efforts by the United States to advance religious freedom abroad are timely, appropriate to the circumstances, prudent, and effective.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.
Section 209 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6436) is amended by striking ``September 30, 2015'' and inserting ``September 30, 2019''.
SEC. 4. STRATEGIC PLAN.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom established under section 201 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431).
(3) Commissioner.--The term ``Commissioner'' means a member of the Commission.
(4) Vice chair.--The term ``Vice Chair'' means the Vice Chair of the Commission who was appointed to such position by an elected official from the political party that is different from the political party of the elected official who appointed the Chair of the Commission.
(b) Strategic Policy and Organizational Review Planning Process.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than biennially thereafter, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission, in coordination with the Commissioners, the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Commission staff, and others jointly selected by the Chair and Vice Chair, shall carry out a strategic policy and organizational review planning process that includes--
(1) a review of the duties set forth in section 202 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432) and the powers set forth in section 203 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 6432a);
(2) the preparation of a written description of prioritized actions that the Commission is required to complete to fulfill the strategic plan required under subsection (d);
(3) a review of the scope, content, and timing of the Commission's annual report and any required changes; and
(4) a review of the personnel policies set forth in section 204 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432b) and any required changes to such policies.
(c) Unanimous Agreement.--
(1) In general.--To the greatest extent possible, the Chair, Vice Chair, and all of the Commissioners shall ensure that this section is implemented in a manner that results in unanimous agreement among the Commissioners with regard to--
(A) the strategic policy and organizational review planning process required under subsection (b); and
(B) the strategic plan required under subsection (d).
(2) Alternative approval process.--If unanimous agreement under paragraph (1) is not possible, items for inclusion in the strategic plan may, at the joint discretion of the Chair and Vice Chair, be approved by an affirmative vote of--
(A) a majority of Commissioners appointed by an elected official from the political party of the President; and
(B) a majority of Commissioners appointed by an elected official from the political party that is not the party of the President.
(d) Submission of Strategic Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, and not less frequently than biennially thereafter, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission shall jointly submit, to the appropriate congressional committees, a written strategic plan that includes--
(1) a description of prioritized actions for the Commission for a period of time to be specified by the Commissioners;
(2) a description of any changes the Commission considers necessary with regard to the scope, content, and timing of the Commission's annual report;
(3) a description of any changes the Commission considers necessary with regard to personnel matters; and
(4) the Commission's funding requirements for the period covered by the strategic plan.
(e) Pending Issues.--The strategic plan required under subsection (d) may identify any issues or proposals that have not yet been resolved by the Commission.
(f) Implementation of Personnel Provisions and Annual Report.--Notwithstanding section 204(a) and 205(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432b(a) and 6533(a)), the Commission is authorized to implement provisions related to personnel and the Commission's annual report that are included in the strategic plan submitted pursuant to this section.
(g) Congressional Oversight.--Upon request, the Commission shall--
(1) make available for inspection any information and documents requested by the appropriate congressional committees; and
(2) respond to any requests to provide testimony before the appropriate congressional committees.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 207 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission $3,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2016 to 2019 to carry out the provisions of this Act and section 4 of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2015.
``(b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) shall remain available until the earlier of--
``(1) the date on which they have been expended; or
``(2) the date on which the Commission is terminated under section 209.
``(c) Limitation.--In each fiscal year, the Commission shall only be authorized to expend amounts that have been appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) if the Commission--
``(1) complies with the requirements set forth in section 4 of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2015; and
``(2) submits the annual financial report required under section 208(e) to the appropriate congressional committees.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 days to revise and extend and to include any extraneous material in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, tragically, religious persecution around the world continues. I thought I would give one example that we heard in our committee last week, the Foreign Affairs Committee, from ``Bozi,'' who is a young 20-year-old Yazidi woman from Iraq. She told us the story.
She very bravely recounted her brutal captivity and the abuse she faced at the hands of ISIS. As we are talking about religious freedom, she explained that, in her village, the 700 men and boys were killed, including several of her brothers. One small brother survived because he had a bullet in his head and they thought he was dead. But, other than that, her family is all gone.
She was bought by an American who had been recruited to ISIS about 4 years prior, she said. He bought 10 of the girls, sold 9, and kept her as a concubine.
She recounted how he explained to her that, because she was a Yazidi, she was an infidel, in his mind, and she was a Pagan, in his mind; and, therefore, he had the right to enslave and rape and sell Yazidi women and children, and he does this.
After about a year, she escaped. But she reported that there were about 3,000 girls and women in ISIS captivity, Yazidis, who faced the same fate that she faced while she was in that captivity.
