[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 142 (Saturday, October 10, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10434-H10447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and take from 
the speaker's table the bill (H.R. 2431) to establish an Office of 
Religious Persecution Monitoring, to provide for the imposition of 
sanctions against countries engaged in a pattern of religious 
persecution, and for other purposes, with Senate amendments thereto, 
and concur in the Senate amendments.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The Clerk read the Senate amendments, as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a)  Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the 
     ``International Religious Freedom Act of 1998''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings; policy.
Sec. 3. Definitions.

                TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES

Sec. 101. Office on International Religious Freedom; Ambassador at 
              Large for International Religious Freedom.
Sec. 102. Reports.
Sec. 103. Establishment of a religious freedom Internet site.
Sec. 104. Training for Foreign Service officers.
Sec. 105. High-level contacts with nongovernmental organizations.
Sec. 106. Programs and allocations of funds by United States missions 
              abroad.
Sec. 107. Equal access to United States missions abroad for conducting 
              religious activities.
Sec. 108. Prisoner lists and issue briefs on religious freedom 
              concerns.

        TITLE II--COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Sec. 201. Establishment and composition.
Sec. 202. Duties of the Commission.
Sec. 203. Report of the Commission.
Sec. 204. Applicability of other laws.
Sec. 205. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 206. Termination.

                  TITLE III--NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

Sec. 301. Special Adviser on International Religious Freedom.

                     TITLE IV--PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS

   Subtitle I--Targeted Responses to Violations of Religious Freedom 
                                 Abroad

Sec. 401. Presidential actions in response to violations of religious 
              freedom.
Sec. 402. Presidential actions in response to particularly severe 
              violations of religious freedom.
Sec. 403. Consultations.
Sec. 404. Report to Congress.
Sec. 405. Description of Presidential actions.
Sec. 406. Effects on existing contracts.
Sec. 407. Presidential waiver.
Sec. 408. Publication in Federal Register.

[[Page H10435]]

Sec. 409. Termination of Presidential actions.
Sec. 410. Preclusion of judicial review.

                Subtitle II--Strengthening Existing Law

Sec. 421. United States assistance.
Sec. 422. Multilateral assistance.
Sec. 423. Exports of certain items used in particularly severe 
              violations of religious freedom.

                TITLE V--PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Sec. 501. Assistance for promoting religious freedom.
Sec. 502. International broadcasting.
Sec. 503. International exchanges.
Sec. 504. Foreign Service awards.

            TITLE VI--REFUGEE, ASYLUM, AND CONSULAR MATTERS

Sec. 601. Use of Annual Report.
Sec. 602. Reform of refugee policy.
Sec. 603. Reform of asylum policy.
Sec. 604. Inadmissibility of foreign government officials who have 
              engaged in particularly severe violations of religious 
              freedom.
Sec. 605. Studies on the effect of expedited removal provisions on 
              asylum claims.

                  TITLE VII--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 701. Business codes of conduct.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The right to freedom of religion undergirds the very 
     origin and existence of the United States. Many of our 
     Nation's founders fled religious persecution abroad, 
     cherishing in their hearts and minds the ideal of religious 
     freedom. They established in law, as a fundamental right and 
     as a pillar of our Nation, the right to freedom of religion. 
     From its birth to this day, the United States has prized this 
     legacy of religious freedom and honored this heritage by 
     standing for religious freedom and offering refuge to those 
     suffering religious persecution.
       (2) Freedom of religious belief and practice is a universal 
     human right and fundamental freedom articulated in numerous 
     international instruments, including the Universal 
     Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on 
     Civil and Political Rights, the Helsinki Accords, the 
     Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance 
     and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, the United 
     Nations Charter, and the European Convention for the 
     Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
       (3) Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
     recognizes that ``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.''. Article 18(1) of the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
     recognizes that ``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''. 
     Governments have the responsibility to protect the 
     fundamental rights of their citizens and to pursue justice 
     for all. Religious freedom is a fundamental right of every 
     individual, regardless of race, sex, country, creed, or 
     nationality, and should never be arbitrarily abridged by any 
     government.
       (4) The right to freedom of religion is under renewed and, 
     in some cases, increasing assault in many countries around 
     the world. 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. Religious 
     believers and communities suffer both government-sponsored 
     and government-tolerated violations of their rights to 
     religious freedom. Among the many forms of such violations 
     are state-sponsored slander campaigns, confiscations of 
     property, surveillance by security police, including by 
     special divisions of ``religious police'', severe 
     prohibitions against construction and repair of places of 
     worship, denial of the right to assemble and relegation of 
     religious communities to illegal status through arbitrary 
     registration laws, prohibitions against the pursuit of 
     education or public office, and prohibitions against 
     publishing, distributing, or possessing religious literature 
     and materials.
       (5) Even more abhorrent, religious believers in many 
     countries face such severe and violent forms of religious 
     persecution as detention, torture, beatings, forced marriage, 
     rape, imprisonment, enslavement, mass resettlement, and death 
     merely for the peaceful belief in, change of or practice of 
     their faith. In many countries, religious believers are 
     forced to meet secretly, and religious leaders are targeted 
     by national security forces and hostile mobs.
       (6) Though not confined to a particular region or regime, 
     religious persecution is often particularly widespread, 
     systematic, and heinous under totalitarian governments and in 
     countries with militant, politicized religious majorities.
       (7) Congress has recognized and denounced acts of religious 
     persecution through the adoption of the following 
     resolutions:
       (A) House Resolution 515 of the One Hundred Fourth 
     Congress, expressing the sense of the House of 
     Representatives with respect to the persecution of Christians 
     worldwide.
       (B) Senate Concurrent Resolution 71 of the One Hundred 
     Fourth Congress, expressing the sense of the Senate regarding 
     persecution of Christians worldwide.
       (C) House Concurrent Resolution 102 of the One Hundred 
     Fourth Congress, expressing the sense of the House of 
     Representatives concerning the emancipation of the Iranian 
     Baha'i community.
       (b) Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United States, 
     as follows:
       (1) To condemn violations of religious freedom, and to 
     promote, and to assist other governments in the promotion of, 
     the fundamental right to freedom of religion.
       (2) To seek to channel United States security and 
     development assistance to governments other than those found 
     to be engaged in gross violations of the right to freedom of 
     religion, as set forth in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 
     in the International Financial Institutions Act of 1977, and 
     in other formulations of United States human rights policy.
       (3) To be vigorous and flexible, reflecting both the 
     unwavering commitment of the United States to religious 
     freedom and the desire of the United States for the most 
     effective and principled response, in light of the range of 
     violations of religious freedom by a variety of persecuting 
     regimes, and the status of the relations of the United States 
     with different nations.
       (4) To work with foreign governments that affirm and 
     protect religious freedom, in order to develop multilateral 
     documents and initiatives to combat violations of religious 
     freedom and promote the right to religious freedom abroad.
       (5) Standing for liberty and standing with the persecuted, 
     to use and implement appropriate tools in the United States 
     foreign policy apparatus, including diplomatic, political, 
     commercial, charitable, educational, and cultural channels, 
     to promote respect for religious freedom by all governments 
     and peoples.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Ambassador at large.--The term ``Ambassador at Large'' 
     means the Ambassador at Large for International Religious 
     Freedom appointed under section 101(b).
       (2) Annual report.--The term ``Annual Report'' means the 
     Annual Report on International Religious Freedom described in 
     section 102(b).
       (3) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 
     the Committee on International Relations of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (B) in the case of any determination made with respect to 
     the taking of President action under paragraphs (9) through 
     (15) of section 405(a), the term includes the committees 
     described in subparagraph (A) and, where appropriate, the 
     Committee on Banking and Financial Services of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
     Urban Affairs of the Senate.
       (4) Commensurate action.--The term ``commensurate action'' 
     means action taken by the President under section 405(b).
       (5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the United 
     States Commission on International Religious Freedom 
     established in section 201(a).
       (6) Country reports on human rights practices.--The term 
     ``Country Reports on Human Rights Practices'' means the 
     annual reports required to be submitted by the Department of 
     State to Congress under sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the 
     Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
       (7) Executive summary.--The term ``Executive Summary'' 
     means the Executive Summary to the Annual Report, as 
     described in section 102(b)(1)(F).
       (8) Government or foreign government.--The term 
     ``government'' or ``foreign government'' includes any agency 
     or instrumentality of the government.
       (9) Human rights reports.--The term ``Human Rights 
     Reports'' means all reports submitted by the Department of 
     State to Congress under sections 116 and 502B of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961.
       (10) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office on 
     International Religious Freedom established in section 
     101(a).
       (11) Particularly severe violations of religious freedom.--
     The term ``particularly severe violations of religious 
     freedom'' means systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of 
     religious freedom, including violations such as--
       (A) torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or 
     punishment;
       (B) prolonged detention without charges;
       (C) causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction 
     or clandestine detention of those persons; or
       (D) other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or 
     the security of persons.
       (12) Special adviser.--The term ``Special Adviser'' means 
     the Special Adviser to the President on International 
     Religious Freedom described in section 101(i) of the National 
     Security Act of 1947, as added by section 301 of this Act.
       (13) Violations of religious freedom.--The term 
     ``violations of religious freedom'' means violations of the 
     internationally recognized right to freedom of religion and 
     religious belief and practice, as set forth in the 
     international instruments referred to in section 2(a)(2) and 
     as described in section 2(a)(3), including violations such 
     as--
       (A) arbitrary prohibitions on, restrictions of, or 
     punishment for--
       (i) assembling for peaceful religious activities such as 
     worship, preaching, and prayer, including arbitrary 
     registration requirements,
       (ii) speaking freely about one's religious beliefs,
       (iii) changing one's religious beliefs and affiliation,
       (iv) possession and distribution of religious literature, 
     including Bibles, or
       (v) raising one's children in the religious teachings and 
     practices of one's choice, or
       (B) any of the following acts if committed on account of an 
     individual's religious belief or

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     practice: detention, interrogation, imposition of an onerous 
     financial penalty, forced labor, forced mass resettlement, 
     imprisonment, forced religious conversion, beating, torture, 
     mutilation, rape, enslavement, murder, and execution.
                TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES

     SEC. 101. OFFICE ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM; 
                   AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS 
                   FREEDOM.

