[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1860 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1860

        To protect and promote international religious freedom.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2015

 Mr. Durbin (for himself and Mr. Leahy) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To protect and promote international religious freedom.

    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 ``Further Independence of Religion for 
Security and Tolerance Freedom Act of 2015'' or the ``FIRST Freedom 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Many of our Nation's founders fled religious 
        persecution and placed great importance on religious freedom. 
        President George Washington summed up the prevailing view of 
        our founders when he wrote, in 1793, ``in this Land of equal 
        liberty it is our boast, that a man's religious tenets will not 
        forfeit the protection of the Laws''.
            (2) In 1791, the First Amendment to the Constitution was 
        ratified, enshrining freedom of religion as the ``First 
        Freedom'' of all Americans and becoming an inspiration to 
        people all over the world who struggle to throw off the yoke of 
        religious persecution.
            (3) Throughout our Nation's history, the United States has 
        sought to protect and promote fundamental human rights, 
        including religious freedom, in the United States and 
        throughout the world.
            (4) After World War II, under Eleanor Roosevelt's 
        leadership, the United States spearheaded the ratification of 
        the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted at Paris 
        December 10, 1948, which recognized freedom of religion as a 
        fundamental right of all people. Article 18 of that treaty 
        states ``Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, 
        conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change 
        his religion or belief, and freedom either alone or in 
        community with others and in public or private, to manifest his 
        religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and 
        observance.''.
            (5) The International Covenant on Civil and Political 
        Rights, adopted at New York December 16, 1966, and which was 
        ratified by the United States in 1992, states, ``Everyone shall 
        have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. 
        This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion 
        or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in 
        community with others and in public or private, to manifest his 
        religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and 
        teaching.''.
            (6) Since the enactment of the International Religious 
        Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-292), referred to in this 
        section as ``IRFA'', which established the Department of 
        State's Office on International Religious Freedom, the 
        Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and 
        the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 
        (referred to in this section as ``USCIRF''), the state of 
        religious freedom throughout the world has significantly 
        worsened.
            (7) In section 2(a)(4) of IRFA (2 U.S.C. 6401(a)(4)), 
        Congress stated, ``More than one-half of the world's population 
        lives under regimes that severely restrict or prohibit the 
        freedom of their citizens to study, believe, observe, and 
        freely practice the religious faith of their choice.''.
            (8) According to ``Rising Tide of Restrictions on 
        Religion,'' the most recent report of the Pew Research Center's 
        Forum on Religion & Public Life, three-quarters of the world's 
        population lives in countries in which restrictions on religion 
        were high or very high.
            (9) According to the 2014 USCIRF Annual Report, ``The past 
        10 years have seen a worsening of the already-poor religious 
        freedom environment in Pakistan, a continued dearth of 
        religious freedom in Turkmenistan, backsliding in Vietnam, 
        rising violations in Egypt before and after the Arab Spring, 
        and Syria's decent [sic] into sectarian civil war with all 
        sides perpetrating egregious religious freedom violations.''.
            (10) Under section 402 of IRFA (22 U.S.C. 6442), the 
        President is required to designate a country as a country of 
        particular concern (referred to in this section as ``CPC'') if 
        the government of the country has engaged in or tolerated 
        systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious 
        freedom.
            (11) According to the 2015 USCIRF Annual Report, since 
        October 1999, when the first countries were designated as CPCs, 
        ``the list has been largely unchanged. Of the nine countries 
        designated as CPCs in July 2014, most had been named as CPCs 
        for over a decade . . . Since IRFA's inception, only one 
        country has been removed from the State Department's CPC list 
        due to diplomatic activity.''. This track record calls into 
        serious question the utility of the CPC mechanism and the 
        utility of IRFA to improve the state of religious freedom 
        throughout the world.
            (12) The United States has a long tradition of providing 
        safe haven to refugees, including members of religious minority 
        groups and those fleeing religious persecution. Following the 
        international community's tragic failure to shelter Jewish 
        refugees fleeing the Nazi genocide, the United States played a 
        leadership role in establishing the international legal regime 
        for the protection of refugees. Since that time, the American 
        people have generously welcomed millions of refugees fleeing 
        war and totalitarian regimes, and the United States 
        traditionally accepts at least 50 percent of resettlement cases 
        handled by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner 
        for Refugees (referred to in this section as ``UNHCR'').
