[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1911 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1911

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to monitor 
       and combat anti-Semitism globally, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 5, 2017

 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Roskam, Mr. 
 Engel, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Bilirakis, and 
 Mr. Veasey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to monitor 
       and combat anti-Semitism globally, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat 
Anti-Semitism Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDING.

    Congress finds that since the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 
2004 was enacted, in many foreign countries acts of anti-Semitism have 
been frequent and wide in scope, the perpetrators and variety of 
threats to Jewish communities and their institutions have proliferated, 
and in some countries anti-Semitic attacks have increased in frequency, 
scope, violence, and deadliness.

SEC. 3. MONITORING AND COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM.

    Subsection (a) of section 59 of the State Department Basic 
Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2731) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by inserting before the period at the 
                        end the following: ``, who shall be appointed 
                        by the President, by and with the advice and 
                        consent of the Senate''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following new 
                        sentence: ``The Special Envoy shall report 
                        directly to the Secretary.''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) by striking the first sentence; and
                            (ii) in the third sentence, by striking 
                        ``The Secretary may allow such officer or 
                        employee to retain the position (and the 
                        responsibilities associated with such 
                        position)'' and inserting ``Such officer or 
                        employee may not retain the position (or the 
                        responsibilities associated with such 
                        position)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(3) Duties.--The Special Envoy shall serve as the primary 
        advisor to, and coordinate efforts across, the United States 
        Government relating to monitoring and combating anti-Semitism 
        and anti-Semitic incitement that occur in foreign countries.
            ``(4) Rank and status of ambassador.--The Special Envoy 
        shall have the rank of ambassador.
            ``(5) Qualifications.--The Special Envoy should be a person 
        of recognized distinction in the field of--
                    ``(A) combating anti-Semitism; or
                    ``(B) religious freedom.''.
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