       (a) Establishment of Office.--There is established within 
     the Department of State an Office on International Religious 
     Freedom that shall be headed by the Ambassador at Large for 
     International Religious Freedom appointed under subsection 
     (b).
       (b) Appointment.--The Ambassador at Large shall be 
     appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
     consent of the Senate.
       (c) Duties.--The Ambassador at Large shall have the 
     following responsibilities:
       (1) In general.--The primary responsibility of the 
     Ambassador at Large shall be to advance the right to freedom 
     of religion abroad, to denounce the violation of that right, 
     and to recommend appropriate responses by the United States 
     Government when this right is violated.
       (2) Advisory role.--The Ambassador at Large shall be a 
     principal adviser to the President and the Secretary of State 
     regarding matters affecting religious freedom abroad and, 
     with advice from the Commission on International Religious 
     Freedom, shall make recommendations regarding--
       (A) the policies of the United States Government toward 
     governments that violate the freedom of religion or that fail 
     to ensure the individual's right to religious belief and 
     practice; and
       (B) policies to advance the right to religious freedom 
     abroad.
       (3) Diplomatic representation.--Subject to the direction of 
     the President and the Secretary of State, the Ambassador at 
     Large is authorized to represent the United States in matters 
     and cases relevant to religious freedom abroad in--
       (A) contacts with foreign governments, intergovernmental 
     organizations, and specialized agencies of the United 
     Nations, the Organization on Security and Cooperation in 
     Europe, and other international organizations of which the 
     United States is a member; and
       (B) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant to 
     religious freedom abroad.
       (4) Reporting responsibilities.--The Ambassador at Large 
     shall have the reporting responsibilities described in 
     section 102.
       (d) Funding.--The Secretary of State shall provide the 
     Ambassador at Large with such funds as may be necessary for 
     the hiring of staff for the Office, for the conduct of 
     investigations by the Office, and for necessary travel to 
     carry out the provisions of this section.

     SEC. 102. REPORTS.

       (a) Portions of Annual Human Rights Reports.--The 
     Ambassador at Large shall assist the Secretary of State in 
     preparing those portions of the Human Rights Reports that 
     relate to freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination 
     based on religion and those portions of other information 
     provided Congress under sections 116 and 502B of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151m, 2304) that relate to 
     the right to freedom of religion.
       (b) Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.--
       (1) Deadline for submission.--On September 1 of each year 
     or the first day thereafter on which the appropriate House of 
     Congress is in session, the Secretary of State, with the 
     assistance of the Ambassador at Large, and taking into 
     consideration the recommendations of the Commission, shall 
     prepare and transmit to Congress an Annual Report on 
     International Religious Freedom supplementing the most recent 
     Human Rights Reports by providing additional detailed 
     information with respect to matters involving international 
     religious freedom. Each Annual Report shall contain the 
     following:
       (A) Status of religious freedom.--A description of the 
     status of religious freedom in each foreign country, 
     including--
       (i) trends toward improvement in the respect and protection 
     of the right to religious freedom and trends toward 
     deterioration of such right;
       (ii) violations of religious freedom engaged in or 
     tolerated by the government of that country; and
       (iii) particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
     engaged in or tolerated by the government of that country.
       (B) Violations of religious freedom.--An assessment and 
     description of the nature and extent of violations of 
     religious freedom in each foreign country, including 
     persecution of one religious group by another religious 
     group, religious persecution by governmental and 
     nongovernmental entities, persecution targeted at individuals 
     or particular denominations or entire religions, the 
     existence of government policies violating religious freedom, 
     and the existence of government policies concerning--
       (i) limitations or prohibitions on, or lack of availability 
     of, openly conducted, organized religious services outside of 
     the premises of foreign diplomatic missions or consular 
     posts; and
       (ii) the forced religious conversion of minor United States 
     citizens who have been abducted or illegally removed from the 
     United States, and the refusal to allow such citizens to be 
     returned to the United States.
       (C) United states policies.--A description of United States 
     actions and policies in support of religious freedom in each 
     foreign country engaging in or tolerating violations of 
     religious freedom, including a description of the measures 
     and policies implemented during the preceding 12 months by 
     the United States under titles I, IV, and V of this Act in 
     opposition to violations of religious freedom and in support 
     of international religious freedom.
       (D) International agreements in effect.--A description of 
     any binding agreement with a foreign government entered into 
     by the United States under section 401(b) or 402(c).
       (E) Training and guidelines of government personnel.--A 
     description of--
       (i) the training described in section 602 (a) and (b) and 
     section 603 (b) and (c) on violations of religious freedom 
     provided to immigration judges and consular, refugee, 
     immigration, and asylum officers; and
       (ii) the development and implementation of the guidelines 
     described in sections 602(c) and 603(a).
       (F) Executive summary.--An Executive Summary to the Annual 
     Report highlighting the status of religious freedom in 
     certain foreign countries and including the following:
       (i) Countries in which the united states is actively 
     promoting religious freedom.--An identification of foreign 
     countries in which the United States is actively promoting 
     religious freedom. This section of the report shall include a 
     description of United States actions taken to promote the 
     internationally recognized right to freedom of religion and 
     oppose violations of such right under title IV and title V of 
     this Act during the period covered by the Annual Report. Any 
     country designated as a country of particular concern for 
     religious freedom under section 402(b)(1) shall be included 
     in this section of the report.
       (ii) Countries of significant improvement in religious 
     freedom.--An identification of foreign countries the 
     governments of which have demonstrated significant 
     improvement in the protection and promotion of the 
     internationally recognized right to freedom of religion 
     during the period covered by the Annual Report. This section 
     of the report shall include a description of the nature of 
     the improvement and an analysis of the factors contributing 
     to such improvement, including actions taken by the United 
     States under this Act.
       (2) Classified addendum.--If the Secretary of State 
     determines that it is in the national security interests of 
     the United States or is necessary for the safety of 
     individuals to be identified in the Annual Report or is 
     necessary to further the purposes of this Act, any 
     information required by paragraph (1), including measures or 
     actions taken by the United States, may be summarized in the 
     Annual Report or the Executive Summary and submitted in more 
     detail in a classified addendum to the Annual Report or the 
     Executive Summary.
       (c) Preparation of Reports Regarding Violations of 
     Religious Freedom.--
       (1) Standards and investigations.--The Secretary of State 
     shall ensure that United States missions abroad maintain a 
     consistent reporting standard and thoroughly investigate 
     reports of violations of the internationally recognized right 
     to freedom of religion.
       (2) Contacts with nongovernmental organizations.--In 
     compiling data and assessing the respect of the right to 
     religious freedom for the Human Rights Reports, the Annual 
     Report on International Religious Freedom, and the Executive 
     Summary, United States mission personnel shall, as 
     appropriate, seek out and maintain contacts with religious 
     and human rights nongovernmental organizations, with the 
     consent of those organizations, including receiving reports 
     and updates from such organizations and, when appropriate, 
     investigating such reports.
       (d) Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act.--
       (1) Content of human rights reports for countries receiving 
     economic assistance.--Section 116(d) of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (4);
       (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (5) and 
     inserting ``; and ''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) wherever applicable, violations of religious freedom, 
     including particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
     (as defined in section 3 of the International Religious 
     Freedom Act of 1998).''.
       (2) Contents of human rights reports for countries 
     receiving security assistance.--Section 502B(b) of the 
     Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)) is 
     amended--
       (A) by inserting ``and with the assistance of the 
     Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom'' 
     after ``Labor''; and
       (B) by inserting after the second sentence the following 
     new sentence: ``Such report shall also include, wherever 
     applicable, information on violations of religious freedom, 
     including particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
     (as defined in section 3 of the International Religious 
     Freedom Act of 1998).''.

     SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF A RELIGIOUS FREEDOM INTERNET SITE.

       In order to facilitate access by nongovernmental 
     organizations (NGOs) and by the public around the world to 
     international documents on the protection of religious 
     freedom, the Secretary of State, with the assistance of the 
     Ambassador at Large, shall establish and maintain an Internet 
     site containing major international documents relating to 
     religious freedom, the Annual Report, the Executive Summary, 
     and any other documentation or references to other sites as 
     deemed appropriate or relevant by the Ambassador at Large.

     SEC. 104. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.

       Chapter 2 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new section:

     ``SEC. 708. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.

       ``The Secretary of State, with the assistance of other 
     relevant officials, such as the Ambassador at Large for 
     International Religious Freedom appointed under section 
     101(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and 
     the

[[Page H10437]]

     director of the National Foreign Affairs Training Center, 
     shall establish as part of the standard training provided 
     after January 1, 1999, for officers of the Service, including 
     chiefs of mission, instruction in the field of 
     internationally recognized human rights. Such training shall 
     include--
       ``(1) instruction on international documents and United 
     States policy in human rights, which shall be mandatory for 
     all members of the Service having reporting responsibilities 
     relating to human rights and for chiefs of mission; and
       ``(2) instruction on the internationally recognized right 
     to freedom of religion, the nature, activities, and beliefs 
     of different religions, and the various aspects and 
     manifestations of violations of religious freedom.''.

     SEC. 105. HIGH-LEVEL CONTACTS WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL 
                   ORGANIZATIONS.