            (13) According to the 2014 UNHCR Global Trends Report, more 
        than 59,500,000 people were forcibly displaced in 2014--
                    (A) which is equal to 1 displacement for every 122 
                people worldwide;
                    (B) which is the most displacements in a year in 
                recorded history;
                    (C) including--
                            (i) 38,200,000 individuals who were 
                        internally displaced within their own country;
                            (ii) 19,500,000 refugees; and
                            (iii) 1,800,000 asylum-seekers;
                    (D) many of whom were victims of serious human 
                rights violations, including religious persecution; and
                    (E) many are whom are members of vulnerable 
                populations, including religious minorities.
            (14) The ongoing conflict in Syria has led to the world's 
        worst ongoing humanitarian crisis and worst refugee crisis 
        since World War II. More than 50 percent of Syria's 23,000,000 
        people have been forcibly displaced from their homes and, as of 
        2015, 20 percent of the world's refugees are Syrians. UNHCR is 
        seeking to resettle 130,000 Syrian refugees during 2015 and 
        2016, with a particular focus on vulnerable individuals such as 
        religious minorities. Although the United States traditionally 
        accepts at least 50 percent of UNHCR resettlement cases, the 
        United States has only accepted approximately 800 Syrian 
        refugees since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, which is 
        an unacceptably low number.
            (15) There are several steps that would facilitate the 
        efforts of the United States Government to protect and provide 
        safe haven to refugees from religious persecution. The 2015 
        USCIRF Annual Report recommends that Congress ``work to provide 
        the President with permanent authority to designate as refugees 
        specifically-defined groups based on shared characteristics 
        identifying them as targets for persecution on account of race, 
        religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
        or political opinion''.
            (16) The United States Government has limited tools to hold 
        accountable the perpetrators of religious freedom violations. 
        Section 604 of IRFA added section 212(a)(2)(G) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)), which 
        made foreign government officials who commit particularly 
        severe violations of religious freedom inadmissible to the 
        United States, but it has only been applied once, to deny entry 
        to Narendra Modi, who was Chief Minister of Gujarat, India. In 
        its 2015 Annual Report, USCIRF recommends that the State 
        Department: ``Make greater efforts to ensure foreign government 
        officials are denied entry into the United States due to their 
        inadmissibility under U.S. law for their responsibility for 
        religious freedom violations abroad.''. The effectiveness of 
        this law is also limited because it does not apply to non-state 
        actors, such as international terrorists, and it can only be 
        used to deny entry to a perpetrator who has not yet arrived in 
        the United States, not to deport a perpetrator who has already 
        entered the country.
            (17) In the 2015 USCIRF Annual Report, USCIRF recommended 
        that the United States Government ``should call for or support 
        a referral by the UN Security Council to the International 
        Criminal Court to investigate ISIL violations in Iraq and Syria 
        against religious and ethnic minorities, following the models 
        used in Sudan and Libya, or encourage the Iraqi government to 
        accept ICC jurisdiction to investigate ISIL violations in Iraq 
        after June 2014''. Given the weakness of the international 
        criminal justice system, particularly that an ICC referral is 
        subject to a UN Security Council veto, the United States 
        Government should have the ability to prosecute members of ISIL 
        in United States courts for crimes against humanity, including 
        religious persecution.
            (18) Under United States law, it is a crime for a non-
        United States national to commit genocide, torture, terrorism, 
        or several other violations of the law of nations, but it is 
        not a crime under United States law to commit crimes against 
        humanity, including religious persecution. Since the United 
        States Government is unable to prosecute perpetrators of these 
        crimes, many foreign war criminals have found safe haven in 
        this country.
            (19) In 2006, the United States Government learned that 
        Marko Boskic, a man who participated in the Srebrenica massacre 
        in the Bosnian conflict, was living in Massachusetts. Rather 
        than charging him with crimes against humanity, or religious 
        persecution, Mr. Boskic was charged with visa fraud and 
        sentenced to only 5 years in prison.
