[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 221 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 221

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

                            January 3, 2019

  Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Engel, Mr. 
King of New York, Mr. Veasey, Mr. Zeldin, Mrs. Lowey, and Ms. Granger) 
 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''.

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.

    (a) In General.--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) in the heading, by striking 
                        ``Appointment'' and inserting ``Nomination'';
                            (ii) by striking the first sentence;
                            (iii) in the second sentence, by striking 
                        ``If the Secretary determines that such is 
                        appropriate, the Secretary may appoint'' and 
                        inserting ``If the President determines that 
                        such is appropriate, the President may 
                        nominate''; and
                            (iv) 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) 
                        held by such officer or employee prior to the 
                        appointment'' and inserting ``Such officer or 
                        employee may not retain the position (or the 
                        responsibilities associated with such position) 
                        held by such officer or employee prior to the 
                        nomination''; 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;
                    ``(B) religious freedom; or
                    ``(C) law enforcement.''.
    (b) Nomination.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and not later than 120 after any such position 
becomes vacant, the President shall nominate the Special Envoy for 
Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism under section 59 of the State 
Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, as amended by subsection (a) 
of this section.
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