       United States chiefs of mission shall seek out and contact 
     religious nongovernmental organizations to provide high-level 
     meetings with religious nongovernmental organizations where 
     appropriate and beneficial. United States chiefs of mission 
     and Foreign Service officers abroad shall seek to meet with 
     imprisoned religious leaders where appropriate and 
     beneficial.

     SEC. 106. PROGRAMS AND ALLOCATIONS OF FUNDS BY UNITED STATES 
                   MISSIONS ABROAD.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) United States diplomatic missions in countries the 
     governments of which engage in or tolerate violations of the 
     internationally recognized right to freedom of religion 
     should develop, as part of annual program planning, a 
     strategy to promote respect for the internationally 
     recognized right to freedom of religion; and
       (2) in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds 
     or the recommendation of candidates for programs and grants 
     funded by the United States Government, United States 
     diplomatic missions should give particular consideration to 
     those programs and candidates deemed to assist in the 
     promotion of the right to religious freedom.

     SEC. 107. EQUAL ACCESS TO UNITED STATES MISSIONS ABROAD FOR 
                   CONDUCTING RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES.

       (a) In General.--Subject to this section, the Secretary of 
     State shall permit, on terms no less favorable than that 
     accorded other nongovernmental activities unrelated to the 
     conduct of the diplomatic mission, access to the premises of 
     any United States diplomatic mission or consular post by any 
     United States citizen seeking to conduct an activity for 
     religious purposes.
       (b) Timing and Location.--The Secretary of State shall make 
     reasonable accommodations with respect to the timing and 
     location of such access in light of--
       (1) the number of United States citizens requesting the 
     access (including any particular religious concerns regarding 
     the time of day, date, or physical setting for services);
       (2) conflicts with official activities and other 
     nonofficial United States citizen requests;
       (3) the availability of openly conducted, organized 
     religious services outside the premises of the mission or 
     post;
       (4) availability of space and resources; and
       (5) necessary security precautions.
       (c) Discretionary Access for Foreign Nationals.--The 
     Secretary of State may permit access to the premises of a 
     United States diplomatic mission or consular post to foreign 
     nationals for the purpose of attending or participating in 
     religious activities conducted pursuant to this section.

     SEC. 108. PRISONER LISTS AND ISSUE BRIEFS ON RELIGIOUS 
                   FREEDOM CONCERNS.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--To encourage involvement with 
     religious freedom concerns at every possible opportunity and 
     by all appropriate representatives of the United States 
     Government, it is the sense of Congress that officials of the 
     executive branch of Government should promote increased 
     advocacy on such issues during meetings between foreign 
     dignitaries and executive branch officials or Members of 
     Congress.
       (b) Prisoner Lists and Issue Briefs on Religious Freedom 
     Concerns.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
     Ambassador at Large, the Assistant Secretary of State for 
     Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States chiefs of 
     mission abroad, regional experts, and nongovernmental human 
     rights and religious groups, shall prepare and maintain issue 
     briefs on religious freedom, on a country-by-country basis, 
     consisting of lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, 
     detained, or placed under house arrest for their religious 
     faith, together with brief evaluations and critiques of the 
     policies of the respective country restricting religious 
     freedom. In considering the inclusion of names of prisoners 
     on such lists, the Secretary of State shall exercise 
     appropriate discretion, including concerns regarding the 
     safety, security, and benefit to such prisoners.
       (c) Availability of Information.--The Secretary shall, as 
     appropriate, provide religious freedom issue briefs under 
     subsection (b) to executive branch officials and Members of 
     Congress in anticipation of bilateral contacts with foreign 
     leaders, both in the United States and abroad.
        TITLE II--COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

     SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION.

       (a) Generally.--There is established the United States 
     Commission on International Religious Freedom.
       (b) Membership.--
       (1) Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of--
       (A) the Ambassador at Large, who shall serve ex officio as 
     a nonvoting member of the Commission; and
       (B) 9 other members, who shall be United States citizens 
     who are not being paid as officers or employees of the United 
     States, and who shall be appointed as follows:
       (i) 3 members of the Commission shall be appointed by the 
     President.
       (ii) 3 members of the Commission shall be appointed by the 
     President pro tempore of the Senate, of which 2 of the 
     members shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the 
     leader in the Senate of the political party that is not the 
     political party of the President, and of which 1 of the 
     members shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the 
     leader in the Senate of the other political party.
       (iii) 3 members of the Commission shall be appointed by the 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives, of which 2 of the 
     members shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the 
     leader in the House of the political party that is not the 
     political party of the President, and of which 1 of the 
     members shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the 
     leader in the House of the other political party.
       (2) Selection.--
       (A) In general.--Members of the Commission shall be 
     selected among distinguished individuals noted for their 
     knowledge and experience in fields relevant to the issue of 
     international religious freedom, including foreign affairs, 
     direct experience abroad, human rights, and international 
     law.
       (B) Security clearances.--Each Member of the Commission 
     shall be required to obtain a security clearance.
       (3) Time of appointment.--The appointments required by 
     paragraph (1) shall be made not later than 120 days after the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (c) Terms.--The term of office of each member of the 
     Commission shall be 2 years. Members of the Commission shall 
     be eligible for reappointment to a second term.
       (d) Election of Chair.--At the first meeting of the 
     Commission in each calendar year, a majority of the members 
     of the Commission present and voting shall elect the Chair of 
     the Commission.
       (e) Quorum.--Six voting members of the Commission shall 
     constitute a quorum for purposes of transacting business.
       (f) Meetings.--Each year, within 15 days, or as soon as 
     practicable, after the issuance of the Country Report on 
     Human Rights Practices, the Commission shall convene. The 
     Commission shall otherwise meet at the call of the Chair or, 
     if no Chair has been elected for that calendar year, at the 
     call of six voting members of the Commission.
       (g) Vacancies.--Any vacancy of the Commission shall not 
     affect its powers, but shall be filled in the manner in which 
     the original appointment was made.
       (h) Administrative Support.--The Secretary of State shall 
     assist the Commission by providing to the Commission such 
     staff and administrative services of the Office as may be 
     necessary and appropriate for the Commission to perform its 
     functions. Any employee of the executive branch of Government 
     may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement to 
     the agency of that employee and such detail shall be without 
     interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege.
       (i) Funding.--Members of the Commission shall be allowed 
     travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence at 
     rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I 
     of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 
     their homes or regular places of business in the performance 
     of services for the Commission.

     SEC. 202. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--The Commission shall have as its primary 
     responsibility--
       (1) the annual and ongoing review of the facts and 
     circumstances of violations of religious freedom presented in 
     the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the Annual 
     Report, and the Executive Summary, as well as information 
     from other sources as appropriate; and
       (2) the making of policy recommendations to the President, 
     the Secretary of State, and Congress with respect to matters 
     involving international religious freedom.
       (b) Policy Review and Recommendations in Response to 
     Violations.--The Commission, in evaluating United States 
     Government policies in response to violations of religious 
     freedom, shall consider and recommend options for policies of 
     the United States Government with respect to each foreign 
     country the government of which has engaged in or tolerated 
     violations of religious freedom, including particularly 
     severe violations of religious freedom, including diplomatic 
     inquiries, diplomatic protest, official public protest 
     demarche of protest, condemnation within multilateral fora, 
     delay or cancellation of cultural or scientific exchanges, 
     delay or cancellation of working, official, or state visits, 
     reduction of certain assistance funds, termination of certain 
     assistance funds, imposition of targeted trade sanctions, 
     imposition of broad trade sanctions, and withdrawal of the 
     chief of mission.
       (c) Policy Review and Recommendations in Response to 
     Progress.--The Commission, in evaluating the United States 
     Government policies with respect to countries found to be 
     taking deliberate steps and making significant improvement in 
     respect for the right of religious freedom, shall consider 
     and recommend policy options, including private commendation, 
     diplomatic commendation, official public commendation, 
     commendation within multilateral fora, an increase in 
     cultural or scientific exchanges, or both, termination or 
     reduction of existing Presidential actions, an increase in 
     certain assistance funds, and invitations for working, 
     official, or state visits.
       (d) Effects on Religious Communities and Individuals.--
     Together with specific policy recommendations provided under 
     subsections (b) and (c), the Commission shall also indicate 
     its

[[Page H10438]]

     evaluation of the potential effects of such policies, if 
     implemented, on the religious communities and individuals 
     whose rights are found to be violated in the country in 
     question.
       (e) Monitoring.--The Commission shall, on an ongoing basis, 
     monitor facts and circumstances of violations of religious 
     freedom, in consultation with independent human rights groups 
     and nongovernmental organizations, including churches and 
     other religious communities, and make such recommendations as 
     may be necessary to the appropriate officials and offices in 
     the United States Government.
       (f) Hearings and Sessions.--The Commission may, for the 
     purpose of carrying out its duties under this title, hold 
     hearings, sit and act at times and places in the United 
     States, take testimony, and receive evidence as the 
     Commission considers advisable to carry out the purposes of 
     this Act.

     SEC. 203. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--Not later than May 1 of each year, the 
     Commission shall submit a report to the President, the 
     Secretary of State, and Congress setting forth its 
     recommendations for United States policy options based on its 
     evaluations under section 202.
       (b) Classified Form of Report.--The report may be submitted 
     in classified form, together with a public summary of 
     recommendations, if the classification of information would 
     further the purposes of this Act.
       (c) Individual or Dissenting Views.--Each member of the 
     Commission may include the individual or dissenting views of 
     the member.

     SEC. 204. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.

       The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall 
     not apply to the Commission.

     SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     the Commission $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1999 
     and 2000 to carry out the provisions of this title.
       (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts authorized to be 
     appropriated under subparagraph (a) are authorized to remain 
     available until expended but not later than the date of 
     termination of the Commission.

     SEC. 206. TERMINATION.

       The Commission shall terminate 4 years after the initial 
     appointment of all of the Commissioners.
                  TITLE III--NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

     SEC. 301. SPECIAL ADVISER ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

       Section 101 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
     402) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(i) It is the sense of the Congress that there should be 
     within the staff of the National Security Council a Special 
     Adviser to the President on International Religious Freedom, 
     whose position should be comparable to that of a director 
     within the Executive Office of the President. The Special 
     Adviser should serve as a resource for executive branch 
     officials, compiling and maintaining information on the facts 
     and circumstances of violations of religious freedom (as 
     defined in section 3 of the International Religious Freedom 
     Act of 1998), and making policy recommendations. The Special 
     Adviser should serve as liaison with the Ambassador at Large 
     for International Religious Freedom, the United States 
     Commission on International Religious Freedom, Congress and, 
     as advisable, religious nongovernmental organizations.''.
                     TITLE IV--PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS
   Subtitle I--Targeted Responses to Violations of Religious Freedom 
                                 Abroad

     SEC. 401. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO VIOLATIONS OF 
                   RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

       (a) Response to violations of religious freedom.--
       (1) In general.--
       (A) United states policy.--It shall be the policy of the 
     United States--
       (i) to oppose violations of religious freedom that are or 
     have been engaged in or tolerated by the governments of 
     foreign countries; and
       (ii) to promote the right to freedom of religion in those 
     countries through the actions described in subsection (b).
       (B) Requirement of presidential action.--For each foreign 
     country the government of which engages in or tolerates 
     violations of religious freedom, the President shall oppose 
     such violations and promote the right to freedom of religion 
     in that country through the actions described in subsection 
     (b).
       (2) Basis of actions.--Each action taken under paragraph 
     (1)(B) shall be based upon information regarding violations 
     of religious freedom, as described in the latest Country 
     Reports on Human Rights Practices, the Annual Report and 
     Executive Summary, and on any other evidence available, and 
     shall take into account any findings or recommendations by 
     the Commission with respect to the foreign country.
       (b) Presidential Actions.--
       (1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the 
     President, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the 
     Ambassador at Large, the Special Adviser, and the Commission, 
     shall, as expeditiously as practicable in response to the 
     violations described in subsection (a) by the government of a 
     foreign country--
       (A) take one or more of the actions described in paragraphs 
     (1) through (15) of section 405(a) (or commensurate action in 
     substitution thereto) with respect to such country; or
       (B) negotiate and enter into a binding agreement with the 
     government of such country, as described in section 405(c).
       (2) Deadline for actions.--Not later than September 1 of 
     each year, the President shall take action under any of the 
     paragraphs (1) through (15) of section 405(a) (or 
     commensurate action in substitution thereto) with respect to 
     each foreign country the government of which has engaged in 
     or tolerated violations of religious freedom at any time 
     since September 1 of the preceding year, except that in the 
     case of action under any of the paragraphs (9) through (15) 
     of section 405(a) (or commensurate action in substitution 
     thereto)--
       (A) the action may only be taken after the requirements of 
     sections 403 and 404 have been satisfied; and
       (B) the September 1 limitation shall not apply.
       (3) Authority for delay of presidential actions.--The 
     President may delay action under paragraph (2) described in 
     any of the paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a) (or 
     commensurate action in substitution thereto) if he determines 
     and certifies to Congress that a single, additional period of 
     time, not to exceed 90 days, is necessary pursuant to the 
     same provisions applying to countries of particular concern 
     for religious freedom under section 402(c)(3).
       (c) Implementation.--
       (1) In general.--In carrying out subsection (b), the 
     President shall--
       (A) take the action or actions that most appropriately 
     respond to the nature and severity of the violations of 
     religious freedom;
       (B) seek to the fullest extent possible to target action as 
     narrowly as practicable with respect to the agency or 
     instrumentality of the foreign government, or specific 
     officials thereof, that are responsible for such violations; 
     and
       (C) when appropriate, make every reasonable effort to 
     conclude a binding agreement concerning the cessation of such 
     violations in countries with which the United States has 
     diplomatic relations.
       (2) Guidelines for presidential actions.--In addition to 
     the guidelines under paragraph (1), the President, in 
     determining whether to take a Presidential action under 
     paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a) (or 
     commensurate action in substitution thereto), shall seek to 
     minimize any adverse impact on--
       (A) the population of the country whose government is 
     targeted by the Presidential action or actions; and
       (B) the humanitarian activities of United States and 
     foreign nongovernmental organizations in such country.

     SEC. 402. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PARTICULARLY 
                   SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

       (a) Response to Particularly Severe Violations of Religious 
     Freedom.--
       (1) United states policy.--It shall be the policy of the 
     United States--
       (A) to oppose particularly severe violations of religious 
     freedom that are or have been engaged in or tolerated by the 
     governments of foreign countries; and
       (B) to promote the right to freedom of religion in those 
     countries through the actions described in subsection (c).
       (2) Requirement of presidential action.--Whenever the 
     President determines that the government of a foreign country 
     has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of 
     religious freedom, the President shall oppose such violations 
     and promote the right to religious freedom through one or 
     more of the actions described in subsection (c).
       (b) Designations of Countries of Particular Concern for 
     Religious Freedom.--
       (1) Annual review.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than September 1 of each year, 
     the President shall review the status of religious freedom in 
     each foreign country to determine whether the government of 
     that country has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe 
     violations of religious freedom in that country during the 
     preceding 12 months or since the date of the last review of 
     that country under this subparagraph, whichever period is 
     longer. The President shall designate each country the 
     government of which has engaged in or tolerated violations 
     described in this subparagraph as a country of particular 
     concern for religious freedom.
       (B) Basis of review.--Each review conducted under 
     subparagraph (A) shall be based upon information contained in 
     the latest Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the 
     Annual Report, and on any other evidence available and shall 
     take into account any findings or recommendations by the 
     Commission with respect to the foreign country.
       (C) Implementation.--Any review under subparagraph (A) of a 
     foreign country may take place singly or jointly with the 
     review of one or more countries and may take place at any 
     time prior to September 1 of the respective year.
       (2) Determinations of responsible parties.--For the 
     government of each country designated as a country of 
     particular concern for religious freedom under paragraph 
     (1)(A), the President shall seek to determine the agency or 
     instrumentality thereof and the specific officials thereof 
     that are responsible for the particularly severe violations 
     of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by that 
     government in order to appropriately target Presidential 
     actions under this section in response.
       (3) Congressional notification.--Whenever the President 
     designates a country as a country of particular concern for 
     religious freedom under paragraph (1)(A), the President 
     shall, as soon as practicable after the designation is made, 
     transmit to the appropriate congressional committees--
       (A) the designation of the country, signed by the 
     President; and
       (B) the identification, if any, of responsible parties 
     determined under paragraph (2).
       (c) Presidential Actions With Respect to Countries of 
     Particular Concern for Religious Freedom.--
       (1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) 
     with respect to each country of particular concern for 
     religious freedom designated under subsection (b)(1)(A), the 
     President shall, after the requirements of sections 403 and 
     404

[[Page H10439]]

     have been satisfied, but not later than 90 days (or 180 days 
     in case of a delay under paragraph (3)) after the date of 
     designation of the country under that subsection, carry out 
     one or more of the following actions under subparagraph (A) 
     or subparagraph (B):
       (A) Presidential actions.--One or more of the Presidential 
     actions described in paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 
     405(a), as determined by the President.
       (B) Commensurate actions.--Commensurate action in 
     substitution to any action described in subparagraph (A).
       (2) Substitution of binding agreements.--
       (A) In general.--In lieu of carrying out action under 
     paragraph (1), the President may conclude a binding agreement 
     with the respective foreign government as described in 
     section 405(c). The existence of a binding agreement under 
     this paragraph with a foreign government may be considered by 
     the President prior to making any determination or taking any 
     action under this title.
       (B) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this paragraph may 
     be construed to authorize the entry of the United States into 
     an agreement covering matters outside the scope of violations 
     of religious freedom.
       (3) Authority for delay of presidential actions.--If, on or 
     before the date that the President is required (but for this 
     paragraph) to take action under paragraph (1), the President 
     determines and certifies to Congress that a single, 
     additional period of time not to exceed 90 days is 
     necessary--
       (A) for a continuation of negotiations that have been 
     commenced with the government of that country to bring about 
     a cessation of the violations by the foreign country;
       (B) for a continuation of multilateral negotiations into 
     which the United States has entered to bring about a 
     cessation of the violations by the foreign country;
       (C)(i) for a review of corrective action taken by the 
     foreign country after designation of such country as a 
     country of particular concern; or
       (ii) in anticipation that corrective action will be taken 
     by the foreign country during the 90-day period,
     then the President shall not be required to take action until 
     the expiration of that period of time.
       (4) Exception for ongoing presidential action.--The 
     President shall not be required to take action pursuant to 
     this subsection in the case of a country of particular 
     concern for religious freedom, if with respect to such 
     country--
       (A) the President has taken action pursuant to this Act in 
     a preceding year;
       (B) such action is in effect at the time the country is 
     designated as a country of particular concern for religious 
     freedom under this section;
       (C) the President reports to Congress the information 
     described in section 404(a) (1), (2), (3), and (4) regarding 
     the actions in effect with respect to the country; and
       (D) at the time the President determines a country to be a 
     country of particular concern, if that country is already 
     subject to multiple, broad-based sanctions imposed in 
     significant part in response to human rights abuses, and such 
     sanctions are ongoing, the President may determine that one 
     or more of these sanctions also satisfies the requirements of 
     this subsection. In a report to Congress pursuant to section 
     404(a) (1), (2), (3), and (4), and, as applicable, to section 
     408, the President must designate the specific sanction or 
     sanctions which he determines satisfy the requirements of 
     this subsection. The sanctions so designated shall remain in 
     effect subject to section 409 of this Act.
       (d) Statutory Construction.--A determination under this 
     Act, or any amendment made by this Act, that a foreign 
     country has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe 
     violations of religious freedom shall not be construed to 
     require the termination of assistance or other activities 
     with respect to that country under any other provision of 
     law, including section 116 or 502B of the Foreign Assistance 
     Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n, 2304).