            (20) There is bipartisan agreement about the need for the 
        United States Government to promote and protect international 
        human rights, including religious freedom. USCIRF is, by 
        design, a bipartisan organization, with Commissioners appointed 
        by the President and Congressional leaders. USCIRF can most 
        effectively promote religious freedom on a bipartisan basis.
            (21) In its 2014 Annual Report entitled ``Additional 
        Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication 
        and Achieve Other Financial Benefits'', which identifies 
        unnecessary duplication in the Federal Government, the 
        Government Accountability Office (referred to in this section 
        as ``GAO'')--
                    (A) highlighted the lack of coordination and 
                overlapping missions of USCIRF and the Office of 
                International Religious Freedom in the Department of 
                State;
                    (B) found that ``the lack of a definition regarding 
                how State and the Commission are to interact has 
                sometimes created foreign policy tensions that State 
                has had to mitigate.''; and
                    (C) concluded that the lack of coordination between 
                the USCIRF and the Department of State may undermine 
                the efforts of the United States Government to promote 
                international religious freedom by sending mixed 
                messages to foreign governments and human-rights 
                activists who are fighting to defend religious freedom 
                in their countries.
            (22) Congress, which is responsible for overseeing the work 
        of USCIRF and ensuring that it is effectively pursuing its 
        mission, should provide greater oversight of USCIRF's 
        practices, including addressing concerns regarding financial 
        irregularities and the work environment for religious 
        minorities.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the protection and promotion of international human 
        rights, including religious freedom, should be an important 
        priority for the United States Government; and
            (2) the United States Government should pursue new 
        strategies for protecting and promoting religious freedom 
        throughout the world, including--
                    (A) the creation of new tools--
                            (i) to deter and punish the perpetrators of 
                        particularly severe violations of religious 
                        freedom, including non-state actors; and
                            (ii) to protect the victims of such 
                        violations; and
                    (B) increased diplomatic engagement that does not 
                focus primarily on CPC designations.

SEC. 3. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FOR REFUGEES AND ASYLEES FLEEING RELIGIOUS 
              PERSECUTION.

    (a) Authority To Designate Certain Groups of Refugees for 
Consideration.--Section 207(c)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(c)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``Subject to the numerical 
        limitations''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(B)(i) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security, may designate specifically 
        defined groups of aliens--
                    ``(I) whose resettlement in the United States is 
                justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in 
                the national interest; and
                    ``(II) who--
                            ``(aa) share common characteristics that 
                        identify them as targets of persecution on 
                        account of race, religion, nationality, 
                        membership in a particular social group, or 
                        political opinion; or
                            ``(bb) having been identified as targets 
                        under item (aa), share a common need for 
                        resettlement due to a specific vulnerability.
            ``(ii) An alien who establishes membership in a group 
        designated under clause (i) to the satisfaction of the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security shall be considered a refugee 
        for purposes of admission as a refugee under this section 
        unless the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that such 
        alien ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in 
        the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, 
        nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
        political opinion.
            ``(iii) A designation under clause (i) is for purposes of 
        adjudicatory efficiency and may be revoked by the Secretary of 
        State at any time after notification to Congress.
            ``(iv) Categories of aliens established under section 
        599D(b) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and 
        Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 (Public Law 101-167; 
        8 U.S.C. 1157 note)--
                    ``(I) shall be designated under clause (i) until 
                the end of the first fiscal year commencing after the 
                date of the enactment of the FIRST Freedom Act; and
                    ``(II) shall be eligible for designation thereafter 
                at the discretion of the Secretary of State, 
                considering, among other factors, whether a country 
                under consideration has been designated as a country of 
                particular concern under section 402 of International 
                Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442) for 
                engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and 
                egregious violations of religious freedom.
            ``(v) A designation under clause (i) shall not influence 
        decisions to grant, to any alien, asylum under section 208, 
        protection under section 241(b)(3), or protection under the 
        Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 
        Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at New York December 
        10, 1984.
            ``(vi) A decision to deny admission under this section to 
        an alien who establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary 
        of Homeland Security that the alien is a member of a group 
        designated under clause (i) shall--
                    ``(I) be in writing; and
                    ``(II) state, to the maximum extent feasible, the 
                reason for the denial.