These crimes are just the latest outrage against people of faith which continues in so many parts of the world, whether it be against Yazidis or Christian minorities in the Middle East or the Baha'i in Iran or religious communities attempting to worship without official supervision by repressive regimes, for example, in Burma or in North Korea. Anti-Semitism also is on the rise, including in Europe.
This legislation, which was passed unanimously by the Senate last week, will continue the good work of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Congress created this Commission as an independent Federal entity back in 1998.
The reason it was created was because, while the fundamental freedom of religion was under siege around the world, it did not receive enough attention in U.S. foreign policy circles.
This Commission is a body of experts who speak out on behalf of persecuted believers of any faith and push for accountability, accountability beyond what the State Department or the White House may view as diplomatically feasible.
The Commission's independent voice remains critical today, as the State Department too often pushes religious freedom to the side. For example, the State Department's Ambassador at Large for religious freedom sat vacant for 2 years during the start of this administration and again for another 10 months before the appointment of the current Ambassador, Rabbi David Saperstein.
And this year, after a 3-year lapse, the Department finally made the legally required designation of ``Countries of Particular Concern'' for religious freedom, 3 years of the State Department shirking its legal responsibility.
But, as the Commission has found, another eight countries should also be placed on that list and were not placed on the list. Those countries include Vietnam, whose recent so-called amnesty of more than 18,000 prisoners included convicted murderers, convicted drug dealers, human traffickers.
But what it did not include was prisoners of religious conscience, such as the Venerable Thich Quang Do of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. I have visited him under house arrest. They did not include Father Nguyen Van Ly, the Catholic priest who has been repeatedly beaten. These were not the people released. No. It was the human traffickers and the murderers.
So this Commission is critical in calling out these abuses.
This bill extends the authorization of the Commission for 4 more years and includes new strategic planning and transparency improvements in the act. This should ensure that the Commission's important work remains strongly bipartisan and represents the diverse American consensus on the importance of our first freedom: religious liberty.
I want to thank Senators Corker and Cardin and their colleagues who worked to craft this bill, which received unanimous support in the other body.
I also want to recognize the important work of the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, the gentleman from New Jersey
(Mr. Smith), the author of the House side reauthorization bill, who has been a legislative leader on religious freedom issues throughout his career.
And, as always, I appreciate the cooperation of the ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel of New York, and the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) in bringing this legislation to the floor today.
So this bill, which has the unanimous support of the Senate and all nine current Commissioners, deserves our support also. With its passage, it goes to the President's desk. With his signature, it will ensure that freedom of religion under continuous threat from extremists and authoritarian governments remains front and center.
I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1700
Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in strong support of S. 2078.
Mr. Speaker, this bill will reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, what we call USCIRF, and it deserves this body's strong support.
I want to begin by thanking Senator Corker, Senator Cardin, and Senator Durbin for the work that they did in pushing this bill on the Senate side. I want to thank our chairman, Chairman Royce, and Representative Chris Smith for his strong leadership here in the House on matters dealing with religious freedom.
This bill, which has been endorsed by all nine of the current Commissioners, would reauthorize the Commission for 4 years and require that the Commission agree on a bipartisan strategic plan to be submitted to Congress within 180 days. Moreover, the Commission will also be required to reach bipartisan agreement on personnel policies, which I hope they will see as an opportunity, as an organization dedicated to promoting freedom and tolerance, to include strong nondiscrimination protections for religion, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation, as well as the other federally protected classes.
The right to practice religion and worship freely is a bedrock principle of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, of course, of our own Constitution. This Commission on International Religious Freedom does so much to defend that liberty, whether through invaluable research, analysis, and reporting or efforts to guide lawmakers from the United States and elsewhere on the importance of this issue. Yet every day, religious communities around the world endure violence, persecution, and discrimination--and the problem, sadly, is escalating.
In Nigeria, Christian and Muslim communities live in fear of the fanatical terrorist group Boko Haram. In Iran, the regime continues to persecute members of the Baha'i faith. In Vietnam, Christians are arrested and beaten by police. Pakistan has fallen down on the job of prosecuting violence against religious minorities, while at the same time convicting religious minorities for blasphemy. And, of course, people of all faiths are being massacred by ISIL as it attempts to wipe out any beliefs that don't align with its perversion of Islam.
Mr. Speaker, this sort of intolerance has no place in the 21st century. Governments are obligated to respect the religious freedom of all citizens. It is the right thing to do, and it is also in their own interests. After all, when societies are more open, they become more prosperous. When citizens live freely without fear of persecution, they contribute more and help drive growth and stability.
