[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2675 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2675
To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to support
religious freedom in foreign countries.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 29, 2014
Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mr. Cruz) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to support
religious freedom in foreign countries.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM.
Section 401(b)(2) of the International Religious Freedom Act of
1998 (22 U.S.C. 6441(b)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
``(2) Deadline for actions.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), not later than 90 days after the date
on which each report is submitted under section 102(b),
the President shall take 1 or more of the actions
described in section 405(a) or a commensurate action
with respect to each foreign country in which the
government has engaged in or tolerated violations of
religious freedom at any time since the previous such
report was submitted.
``(B) Additional prerequisite.--The President may
not take any of the actions described in paragraphs (9)
through (15) of section 405(a) or a commensurate action
until the President certifies that the requirements
under sections 403 and 404 have been satisfied.''.
SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PARTICULARLY SEVERE
VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
(a) Designations of Countries of Particular Concern for Religious
Freedom.--Section 402(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of
1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``Not later than September
1 of each year, the President shall review''
and inserting the following: ``Not later than
90 days after the date on which each report is
submitted under section 102(b), the President
shall--
``(i) review''; and
(ii) by striking ``or since the date'' and
all that follows through ``longer. The
President shall designate'' and inserting the
following: ``longer; and
``(ii) designate''; and
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``prior to
September 1 of the respective year'' and inserting
``before the date on which the report is submitted
under section 102(b)''; and
(2) in paragraph (3)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as
clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and moving each
clause 2 ems to the right;
(B) in the matter preceding clause (i), as
redesignated--
(i) by striking ``Whenever'' and inserting
the following:
``(A) In general.--Whenever''; and
(ii) by striking ``as soon as practicable''
and inserting ``not later than 120 days'';
(C) in subparagraph (A), as redesignated--
(i) in clause (i), as redesignated, by
striking ``and'' at the end;
(ii) in clause (ii), as redesignated, by
striking the period at the end and inserting
``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) the actions taken, the purposes of
the actions taken, and evaluation of the
effectiveness of the actions taken.''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Countries recommended by the commission.--If
the President does not designate a country as a country
of particular concern for religious freedom under
paragraph (1)(A) after the Commission has recommended
such designation, the President shall submit a report
to Congress that contains the reasons for such
nondesignation.
``(C) Removal of designation.--A country that is
designated as a country of particular concern for
religious freedom under paragraph (1)(A) shall retain
such designation until the President determines and
reports to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives that the country should no
longer be so designated.''.
(b) Presidential Actions With Respect to Countries of Particular
Concern for Religious Freedom.--Section 402(c)(5) of the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(c)(5)) is amended--
(1) in the second sentence--
(A) by striking ``must'' and inserting ``shall'';
(B) by striking ``he'' and inserting ``the
President''; and
(C) by inserting ``and include a description of the
impact of the designation of such sanction or
sanctions'' before the period at the end; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``The President
shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives that explains why the decision was made that 1
or more of such sanctions also satisfy the requirements of this
subsection.''.
SEC. 3. CONSULTATIONS.
Section 403(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
(22 U.S.C. 6443(a)) is amended by striking ``As soon as practicable''
and inserting ``Not later than 90 days''.
SEC. 4. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER.
Section 407(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
(22 U.S.C. 6447(a)) is amended by inserting ``, for a 180-day period,''
after ``may waive''.
SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.
Section 409 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22
U.S.C. 6449) is amended by striking ``on the earlier of'' and all that
follows through ``Upon'' and inserting ``upon''.
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