            ``(vii) Refugees admitted pursuant to a designation under 
        clause (i)--
                    ``(I) shall be subject to the numerical limitations 
                under subsection (a); and
                    ``(II) shall be admissible under this section.''.
    (b) Time Limits for Filing for Asylum.--Section 208(a)(2) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security'' after ``Attorney General'' both places such 
        term appears;
            (2) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (D);
            (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B);
            (4) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated, by striking 
        ``subparagraph (D)'' and inserting ``subparagraphs (C) and 
        (D)''; and
            (5) by inserting after subparagraph (B), as redesignated, 
        the following:
                    ``(C) Changed circumstances.--Notwithstanding 
                subparagraph (B), an application for asylum of an alien 
                may be considered if the alien demonstrates, to the 
                satisfaction of the Attorney General or the Secretary 
                of Homeland Security, the existence of changed 
                circumstances that materially affect the applicant's 
                eligibility for asylum.
                    ``(D) Motion to reopen certain meritorious 
                claims.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (B) or section 
                240(c)(7), an alien may file a motion to reopen an 
                asylum claim during the 2-year period beginning on the 
                date of the enactment of the FIRST Freedom Act if the 
                alien--
                            ``(i) was denied asylum based solely upon a 
                        failure to meet the 1-year application filing 
                        deadline in effect on the date on which the 
                        application was filed;
                            ``(ii) was granted withholding of removal 
                        pursuant to section 241(b)(3) and has not 
                        obtained lawful permanent residence in the 
                        United States pursuant to any other provision 
                        of law;
                            ``(iii) is not subject to the safe third 
                        country exception under subparagraph (A) or a 
                        bar to asylum under subsection (b)(2) and 
                        should not be denied asylum as a matter of 
                        discretion; and
                            ``(iv) is physically present in the United 
                        States when the motion is filed.''.
    (c) Conditions for Granting Asylum.--Section 208(b)(1)(B)(i) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(B)(i)) is amended 
by striking ``at least one central reason for persecuting the 
applicant'' and inserting ``a factor in the applicant's persecution or 
fear of persecution''.
    (d) Study on the Effect of Expedited Removal and Processing Delays 
on Asylum Claims.--
            (1) Study.--
                    (A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
                            (i) the term ``immigration officer'' means 
                        an officer of the Department of Homeland 
                        Security performing duties under section 235(b) 
                        of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
                        U.S.C. 1225(b)) with respect to aliens who--
                                    (I) are apprehended after entering 
                                the United States; and
                                    (II) may be eligible to apply for 
                                asylum under section 208 or 235 of such 
                                Act; and
                            (ii) the term ``improper conduct'' means 
                        conduct whereby an immigration officer--
                                    (I) improperly encourages an alien 
                                described in clause (i) to withdraw or 
                                retract claims for asylum;
                                    (II) incorrectly fails to refer 
                                such an alien for an interview by an 
                                immigration officer to determine 
                                whether the alien has a credible fear 
                                of persecution (as defined in section 
                                235(b)(1)(B)(v) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
                                1225(b)(1)(B)(v)));
                                    (III) incorrectly removes such an 
                                alien to a country in which the alien 
                                may be persecuted; or
                                    (IV) detains such an alien 
                                improperly or under inappropriate 
                                conditions.
                    (B) Authorization.--The United States Commission on 
                International Religious Freedom (referred to in this 
                section as the ``Commission'') is authorized to conduct 
                a study to determine--
                            (i) whether immigration officers are 
                        engaging in improper conduct; and
                            (ii) the impact of delays in interviews by 
                        immigration officers and immigration court 
                        hearings on asylum claims.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which 
        the Commission initiates the study under subsection (a), the 
        Commission shall submit a report containing the results of the 
        study to--
                    (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate;
                    (D) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
                of Representatives;
                    (E) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (F) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives.
            (3) Staff.--
                    (A) From other agencies.--
                            (i) Identification.--The Commission may 
                        identify employees of the Department of 
                        Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, 
                        and the Government Accountability Office who 
                        have significant expertise and knowledge of 
                        refugee and asylum issues.