     SEC. 403. CONSULTATIONS.

       (a) In General.--As soon as practicable after the President 
     decides to take action under section 401 in response to 
     violations of religious freedom and the President decides to 
     take action under paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 
     405(a) (or commensurate action in substitution thereto) with 
     respect to that country, or not later than 90 days after the 
     President designates a country as a country of particular 
     concern for religious freedom under section 402, as the case 
     may be, the President shall carry out the consultations 
     required in this section.
       (b) Duty To Consult With Foreign Governments Prior To 
     Taking Presidential Actions.--
       (1) In general.--The President shall--
       (A) request consultation with the government of such 
     country regarding the violations giving rise to designation 
     of that country as a country of particular concern for 
     religious freedom or to Presidential action under section 
     401; and
       (B) if agreed to, enter into such consultations, privately 
     or publicly.
       (2) Use of multilateral fora.--If the President determines 
     it to be appropriate, such consultations may be sought and 
     may occur in a multilateral forum, but, in any event, the 
     President shall consult with appropriate foreign governments 
     for the purposes of achieving a coordinated international 
     policy on actions that may be taken with respect to a country 
     described in subsection (a), prior to implementing any such 
     action.
       (3) Election of nondisclosure of negotiations to public.--
     If negotiations are undertaken or an agreement is concluded 
     with a foreign government regarding steps to cease the 
     pattern of violations by that government, and if public 
     disclosure of such negotiations or agreement would jeopardize 
     the negotiations or the implementation of such agreement, as 
     the case may be, the President may refrain from disclosing 
     such negotiations and such agreement to the public, except 
     that the President shall inform the appropriate congressional 
     committees of the nature and extent of such negotiations and 
     any agreement reached.
       (c) Duty To Consult With Humanitarian Organizations.--The 
     President should consult with appropriate humanitarian and 
     religious organizations concerning the potential impact of 
     United States policies to promote freedom of religion in 
     countries described in subsection (a).
       (d) Duty To Consult With United States Interested 
     Parties.--The President shall, as appropriate, consult with 
     United States interested parties as to the potential impact 
     of intended Presidential action or actions in countries 
     described in subsection (a) on economic or other interests of 
     the United States.

     SEC. 404. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

       (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), not later than 
     90 days after the President decides to take action under 
     section 401 in response to violations of religious freedom 
     and the President decides to take action under paragraphs (9) 
     through (15) of section 405(a) (or commensurate action in 
     substitution thereto) with respect to that country, or not 
     later than 90 days after the President designates a country 
     as a country of particular concern for religious freedom 
     under section 402, as the case may be, the President shall 
     submit a report to Congress containing the following:
       (1) Identification of presidential actions.--An 
     identification of the Presidential action or actions 
     described in paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a) 
     (or commensurate action in substitution thereto) to be taken 
     with respect to the foreign country.
       (2) Description of violations.--A description of the 
     violations giving rise to the Presidential action or actions 
     to be taken.
       (3) Purpose of presidential actions.--A description of the 
     purpose of the Presidential action or actions.
       (4) Evaluation.--
       (A) Description.--An evaluation, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of State, the Ambassador at Large, the Commission, 
     the Special Adviser, the parties described in section 403 (c) 
     and (d), and whoever else the President deems appropriate, 
     of--
       (i) the impact upon the foreign government;
       (ii) the impact upon the population of the country; and
       (iii) the impact upon the United States economy and other 
     interested parties.
       (B) Authority to withhold disclosure.--The President may 
     withhold part or all of such evaluation from the public but 
     shall provide the entire evaluation to Congress.
       (5) Statement of policy options.--A statement that 
     noneconomic policy options designed to bring about cessation 
     of the particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
     have reasonably been exhausted, including the consultations 
     required in section 403.
       (6) Description of multilateral negotiations.--A 
     description of multilateral negotiations sought or carried 
     out, if appropriate and applicable.
       (b) Delay in Transmittal of Report.--If, on or before the 
     date that the President is required (but for this subsection) 
     to submit a report under subsection (a) to Congress, the 
     President determines and certifies to Congress that a single, 
     additional period of time not to exceed 90 days is necessary 
     pursuant to section 401(b)(3) or section 402(c)(3), then the 
     President shall not be required to submit the report to 
     Congress until the expiration of that period of time.

     SEC. 405. DESCRIPTION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.

       (a) Description of Presidential Actions.--Except as 
     provided in subsection (d), the Presidential actions referred 
     to in this subsection are the following:
       (1) A private demarche.
       (2) An official public demarche.
       (3) A public condemnation.
       (4) A public condemnation within one or more multilateral 
     fora.
       (5) The delay or cancellation of one or more scientific 
     exchanges.
       (6) The delay or cancellation of one or more cultural 
     exchanges.
       (7) The denial of one or more working, official, or state 
     visits.
       (8) The delay or cancellation of one or more working, 
     official, or state visits.
       (9) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of United 
     States development assistance in accordance with section 116 
     of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
       (10) Directing the Export-Import Bank of the United States, 
     the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, or the Trade and 
     Development Agency not to approve the issuance of any (or a 
     specified number of) guarantees, insurance, extensions of 
     credit, or participations in the extension of credit with 
     respect to the specific government, agency, instrumentality, 
     or official found or determined by the President to be 
     responsible for violations under section 401 or 402.
       (11) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of United 
     States security assistance in accordance with section 502B of 
     the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
       (12) Consistent with section 701 of the International 
     Financial Institutions Act of 1977, directing the United 
     States executive directors of international financial 
     institutions to oppose and vote against loans primarily 
     benefiting the specific foreign government, agency, 
     instrumentality, or official found or determined by the 
     President to be responsible for violations under section 401 
     or 402.
       (13) Ordering the heads of the appropriate United States 
     agencies not to issue any (or a specified number of) specific 
     licenses, and not to

[[Page H10440]]

     grant any other specific authority (or a specified number of 
     authorities), to export any goods or technology to the 
     specific foreign government, agency, instrumentality, or 
     official found or determined by the President to be 
     responsible for violations under section 401 or 402, under--
       (A) the Export Administration Act of 1979;
       (B) the Arms Export Control Act;
       (C) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; or
       (D) any other statute that requires the prior review and 
     approval of the United States Government as a condition for 
     the export or reexport of goods or services.
       (14) Prohibiting any United States financial institution 
     from making loans or providing credits totaling more than 
     $10,000,000 in any 12-month period to the specific foreign 
     government, agency, instrumentality, or official found or 
     determined by the President to be responsible for violations 
     under section 401 or 402.
       (15) Prohibiting the United States Government from 
     procuring, or entering into any contract for the procurement 
     of, any goods or services from the foreign government, 
     entities, or officials found or determined by the President 
     to be responsible for violations under section 401 or 402.
       (b) Commensurate Action.--Except as provided in subsection 
     (d), the President may substitute any other action authorized 
     by law for any action described in paragraphs (1) through 
     (15) of subsection (a) if such action is commensurate in 
     effect to the action substituted and if the action would 
     further the policy of the United States set forth in section 
     2(b) of this Act. The President shall seek to take all 
     appropriate and feasible actions authorized by law to obtain 
     the cessation of the violations. If commensurate action is 
     taken, the President shall report such action, together with 
     an explanation for taking such action, to the appropriate 
     congressional committees.
       (c) Binding Agreements.--The President may negotiate and 
     enter into a binding agreement with a foreign government that 
     obligates such government to cease, or take substantial steps 
     to address and phase out, the act, policy, or practice 
     constituting the violation of religious freedom. The entry 
     into force of a binding agreement for the cessation of the 
     violations shall be a primary objective for the President in 
     responding to a foreign government that has engaged in or 
     tolerated particularly severe violations of religious 
     freedom.
       (d) Exceptions.--Any action taken pursuant to subsection 
     (a) or (b) may not prohibit or restrict the provision of 
     medicine, medical equipment or supplies, food, or other 
     humanitarian assistance.

     SEC. 406. EFFECTS ON EXISTING CONTRACTS.

       The President shall not be required to apply or maintain 
     any Presidential action under this subtitle--
       (1) in the case of procurement of defense articles or 
     defense services--
       (A) under existing contracts or subcontracts, including the 
     exercise of options for production quantities, to satisfy 
     requirements essential to the national security of the United 
     States;
       (B) if the President determines in writing and so reports 
     to Congress that the person or other entity to which the 
     Presidential action would otherwise be applied is a sole 
     source supplier of the defense articles or services, that the 
     defense articles or services are essential, and that 
     alternative sources are not readily or reasonably available; 
     or
       (C) if the President determines in writing and so reports 
     to Congress that such articles or services are essential to 
     the national security under defense coproduction agreements; 
     or
       (2) to products or services provided under contracts 
     entered into before the date on which the President publishes 
     his intention to take the Presidential action.

     SEC. 407. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER.