So the United States wants to see religious freedom thrive around the world. That is why we established the Commission on International Religious Freedom, and that is why we should vote today to support the Commission's vital continued work.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 2078.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). He worked on the original authorization of the Religious Freedom Act, and he is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the chairman for his leadership and for his commitment to human rights, particularly religious freedom, and I want to thank Senator Corker for helping to shepherd this legislation through the Senate when there were some contentious issues.
Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created as part of the landmark International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, originally authored by my good friend and former colleague Frank Wolf, who provided exemplary service and leadership in this House.
The creation of USCIRF made the promotion and protection of religious freedom a priority of U.S. foreign policy; and believe me, before the passage of this law, it was not. Since its inception, USCIRF has been a valuable, independent, and bipartisan source of information and policy recommendations for the Congress, U.S. Government, and the American people.
Mr. Speaker, USCIRF gives voice to persecuted religious groups and raises prisoner cases, individual cases, at the highest levels of the U.S. Government. USCIRF's annual report--and I encourage Members to read it--often provides a fuller view of violations of religious freedom than the State Department's International Religious Freedom Report. As an independent body, USCIRF has the political freedom to report the facts and provide critical insight and recommendations on countries like Vietnam, Pakistan, India, Cuba, or China, countries where the U.S. Government may be hesitant to draw attention to religious rights violations because it is concerned about upsetting foreign governments.
It needs to be noted that in the beginning, the Clinton administration actively opposed passage of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. I know because I chaired the hearings. We heard from people like Assistant Secretary John Shattuck, who said it would create a hierarchy of human rights, which it did not. It put religious freedom in its rightful place. Of course, years later, people from the administration pointed out that none of that happened and it was a very important addition to our work. I also want to note that a very broad coalition supported and continued to support IRFA in general and USCIRF in particular. In the end, President Clinton did sign the legislation into law.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops endorses USCIRF's reauthorization, as do over 80 different nongovernmental organizations and religious groups, part of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable. These groups sent a letter to every Member of Congress and said, in pertinent part, ``while there is very little we agree on theologically, or politically, we all agree on the importance of religious freedom.''
Mr. Speaker, bipartisan cooperation is critically important at a time when religious freedom is under siege through the world. Anti-Semitism, pervasive in most of the Middle East, has spread like a cancer to parts of Europe. The increase in violence perpetrated against Christians, Muslims, and other religious minorities has reached staggering proportions, including disturbing reports of torture, rape, imprisonment, forced exile, and murder.
Mr. Speaker, the world faces a deepening crisis of religious freedom restrictions and abuses by governments. The Pew Foundation estimates that over 75 percent of the world's population lives in countries where severe religious freedom abuses are commonplace. Ancient Christian communities in Iraq and Syria are on the verge of extinction, and other religious minorities in the Middle East face a constant assault from ISIS. ISIS, as we all know, has committed and is committing genocide, mass atrocities, and war crimes.
China continues to suppress religious practice broadly and with impunity. It has been another punishing year for the Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, Christians, as well as Falun Gong practitioners who face restrictions, imprisonment, and torture.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Burma is a problem; Rohingya Muslims face problems. In Pakistan, as we all know, there are problems; in Iran, not just with the Baha'i who are persecuted again and have been facing that with unrelenting pressure, but also other Christians who live there and other Muslims.
Mr. Speaker, the need for USCIRF is clear, and I hope all Members will support this important human rights legislation.
I thank the Chair, and I thank my friend for yielding.
Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any more speakers, so I yield myself the balance of my time.
First, again, I want to thank our chairman, Ed Royce, and our ranking member Eliot Engel for, once again, the bipartisan way in which the work of the Foreign Affairs Committee is conducted, evidenced again today with strong bipartisan support for this bill. I also want to acknowledge the great leadership of Congressman Smith, who has worked in this area for a very long time.
Mr. Speaker, my home State, Rhode Island, was founded by Roger Williams, searching for a place that respects religious freedom. Rhode Island is home to the oldest synagogue in America, the Touro Synagogue, where President Washington famously wrote to the Hebrew congregation at Touro Synagogue to reassure them that this new, young Nation will be a place that respects religious freedom of all its citizens. It is this Commission that continues to promote that work around the world, to ensure that religious freedom is respected everywhere in the world.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Before I close, Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.
Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the chairman for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, religious liberty is the first right in our Bill of Rights, and it is in the First Amendment. There are five rights in the First Amendment. Religious liberty is the first of those five rights. That is not by accident. Our ancestors believed in the right of religious liberty.