                            (ii) Designation.--At the request of the 
                        Commission, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
                        the Attorney General, and the Comptroller 
                        General of the United States shall authorize 
                        staff identified under subparagraph (A) to 
                        assist the Commission in conducting the study 
                        under paragraph (1).
                    (B) Additional staff.--The Commission may hire 
                additional staff and consultants to conduct the study 
                under paragraph (1).
                    (C) Access to proceedings.--
                            (i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), the Secretary of Homeland Security 
                        and the Attorney General shall provide staff 
                        designated under subparagraph (A) or hired 
                        under subparagraph (B) with unrestricted access 
                        to all stages of all proceedings conducted 
                        under section 235(b) of the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)).
                            (ii) Exceptions.--The Secretary of Homeland 
                        Security and the Attorney General may not 
                        permit unrestricted access under clause (i) 
                        if--
                                    (I) the alien subject to a 
                                proceeding under such section 235(b) 
                                objects to such access; or
                                    (II) the Secretary or Attorney 
                                General determines that the security of 
                                a particular proceeding would be 
                                threatened by such access.

SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS 
              FREEDOM.

    (a) Particularly Severe Violations of Religious Freedom.--
            (1) Inadmissibility.--Section 212(a)(2)(G) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)) is 
        amended to read as follows:
                    ``(G) Aliens who have committed particularly severe 
                violations of religious freedom.--Any alien who was 
                responsible for, or directly carried out, at any time, 
                particularly severe violations of religious freedom (as 
                defined in section 3 of the International Religious 
                Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402)) is 
                inadmissible.''.
            (2) Removability.--Section 237(a)(4)(E) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(4)(E)) is amended to read 
        as follows:
                    ``(E) Aliens who have committed particularly severe 
                violations of religious freedom.--Any alien who was 
                responsible for, or directly carried out, at any time, 
                particularly severe violations of religious freedom (as 
                defined in section 3 of the International Religious 
                Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402)) is deportable.''.
    (b) Religious Persecution.--Chapter 118 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2443. Religious persecution
    ``(a) Offense.--Any person who outside the United States commits, 
or attempts or conspires to commit, religious persecution--
            ``(1) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not 
        more than 20 years, or both; and
            ``(2) if the death of any person results from the violation 
        of this subsection, shall be fined under this title and 
        imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
    ``(b) Jurisdiction.--There is jurisdiction over an offense under 
subsection (a), and any attempt or conspiracy to commit such an 
offense, if--
            ``(1) the victim is a United States person;
            ``(2) the offender is a United States person or an alien 
        residing in the United States, regardless of whether the alien 
        is lawfully admitted for permanent residence;
            ``(3) the offender is a stateless person whose habitual 
        residence is in the United States; or
            ``(4) after the conduct required for the offense occurs, 
        the offender is brought into or found in the United States, 
        even if the conduct required for the offense occurs outside the 
        United States.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Admission to the united states; alien; immigrant; 
        lawfully admitted for permanent residence; nonimmigrant.--The 
        terms `admission to the United States', `alien', `immigrant', 
        `lawfully admitted for permanent residence', and `nonimmigrant' 
        have the meanings given such terms in section 101(a) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)).
            ``(2) Religious persecution.--The term `religious 
        persecution' means conduct that--
                    ``(A) is intended--
                            ``(i) to obstruct any person in the free 
                        exercise of religious belief or practice; or
                            ``(ii) to terrorize or coerce any person 
                        because of the actual or perceived religion of 
                        any person; and
                    ``(B) if the conduct described in subparagraph (A) 
                occurred in the United States or in the special 
                maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United 
                States, would violate--
                            ``(i) section 81 (relating to arson);
                            ``(ii) section 1111 (relating to murder);
                            ``(iii) section 1201(a) (relating to 
                        kidnapping), regardless of whether the offender 
                        is the parent of the victim;
                            ``(iv) section 1203 (relating to hostage 
                        taking), notwithstanding any exception under 
                        subsection (b) of such section;
                            ``(v) section 1581(a) (relating to 
                        peonage);
                            ``(vi) section 1583(a)(1) (relating to 
                        kidnapping or carrying away individuals for 
                        involuntary servitude or slavery);
                            ``(vii) section 1584(a) (relating to sale 
                        into involuntary servitude);
                            ``(viii) section 1589(a) (relating to 
                        forced labor);
                            ``(ix) section 1590(a) (relating to 
                        trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, 
                        involuntary servitude, or forced labor);
                            ``(x) section 1591(a) (relating to sex 
                        trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or 
                        coercion);
                            ``(xi) section 2241(a) (relating to 
                        aggravated sexual abuse by force or threat);
                            ``(xii) section 2242 (relating to sexual 
                        abuse); or
                            ``(xiii) section 2340A (relating to 
                        torture), regardless of whether the offender is 
                        acting under color of law.