       (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the President 
     may waive the application of any of the actions described in 
     paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a) (or 
     commensurate action in substitution thereto) with respect to 
     a country, if the President determines and so reports to the 
     appropriate congressional committees that--
       (1) the respective foreign government has ceased the 
     violations giving rise to the Presidential action;
       (2) the exercise of such waiver authority would further the 
     purposes of this Act; or
       (3) the important national interest of the United States 
     requires the exercise of such waiver authority.
       (b) Congressional Notification.--Not later than the date of 
     the exercise of a waiver under subsection (a), the President 
     shall notify the appropriate congressional committees of the 
     waiver or the intention to exercise the waiver, together with 
     a detailed justification thereof.

     SEC. 408. PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER.

       (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the President 
     shall cause to be published in the Federal Register the 
     following:
       (1) Determinations of governments, officials, and entities 
     of particular concern.--Any designation of a country of 
     particular concern for religious freedom under section 
     402(b)(1), together with, when applicable and to the extent 
     practicable, the identities of the officials or entities 
     determined to be responsible for the violations under section 
     402(b)(2).
       (2) Presidential actions.--A description of any 
     Presidential action under paragraphs (9) through (15) of 
     section 405(a) (or commensurate action in substitution 
     thereto) and the effective date of the Presidential action.
       (3) Delays in transmittal of presidential action reports.--
     Any delay in transmittal of a Presidential action report, as 
     described in section 404(b).
       (4) Waivers.--Any waiver under section 407.
       (b) Limited Disclosure of Information.--The President may 
     limit publication of information under this section in the 
     same manner and to the same extent as the President may limit 
     the publication of findings and determinations described in 
     section 654(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
     U.S.C. 2414(c)), if the President determines that the 
     publication of information under this section--
       (1) would be harmful to the national security of the United 
     States; or
       (2) would not further the purposes of this Act.

     SEC. 409. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.

       Any Presidential action taken under this Act with respect 
     to a foreign country shall terminate on the earlier of the 
     following dates:
       (1) Termination date.--Within 2 years of the effective date 
     of the Presidential action unless expressly reauthorized by 
     law.
       (2) Foreign government actions.--Upon the determination by 
     the President, in consultation with the Commission, and 
     certification to Congress that the foreign government has 
     ceased or taken substantial and verifiable steps to cease the 
     particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

     SEC. 410. PRECLUSION OF JUDICIAL REVIEW.

       No court shall have jurisdiction to review any Presidential 
     determination or agency action under this Act or any 
     amendment made by this Act.
                Subtitle II--Strengthening Existing Law

     SEC. 421. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.

       (a) Implementation of Prohibition on Economic Assistance.--
     Section 116(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
     U.S.C. 2151n(c)) is amended--
       (1) in the text above paragraph (1), by inserting ``and in 
     consultation with the Ambassador at Large for International 
     Religious Freedom'' after ``Labor''.
       (2) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (1);
       (3) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) whether the government--
       ``(A) has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe 
     violations of religious freedom, as defined in section 3 of 
     the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998; or
       ``(B) has failed to undertake serious and sustained efforts 
     to combat particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
     (as defined in section 3 of the International Religious 
     Freedom Act of 1998), when such efforts could have been 
     reasonably undertaken.''.
       (b) Implementation of Prohibition on Military Assistance.--
     Section 502B(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
     U.S.C. 2304(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
     new paragraph:
       ``(4) In determining whether the government of a country 
     engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of 
     internationally recognized human rights, the President shall 
     give particular consideration to whether the government--
       ``(A) has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe 
     violations of religious freedom, as defined in section 3 of 
     the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998; or
       ``(B) has failed to undertake serious and sustained efforts 
     to combat particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
     when such efforts could have been reasonably undertaken.''.

     SEC. 422. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE.

       Section 701 of the International Financial Institutions Act 
     (22 U.S.C. 262d) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(g) In determining whether the government of a country 
     engages in a pattern of gross violations of internationally 
     recognized human rights, as described in subsection (a), the 
     President shall give particular consideration to whether a 
     foreign government--
       ``(1) has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe 
     violations of religious freedom, as defined in section 3 of 
     the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998; or
       ``(2) has failed to undertake serious and sustained efforts 
     to combat particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
     when such efforts could have been reasonably undertaken.''.

     SEC. 423. EXPORTS OF CERTAIN ITEMS USED IN PARTICULARLY 
                   SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

       (a) Mandatory Licensing.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the Secretary of Commerce, with the 
     concurrence of the Secretary of State, shall include on the 
     list of crime control and detection instruments or equipment 
     controlled for export and reexport under section 6(n) of the 
     Export Administration Act of 1979 (22 U.S.C. App. 2405(n)), 
     or under any other provision of law, items being exported or 
     reexported to countries of particular concern for religious 
     freedom that the Secretary of Commerce, with the concurrence 
     of the Secretary of State, and in consultation with 
     appropriate officials including the Assistant Secretary of 
     State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the 
     Ambassador at Large, determines are being used or are 
     intended for use directly and in significant measure to carry 
     out particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
       (b) Licensing Ban.--The prohibition on the issuance of a 
     license for export of crime control and detection instruments 
     or equipment under section 502B(a)(2) of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(2)) shall apply to 
     the export and reexport of any item included pursuant to 
     subsection (a) on the list of crime control instruments.
                TITLE V--PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

     SEC. 501. ASSISTANCE FOR PROMOTING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:

[[Page H10441]]

       (1) In many nations where severe violations of religious 
     freedom occur, there is not sufficient statutory legal 
     protection for religious minorities or there is not 
     sufficient cultural and social understanding of international 
     norms of religious freedom.
       (2) Accordingly, in the provision of foreign assistance, 
     the United States should make a priority of promoting and 
     developing legal protections and cultural respect for 
     religious freedom.
       (b) Allocation of Funds for Increased Promotion of 
     Religious Freedoms.--Section 116(e) of the Foreign Assistance 
     Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(e)) is amended by inserting ``, 
     including the right to free religious belief and practice'' 
     after ``adherence to civil and political rights''.

     SEC. 502. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING.

       Section 303(a) of the United States International 
     Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6202(a)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (6);
       (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (7) and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(8) promote respect for human rights, including freedom 
     of religion.''.

     SEC. 503. INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.

       Section 102(b) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural 
     Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452(b)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' after paragraph (10);
       (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (11) and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(12) promoting respect for and guarantees of religious 
     freedom abroad by interchanges and visits between the United 
     States and other nations of religious leaders, scholars, and 
     religious and legal experts in the field of religious 
     freedom.''.

     SEC. 504. FOREIGN SERVICE AWARDS.

       (a) Performance Pay.--Section 405(d) of the Foreign Service 
     Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3965(d)) is amended by inserting after 
     the first sentence the following: ``Such service in the 
     promotion of internationally recognized human rights, 
     including the right to freedom of religion, shall serve as a 
     basis for granting awards under this section.''.
       (b) Foreign Service Awards.--Section 614 of the Foreign 
     Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4013) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following new sentence: ``Distinguished, 
     meritorious service in the promotion of internationally 
     recognized human rights, including the right to freedom of 
     religion, shall serve as a basis for granting awards under 
     this section.''.
            TITLE VI--REFUGEE, ASYLUM, AND CONSULAR MATTERS

     SEC. 601. USE OF ANNUAL REPORT.

       The Annual Report, together with other relevant 
     documentation, shall serve as a resource for immigration 
     judges and consular, refugee, and asylum officers in cases 
     involving claims of persecution on the grounds of religion. 
     Absence of reference by the Annual Report to conditions 
     described by the alien shall not constitute the sole grounds 
     for a denial of the alien's claim.

     SEC. 602. REFORM OF REFUGEE POLICY.

       (a) Training.--Section 207 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following new subsection:
       ``(f)(1) The Attorney General, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of State, shall provide all United States officials 
     adjudicating refugee cases under this section with the same 
     training as that provided to officers adjudicating asylum 
     cases under section 208.
       ``(2) Such training shall include country-specific 
     conditions, instruction on the internationally recognized 
     right to freedom of religion, instruction on methods of 
     religious persecution practiced in foreign countries, and 
     applicable distinctions within a country between the nature 
     of and treatment of various religious practices and 
     believers.''.
       (b) Training for Foreign Service Officers.--Section 708 of 
     the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added by section 104 of 
     this Act, is further amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``The Secretary of State''; 
     and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) The Secretary of State shall provide sessions on 
     refugee law and adjudications and on religious persecution to 
     each individual seeking a commission as a United States 
     consular officer. The Secretary shall also ensure that any 
     member of the Service who is assigned to a position that may 
     be called upon to assess requests for consideration for 
     refugee admissions, including any consular officer, has 
     completed training on refugee law and refugee adjudications 
     in addition to the training required in this section.''.
       (c) Guidelines for Refugee-Processing Posts.--
       (1) Guidelines for addressing hostile biases.--The Attorney 
     General and the Secretary of State shall develop and 
     implement guidelines that address potential biases in 
     personnel of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that 
     are hired abroad and involved with duties which could 
     constitute an effective barrier to a refugee claim if such 
     personnel carries a bias against the claimant on the grounds 
     of religion, race, nationality, membership in a particular 
     social group, or political opinion. The subject matter of 
     this training should be culturally sensitive and tailored to 
     provide a nonbiased, nonadversarial atmosphere for the 
     purpose of refugee adjudications.
       (2) Guidelines for refugee-processing posts in establishing 
     agreements with united states government-designated refugee 
     processing entities.--The Attorney General and the Secretary 
     of State shall develop and implement guidelines to ensure 
     uniform procedures for establishing agreements with United 
     States Government-designated refugee processing entities and 
     personnel, and uniform procedures for such entities and 
     personnel responsible for preparing refugee case files for 
     use by the Immigration and Naturalization Service during 
     refugee adjudications. These procedures should ensure, to the 
     extent practicable, that case files prepared by such entities 
     accurately reflect information provided by the refugee 
     applicants and that genuine refugee applicants are not 
     disadvantaged or denied refugee status due to faulty case 
     file preparation.
       (d) Annual Consultation.--The President shall include in 
     each annual report on proposed refugee admissions under 
     section 207(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1157(d)) information about religious persecution of 
     refugee populations eligible for consideration for admission 
     to the United States. The Secretary of State shall include 
     information on religious persecution of refugee populations 
     in the formal testimony presented to the Committees on the 
     Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate 
     during the consultation process under section 207(e) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(e)).