In fact, throughout the world today, religious freedom is the most important personal right for many, many people of all religious faiths--the right to practice one's religion free of persecution regardless of what that religion is.
Mr. Speaker, Saddique Azam was promoted as the headmaster of an elementary school in Pakistan a few months ago. Three Muslim teachers didn't like the fact that they had a Christian as their boss. So, yesterday, about 7:45 in the morning, they stormed his office and demanded that he resign because he was a Christian. He refused. They beat him up until he was rescued by some other staff members.
Curricula in schools throughout the world are teaching religious intolerance. The Saudi school curriculum openly vilifies other faiths, including Jews and Christians. Not too long ago, there was a 14-year-
old boy by the name of Ayman Nabil Labib, a Christian in Egypt, a Coptic Christian. He went to school. The teacher of his class, a non-
Christian, saw that he had a cross on his wrist. Coptic Christians I understand have a tattoo of a cross. He was told to cover up the cross. He did not. In fact, he pulled out a cross from underneath his shirt and displayed it as well. The teacher grabbed him around the neck and started choking him and asked the other students: What are you going to do about this? And they beat him to death--a 14-year-old Coptic Christian in Egypt.
Persecution happens to all faiths throughout the world.
It is the most important, in my opinion, human right, natural right, to practice one's faith, religion, and belief freely without persecution by government especially. This legislation helps protect that right worldwide. It is an important right here, but, as I said, it is a natural right, and it should be protected. I support this legislation because it protects the basic right of religious freedom.
And that is just the way it is.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressmen Chris Smith, David Cicilline, and Judge Ted Poe.
Two weeks ago, we were all here on the floor of the House, and we heard Pope Francis charged with those listening to his remarks of the important responsibility of safeguarding religious freedom. He stated at the White House that that freedom remains one of America's most precious possessions. Of course, that freedom is not only an American possession, and it is not only enjoyed by certain religions. That freedom flows from the inherent dignity of every human person and should be protected wherever it is threatened.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom remains a strong, independent, and authoritative voice on behalf of religious believers everywhere. This measure will ensure that it continues to pursue the Commission's nonpartisan mission of promoting around the world the right of religious liberty that we hold so dear as a nation. It deserves our unanimous support.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support a commission which embodies the highest of our democratic principles: independence, bipartisanship, transparency and the defense of our fundamental freedoms.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom was created from a landmark piece of legislation, the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
How that bill came about is a story in its own right, and a demonstration of how a diverse set of our nation's leaders can come together to protect a foundational freedom.
One of the best ways to expose attacks on religious freedom is meticulous chronicling of such abuses and then proclaiming them loud and clear to a watching world.
The importance of USCIRF's mission of monitoring, recording and publishing attacks on religious belief--or any belief at all--cannot be overestimated.
Their annual report is an invaluable reference for my colleagues and me and our staffs.
Like the TIP report which monitors countries' records on human trafficking, the USCIRF annual report exposes lawbreakers and violators of human rights--and recommends what actions should be taken.
And we have seen how across the world religious minorities are under attack.
Christians made up 20 percent of the Middle East population at the start of the 20th century.
Given a sustained attack in recent years on Christian belief and practice, that number is now around 5 percent and declining.
In fact, less than 1 percent of the world's more than 2 billion Christians live in the Middle East--the birthplace of the religion.
Other religions and belief systems have suffered under sustained persecution.
Yazidis in Iraq and Syria have been systematically targeted by ISIS for slavery and execution.
Just this week, news reports have revealed Yazidi women have taken their own lives out of despair after repeated rapes and assaults.
USCIRF has documented ethnic cleansing of Muslims and sectarian violence in the Central African Republic, and urged the State Department designate it as a Country of Particular Concern.
In Russia, ``serious violations of freedom of religion or belief continue.''
China has taken further steps to ``consolidate'' its ``authoritarian monopoly'' over the lives of its citizens.
This has led to ``unprecedented violence'' against Uigher Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, and Falun Gong practitioners.
And the list goes on and on.
An attack on the religious belief of one is an attack on all of us.
USCIRF is a unique, independent voice calling the world to pay attention and act, especially when this freedom can take a backseat in foreign affairs.
The world forgets that the chilling of religious belief is the first step toward totalitarian control over all areas of life.
All other freedoms flow from religious liberty.
Without the freedom to believe what your conscience tells you, and live that belief out without fear of violence or other persecution, all other freedoms are meaningless.
USCIRF recognizes this reality, and acts in defense of all peoples everywhere.
I urge the House and reauthorize this important commission, and continue to defend and promote our First Amendment freedoms around the world.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 2078.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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