            ``(3) United states person.--The term `United States 
        person' has the meaning given such term in section 3077.''.
    (c) Statute of Limitations.--Chapter 213 of title 18, United States 
Code is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3302. Religious persecution
    ``No person may be prosecuted, tried, or punished for a violation 
of section 2443 unless the indictment or the information is filed not 
later than 10 years after the commission of the offense.''.
    (d) Clerical Amendments.--Title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the table of sections for chapter 118, by adding at 
        the end the following:

``2443. Religious persecution.'';
        and
            (2) in the table of sections for chapter 213, by adding at 
        the end the following:

``3302. Religious persecution.''.

SEC. 5. REFORM AND REAUTHORIZATION OF UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON 
              INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

    (a) Establishment and Composition.--
            (1) Leadership.--Section 201(d) of the International 
        Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(d)) is amended to 
        read as follows:
    ``(d) Election of Chair.--At the first meeting of the Commission 
after May 30 of each year, a majority of the members of the Commission 
present and voting shall elect the Chair and Vice Chair of the 
Commission, subject to the following requirements:
            ``(1) Initial elections.--At the first meeting of the 
        Commission after May 30, 2016, the members of the Commission 
        shall elect--
                    ``(A) as Chair, a member of the Commission who was 
                appointed by an elected official of the political party 
                that is not the political party of the President; and
                    ``(B) as Vice Chair, a member of the Commission who 
                was appointed by an elected official of the political 
                party of the President.
            ``(2) Future elections.--
                    ``(A) Next election.--At the first meeting of the 
                Commission after May 30, 2017, the members of the 
                Commission shall elect--
                            ``(i) as Chair, a member of the Commission 
                        who was appointed by an elected official of the 
                        political party of the President; and
                            ``(ii) as Vice Chair, a member of the 
                        Commission who was appointed by an elected 
                        official of the political party that is not the 
                        political party of the President.
                    ``(B) Subsequent elections.--After the election 
                described in subparagraph (A), the positions of Chair 
                and Vice Chair shall continue to rotate on an annual 
                basis between members of the Commission appointed by 
                elected officials of each political party.
            ``(3) Term limits.--No member of the Commission is eligible 
        to be elected as--
                    ``(A) Chair of the Commission for a second term; or
                    ``(B) Vice Chair of the Commission for a second 
                term.''.
            (2) Attendance at meetings of ambassador at large for 
        international religious freedom.--Section 201(f) of such Act 
        (22 U.S.C. 6431(f)) is amended by adding at the end the 
        following: ``The Ambassador at Large shall be given advance 
        notice of all Commission meetings and may attend all Commission 
        meetings as a nonvoting member of the Commission.''.
            (3) Appointments in cases of vacancies.--Section 201(g) of 
        such Act (22 U.S.C. 6431(g)) is amended by striking the second 
        sentence.
    (b) Powers of the Commission.--Section 203(e) of the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432a(e)) is amended to read 
as follows:
    ``(e) Views of the Commission.--
            ``(1) Private speech.--Members of the Commission may speak 
        in their capacity as private citizens. A member of the 
        Commission may be identified as a member of the Commission when 
        making oral or written statements in their private or other 
        professional capacity if the member states clearly that the 
        statement--
                    ``(A) is not on behalf of the Commission; and
                    ``(B) does not necessarily reflect the views of the 
                Commission.