     SEC. 603. REFORM OF ASYLUM POLICY.

       (a) Guidelines.--The Attorney General and the Secretary of 
     State shall develop guidelines to ensure that persons with 
     potential biases against individuals on the grounds of 
     religion, race, nationality, membership in a particular 
     social group, or political opinion, including interpreters 
     and personnel of airlines owned by governments known to be 
     involved in practices which would meet the definition of 
     persecution under international refugee law, shall not in any 
     manner be used to interpret conversations between aliens and 
     inspection or asylum officers.
       (b) Training for Asylum and Immigration Officers.--The 
     Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     State, the Ambassador at Large, and other relevant officials 
     such as the Director of the National Foreign Affairs Training 
     Center, shall provide training to all officers adjudicating 
     asylum cases, and to immigration officers performing duties 
     under section 235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)), on the nature of religious persecution 
     abroad, including country-specific conditions, instruction on 
     the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion, 
     instruction on methods of religious persecution practiced in 
     foreign countries, and applicable distinctions within a 
     country in the treatment of various religious practices and 
     believers.
       (c) Training for Immigration Judges.--The Executive Office 
     of Immigration Review of the Department of Justice shall 
     incorporate into its initial and ongoing training of 
     immigration judges training on the extent and nature of 
     religious persecution internationally, including country-
     specific conditions, and including use of the Annual Report. 
     Such training shall include governmental and nongovernmental 
     methods of persecution employed, and differences in the 
     treatment of religious groups by such persecuting entities.

     SEC. 604. INADMISSIBILITY OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHO 
                   HAVE ENGAGED IN PARTICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS 
                   OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

       (a) Ineligibility for Visas or Admission.--Section 
     212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1182(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subparagraph:
       ``(G) Foreign government officials who have engaged in 
     particularly severe violations of religious freedom.--Any 
     alien who, while serving as a foreign government official, 
     was responsible for or directly carried out, at any time 
     during the preceding 24-month period, particularly severe 
     violations of religious freedom, as defined in section 3 of 
     the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and the 
     spouse and children, if any, are inadmissible.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply to aliens seeking to enter the United States on 
     or after the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 605. STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF EXPEDITED REMOVAL 
                   PROVISIONS ON ASYLUM CLAIMS.

       (a) Studies.--
       (1) Commission request for participation by experts on 
     refugee and asylum issues.--If the Commission so requests, 
     the Attorney General shall invite experts designated by the 
     Commission, who are recognized for their expertise and 
     knowledge of refugee and asylum issues, to conduct a study, 
     in cooperation with the Comptroller General of the United 
     States, to determine whether immigration officers described 
     in paragraph (2) are engaging in any of the conduct described 
     in such paragraph.
       (2) Duties of comptroller general.--The Comptroller General 
     of the United States shall conduct a study alone or, upon 
     request by the Commission, in cooperation with experts 
     designated by the Commission, to determine whether 
     immigration officers performing duties under section 235(b) 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) 
     with respect to aliens who may be eligible to be granted 
     asylum are engaging in any of the following conduct:
       (A) Improperly encouraging such aliens to withdraw their 
     applications for admission.
       (B) Incorrectly failing to refer such aliens for an 
     interview by an asylum officer for a determination of whether 
     they have a credible fear of persecution (within the meaning 
     of section 235(b)(1)(B)(v) of such Act).
       (C) Incorrectly removing such aliens to a country where 
     they may be persecuted.
       (D) Detaining such aliens improperly or in inappropriate 
     conditions.
       (b) Reports.--

[[Page H10442]]

       (1) Participation by experts.--In the case of a Commission 
     request under subsection (a), the experts designated by the 
     Commission under that subsection may submit a report to the 
     committees described in paragraph (2). Such report may be 
     submitted with the Comptroller General's report under 
     subsection (a)(2) or independently.
       (2) Duties of comptroller general.--Not later than 
     September 1, 2000, the Comptroller General of the United 
     States shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
     House of Representatives and the Senate, the Committee on 
     International Relations of the House of Representatives, and 
     the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report 
     containing the results of the study conducted under 
     subsection (a)(2). If the Commission requests designated 
     experts to participate with the Comptroller General in the 
     preparation and submission of the report, the Comptroller 
     General shall grant the request.
       (c) Access to Proceedings.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), to 
     facilitate the studies and reports, the Attorney General 
     shall permit the Comptroller General of the United States 
     and, in the case of a Commission request under subsection 
     (a), the experts designated under subsection (a) to have 
     unrestricted access to all stages of all proceedings 
     conducted under section 235(b) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act.
       (2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply in cases in 
     which the alien objects to such access, or the Attorney 
     General determines that the security of a particular 
     proceeding would be threatened by such access, so long as any 
     restrictions on the access of experts designated by the 
     Commission under subsection (a) do not contravene 
     international law.
                  TITLE VII--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

     SEC. 701. BUSINESS CODES OF CONDUCT.

       (a) Congressional Finding.--Congress recognizes the 
     increasing importance of transnational corporations as global 
     actors, and their potential for providing positive leadership 
     in their host countries in the area of human rights.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     transnational corporations operating overseas, particularly 
     those corporations operating in countries the governments of 
     which have engaged in or tolerated violations of religious 
     freedom, as identified in the Annual Report, should adopt 
     codes of conduct--
       (1) upholding the right to freedom of religion of their 
     employees; and
       (2) ensuring that a worker's religious views and peaceful 
     practices of belief in no way affect, or be allowed to 
     affect, the status or terms of his or her employment.

  Mr. GILMAN (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the Senate amendments be considered as read and printed in the 
Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) each 
will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).


                             General Leave.

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this 
measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us, H.R. 2431, represents a 
culmination of years of work on behalf of many people who are 
persecuted around the world on account of their religion, work which 
has been carried on tirelessly by the distinguished gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the principle House sponsor of this measure and by 
the distinguished chairman of our Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Human Rights, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), 
as well as by many other Members of this body who cosponsored H.R. 
2431.
  Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to join with the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Wolf) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) as an original 
cosponsor of this measure, worked closely with them as we moved this 
measure through the legislative process. Our Committee on International 
Relations approved the measure on March 25. It passed the House on 
March 14 by a vote of 374 in favor to 41 opposed. The bill then went 
over to the Senate where it received very careful consideration and was 
revised significantly. In most respects I prefer the House-approved 
version to what passed the Senate yesterday, but on balance I believe 
that we have before us a worthy measure that will contribute 
significantly to the struggle to eliminate religious oppression around 
the world.
  Before concluding my remarks there are several technical points that 
I must know about the text before us.
  First, section 405(c) urges the President to negotiate and enter into 
``binding agreements'' with foreign governments that are engaged in 
religious persecution.
  As stated in the text of 405(c), the purpose of that provision is to, 
quote, enter into a binding agreement with a foreign government that 
obligates such government to cease or take substantial steps to address 
and phase out the act, policy or practice constituting the violation of 
religious freedom, close quote. In other words, the agreement should be 
binding on the foreign governments in question. Nothing in that section 
suggests or is meant to suggest that these agreements may obligate the 
United States to do anything or otherwise bind our Nation in any way.
  This provision most emphatically is not a grant of authority to the 
President to enter into agreements that would legally bind our Nation 
or supersede U.S. law. This section is not intended to open the door to 
committing the United States to extend benefits or make any other 
binding promise to a foreign country as a quid pro quo for them to stop 
persecuting their own people.

                              {time}  1515

  Second, section 407(a) authorizes the President to waive sanctions 
imposed on foreign countries under this legislation. Obviously this 
waiver authority extends only to sanctions that have been imposed 
pursuant to this legislation.
  This authority does not extend to the same or similar sanctions that 
have been imposed on foreign countries pursuant to other provisions of 
law. Particularly, it does not extend to ongoing sanctions under other 
laws that, pursuant to section 402(c)(4)(D), have been determined to 
satisfy the requirements of this law.
  Third, section 409 calls for the termination of sanctions imposed 
under this legislation after 2 years unless they are expressly 
reauthorized by law. The legislation, however, requires the President 
to impose sanctions on individual countries each year if his yearly 
review finds that conditions there merit them.
  In this regard, section 402(c)(4) provides that when a country was 
sanctioned during a prior year under this law and those sanctions are 
still in effect, the President need not reimpose those sanctions or 
impose additional sanctions.
  It is not the purpose of this law, however, to turn sanctions on and 
off like a light switch. Sections 409 and 402(c)(4) in combination are 
not to be interpreted to provide for a temporary lapse in sanctions 
with respect to countries that have, over a period of 2 years or more, 
engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious 
freedom.
  Rather, the structure of the legislation and common sense would 
require continuity of these sanctions with respect to such countries. 
The 2-year sunset provision of section 409 would not provide for a 
lapse in sanctions with respect to such countries because new action 
would be required in connection with the President's annual review, and 
that new action would be subject to a new 2-year clock.
  I have reviewed each of these technical issues with the principal 
House sponsor of the measure, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), 
and he assures me that in each case he shares my understanding. If 
there were not a shared understanding among all of us about the meaning 
of these provisions, I would have insisted on referral of the Senate 
amendment to the Committee on International Relations, and I would have 
not have permitted the measure to come before the House in its current 
form.
  With these understandings, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to 
support the measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. CLEMENT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2431.
  Mr. Speaker, I am glad that we were able to work through the process 
to

