[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1875 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1875

    To reauthorize the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 15, 2011

  Mr. Lee (for himself and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To reauthorize the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

    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 Reform and Reauthorization Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION.

    (a) Terms.--Section 201(c) of the International Religious Freedom 
Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking the last sentence and 
        inserting the following: ``An individual is not eligible to 
        serve more than two consecutive terms as a member of the 
        Commission. Each member serving on the Commission on the date 
        of enactment of the United States Commission on International 
        Religious Freedom Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2011 may be 
        reappointed to not more than one additional consecutive 
        term.'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``May 15, 
                2003, through May 14, 2005'' and inserting ``May 15, 
                2012, through May 14, 2014''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``May 15, 
                2003, and shall end on May 14, 2004'' and inserting 
                ``May 15, 2012, and shall end on May 14, 2013''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Ineligibility for reappointment.--If a member of the 
        Commission attends, by being physically present or by 
        conference call, less than 75 percent of the meetings of the 
        Commission during one of that member's terms on the Commission, 
        the member shall not be eligible for reappointment to the 
        Commission.''.
    (b) Election of Chair.--Section 201(d) of the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(d)) is amended by 
inserting at the end the following: ``No member of the Commission is 
eligible to be elected as Chair of the Commission for a second, 
consecutive term.''.
    (c) Applicability.--A member of the United States Commission on 
International Religious Freedom who is serving on the Commission on the 
date of enactment of this Act shall continue to serve on the Commission 
until the expiration of the current term of the member under the terms 
and conditions for membership on the Commission as in effect on the day 
before the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS.

    Section 204 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
U.S.C. 6432b) is amended by inserting after subsection (f) the 
following new subsection:
    ``(g) Application of Antidiscrimination Laws.--For purposes of 
providing remedies and procedures to address alleged violations of 
rights and protections that pertain to employment discrimination, 
family and medical leave, fair labor standards, employee polygraph 
protection, worker adjustment and retraining, veterans' employment and 
reemployment, intimidation or reprisal, protections under the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990, occupational safety and health, labor-
management relations, and rights and protections that apply to 
employees whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the 
Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, all 
employees of the Commission shall be treated as employees whose pay is 
disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative 
Officer of the House of Representatives and the Commission shall be 
treated as an employing office of the Senate or the House of 
Representatives.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 207(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 
(22 U.S.C. 6435(a)) is amended by striking ``for the fiscal year 2003'' 
and inserting ``for each of the fiscal years 2012 and 2013''.

SEC. 5. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND DISCLOSURE.

    Section 208 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
U.S.C. 6435a) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``$100,000'' and 
        inserting ``$250,000''; and
            (2) in subsection (e), by striking ``International 
        Relations'' and inserting ``Foreign Affairs''.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION.

    Section 209 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
U.S.C. 6436) is amended by striking ``September 30, 2011'' and 
inserting ``September 30, 2013''.

SEC. 7. REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS 
              FREEDOM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 
the implementation of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
    (b) Consultation.--The Comptroller General shall consult with the 
appropriate congressional committees and nongovernmental organizations 
for purposes of preparing the report.
    (c) Matters To Be Included.--The report shall include the 
following:
            (1) A review of the effectiveness of all United States 
        Government programs to promote international religious freedom, 
        including their goals and objectives.
            (2) An assessment of the roles and functions of the Office 
        on International Religious Freedom established in section 
        101(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
        U.S.C. 6411(a)) and the relationship of the Office to other 
        offices in the Department of State.
            (3) A review of the role of the Ambassador at Large for 
        International Religious Freedom appointed under section 101(b) 
        of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
        6411(b)) and the placement of such position within the 
        Department of State.
            (4) A review and assessment of the goals and objectives of 
        the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 
        established under section 201(a) of the International Religious 
        Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(a)).
            (5) A comparative analysis of the structure of the United 
        States Commission on International Religious Freedom as an 
        independent non-partisan entity in relation to other United 
        States advisory commissions, whether or not such commissions 
        are under the direct authority of Congress.
            (6) A review of the relationship between the Ambassador at 
        Large for International Religious Freedom and the United States 
        Commission on International Religious Freedom, and possible 
        reforms that would improve the ability of both to reach their 
        goals and objectives.
    (d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
congressional committees'' has the meaning given the term in section 3 
of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402).
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