            ``(2) Official statements.--
                    ``(A) Written statements.--All statements on behalf 
                of the Commission shall be issued in writing over the 
                names of the members of the Commission.
                    ``(B) Statutory authority.--In its written 
                statements, the Commission shall clearly describe its 
                statutory authority, distinguishing that authority from 
                that of appointed or elected officials of the United 
                States Government. Oral statements of the Commission 
                shall include a similar description, to the extent 
                practicable.
                    ``(C) Consensus.--Members of the Commission shall 
                make every effort to reach consensus on all oral or 
                written statements on behalf of the Commission.
                    ``(D) Approval.--All views of the Commission on 
                pending legislation or any other matter under the 
                jurisdiction of the Commission shall be approved by an 
                affirmative vote of at least 6 of the 9 members of the 
                Commission. Each member of the Commission may include 
                the individual or dissenting views of the member.
                    ``(E) Accuracy.--All oral or written statements by 
                members or staff of the Commission on behalf of the 
                Commission, including testimony, press releases, 
                articles, and public or private correspondence, shall 
                accurately reflect approved views of the Commission in 
                accordance with subparagraph (D).''.
    (c) Commission Personnel Matters.--Section 204 of the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432b) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``or terminate an Executive 
                Director'' and inserting ``an Executive Director and 
                additional personnel''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following: ``The 
                decision to terminate an Executive Director and 
                additional personnel shall be made by an affirmative 
                vote of at least 5 of the 9 members of the 
                Commission.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (g) as 
        subsections (c) through (h);
            (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Executive Director.--
            ``(1) Appointment.--Not later than 60 days after the date 
        of the enactment of the FIRST Freedom Act, the Commission shall 
        appoint an Executive Director by an affirmative vote of at 
        least 6 of the 9 members of the Commission.
            ``(2) Term of service.--Each Executive Director--
                    ``(A) may serve for a 4-year term; and
                    ``(B) may serve an additional, consecutive 4-year 
                term if reappointed by the Commission by an affirmative 
                vote of at least 6 of the 9 members of the 
                Commission.'';
            (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated, by striking ``and 
        the Executive Director'';
            (5) in subsection (g), as redesignated, by striking ``the 
        commission, for the executive director,'' and inserting ``the 
        Commission, for the Executive Director,''; and
            (6) in subsection (h), as redesignated--
                    (A) by striking ``For purposes'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes'';
                    (B) by inserting ``(including discrimination on the 
                bases of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, 
                age, or disability)'' after ``employment 
                discrimination''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Treatment of discrimination on basis of sexual 
        orientation or gender identity.--In applying paragraph (1) to 
        rights and protections that pertain to employment 
        discrimination on the basis of sex, and the remedies and 
        procedures available to address alleged violations of such 
        rights and protections, the laws, rules, and regulations that 
        provide such rights and protections to employees whose pay is 
        disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief 
        Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives shall be 
        deemed to recognize discrimination on the basis of sexual 
        orientation or gender identity as forms of discrimination on 
        the basis of sex and shall treat such discrimination in the 
        same manner as discrimination on the basis of sex.''.
    (d) Report of Commission.--Section 205 of the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6433) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Not later than May 1 
        of each year,'' and inserting ``Each year, between 30 and 90 
        days after the publication of the Department of State's Annual 
        Report on International Religious Freedom,''; and
            (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
    ``(c) Individual or Dissenting Views.--Members of the Commission 
shall make every effort to reach consensus on the report under this 
section. When such consensus is not possible, the report shall be 
approved by an affirmative vote of at least 6 of the 9 members of the 
Commission. Each member of the Commission may include the individual or 
dissenting views of the member in the report.''.
    (e) Applicability of the Freedom of Information Act.--
            (1) Section 206 of the International Religious Freedom Act 
        of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6434) is amended--
                    (A) by inserting ``(a) Federal Advisory Committee 
                Act.--'' before ``The''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Freedom of Information Act.--Notwithstanding section 551 of 
title 5, United States Code, the Commission shall be considered to be 
an agency for purposes of section 552 of such title.''.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 207(a) of the 
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435(a)) is 
amended by striking ``2015'' and inserting ``2017''.
    (g) Termination.--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, 2017''.
                                 <all>