[[Page H10443]]

reach a compromise on the legislation before us today. It is a fully 
bipartisan bill. It does not target one group or one country. Rather, 
it seeks to promote and protect religious freedom of all peoples 
throughout the world. This is an objective that deserves all of our 
support, and it respects all religions and faiths in the world.
  Mr. Speaker, we are poised on the brink of an historic vote to help 
millions of our persecuted brothers and sisters of faith around the 
world. The words of our first President, George Washington, ring out 
across the years as if written to us for this day: ``I beg you will be 
persuaded that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish 
effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny and every 
species of religious persecution.''
  This morning, with historic unity and courage, the Senate voted 98 to 
0 to stand against the horrors of religious persecution. I rise now, 
after more than a year of work on this bill, in heartfelt support for 
the International Religious Freedom Act. Let us finish the job. With 
one voice, let us tell religious believers around the world that we 
have heard their cries and seen their suffering. Let us, with one 
voice, tell persecuting regimes around the world that we will not be 
silent and that we will not let their crimes go unchecked.
  Even as we speak, there are those suffering torture, imprisonment, 
rape, murder, merely because they seek to peacefully practice their 
faith. As Senator Nickles has said, this bill is not designed to punish 
but to change behavior. The International Religious Freedom Act is 
strong, but it is responsible. The only option it does not allow is 
silence.
  I commend my Senate colleagues, Don Nickles, who sponsored and 
provided such great leadership on the bill, and Senators Joe Lieberman, 
Connie Mack, Dan Coats and others, as well as all the staff who worked 
so hard, including John Hanford, Steve Moffitt, Elaine Petty, Jim 
Jatras, Cecile Shea, Pam Sellars. I commend the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Wolf) and his staffer Ann Huiskes.
  What is so remarkable about this bill is that it is bipartisan in 
nature. I know just how bipartisan the effort was, because my staffer, 
Laura Bryant, was one of the principal drafters of this bill together 
with my colleague on the other side, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
DeLay), and his fine staffer, Will Inboden. They worked together for 
over a year with the staff of other Senators and Congressmen, with 
grassroots groups, with the administration to have a bill we can all 
heartily support.
  Let me mention some of the heroes from the grassroots of many faiths. 
From the Episcopal church, the first to support the bill, Tom Hart and 
Jere Skipper. From the American Jewish Committee, Rich Foltin. From the 
Christian Coalition, Jeff Taylor. From the Southern Baptist Ethics and 
Religious Liberty Commission, Will Dodson. From the Anti-Defamation 
League, Stacy Burdett, and there were many others from many faiths, 
including Chuck Colson and Nagy Kheir.
  This act establishes a high level Ambassador at Large who will 
forcefully advocate for religious freedom around the world, and a high-
level, independent commission of experts to provide policy 
recommendations.
  It also creates an annual report by the State Department to shed the 
light of exposure on violations of religious freedom around the world. 
It requires our government to take action every year in each country 
where violations occur, from a vast number of options ranging from 
diplomatic discussions to targeted economic sanctions for the worst of 
violators.

  Before imposing a sanction, the President must renegotiate with the 
foreign government to end the persecution, and consult with religious 
groups and U.S. business interests about the potential impact of 
economic action against that country. The action may be waived if it 
would be harmful.
  Finally, there is extensive long-term promotion of change, from 
broadcasting to human rights training for our foreign service and 
immigration officers.
  Long ago, in times of terrible hardship for the people of God, the 
prophet Isaiah said that what is acceptable to God is to undo the bands 
of the yoke and to let the oppressed go free.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not just a bill. This is a stand for the most 
precious freedom, the right dearest to every human heart. This is a 
historic stand for the freedom of the people of God in every country to 
worship Him in freedom and in truth.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join with the Senate in 
saying to the world, with one voice, that the United States stands for 
freedom of religion in every country, for every people, for every man, 
for every woman. We cannot be silent.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Clement), for his supporting arguments on behalf of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 7\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
International Operations and Human Rights.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman), our chairman, for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me begin by expressing my deep 
gratitude to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for his courage and 
persistence in pushing this important bill through the long and arduous 
road to final passage.
  Frankly, I am disappointed, and I know many of my colleagues are, 
that the Senate amendments have somewhat weakened our bill. For 
example, the House had given the President a great deal of flexibility 
in deciding whether to impose sanctions against governments that 
severely persecute religious believers, but the Senate stretches 
flexibility almost to the breaking point. I am informed that this was 
necessary in order to avoid a filibuster.
  Even with the Senate amendments, let me say very clearly that the 
bill creates what I sincerely hope will be a strong and independent 
Commission on International Religious Freedom, which can be a voice on 
behalf of persecuted people around the world, and it provides modest 
but important safeguards for refugees and asylum seekers.
  I just wanted to make it very clear that our Subcommittee on 
International Operations and Human Rights, which I chair, will work 
with the Commission and watch closely to ensure that it acts boldly and 
in an unfettered way to expose religious persecution wherever and 
whenever it exists, even when it is not politically expedient.
  Mr. Speaker, recently the Subcommittee on International Operations 
and Human Rights held a hearing for the purpose of taking testimony 
from 5 witnesses to religious persecution: a Catholic from Pakistan, a 
Protestant from Cuba, a Muslim from East Turkestan, a Buddhist from 
Tibet, and a Ba'hai from Iran, each of whom had witnessed religious 
persecution firsthand.
  Each of these people had seen close friends or relatives imprisoned, 
tortured, even executed for their faith, or had suffered such horrors 
themselves. Each presented compelling and recent evidence that 
religious persecution is not a problem that will go away if we just 
pretend that it does not exist.
  This hearing was the latest in a series of hearings that our 
subcommittee has had, focusing in whole or in part on the persecution 
of religious believers. Other hearings focused on worldwide anti-
Semitism; on the persecution of Christians around the world; on the 
1995 massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica; on the enslavement of 
black Christians in the Sudan; and on the use of torture against 
religious believers and other prisoners of conscience.
  We have heard from Palden Gyatso, a Tibetan Buddhist monk who 
displayed--actually brought into the House, into our committee room--
the instruments of torture that had been used against him by his 
communist jailers from the PRC.
  We heard from Hasan Nuhanovic, a Muslim who unsuccessfully begged, 
begged the United Nations peacekeepers, UNPROFOR, not to turn his 
mother, father and brother over to the murderous Bosnian Serb militia.
  We heard from a Russian Jewish member of parliament who observed,

[[Page H10444]]

and I quote, that ``anti-Semitism was the first industry to be 
privatized in the post-Soviet Russia.''
  We heard from the Karen refugees whose villages in Thailand were 
burned by the Burmese military dictatorship, which openly used their 
Christian religion as an excuse to conduct cross-border raids against 
them; and from Christians and Buddhists subjected to imprisonment and 
torture by the communist governments of China and Vietnam.
  Wherever we hear from victims themselves, and whenever we hear from 
those victims, they make it very clear that the United States should 
press hard for an end to religious persecution abroad. This is 
important because the Clinton administration and some business people 
who had opposed the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act have 
suggested that by publicly demanding an end to the mistreatment of 
these people, we are more likely to hurt them than help them.
  Personally, I believe it may be true occasionally in the short run 
that a totalitarian dictatorship used to being coddled by the United 
States Government will react with anger when we suddenly insist that 
they behave in a responsible and civilized fashion. This is true 
whether the issue is religious persecution, nuclear proliferation, or 
anything else.
  In the long run, however, as we learned from the apartheid fight, 
these governments will act in their own self-interest. If we send them 
a strong and consistent message that economic and other benefits of a 
close relationship with the U.S. can be expected to flow to a 
government if and only if that government treats its own people 
decently, we are likely to save lives and promote human rights and 
freedom in the long run.

                              {time}  1530

  Whatever we do to other governments that persecute religious 
believers, it is also important that the U.S. put its own house in 
order. One way we can do this is to monitor and improve our treatment 
of refugees, with special reference to religious refugees. 
Unfortunately, in recent years, the U.S. commitment to refugees, both 
in the amount we spend on protection overseas and the number of 
refugees we admit into the U.S., has declined sharply.
  In the last 4 years, our State Department has asked for and gotten a 
raise for itself every single year. Yet, the only major account in the 
Department that has not asked for an increase is the refugee budget. 
The administration's fiscal year 1999 budget request for refugees was 
$63 million lower than the amount we spent in fiscal year 1995. And 
this is when the world is absolutely awash in refugees.
  The number of refugees admitted to the U.S. has gone down in this 
administration from 130,000 to 75,000 in only 4 years. These declining 
resettlement rates encourage first-asylum countries to forcibly 
repatriate refugees to countries where they face serious danger.
  For example, in recent years we have seen Tibetan Buddhists forced 
back from Nepal into the hands of the Chinese Communists, and Iranian 
Christians and Bahais forced back to Iran from Turkey. We need to 
reverse that trend and restore the American tradition of a safe haven 
for the oppressed. In the words of President Ronald Reagan, the United 
States can and must be ``a shining city on a hill.''
  Finally, I want to address those critics who suggest that by paying 
special attention to religious persecution, we somehow diminish the 
importance of those who have suffered persecution for other reasons. 
Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is no accident that 
those in Congress who have been the strongest in their support of 
persecuted believers also have stood up for all the other human rights 
issues as we have tried to deal with them in this body.
  Again, I want to just ask all of my colleagues to support this 
legislation. It is a compromise; it does not go nearly as far as I 
would like to see it, as far as the House passed it, but it is 
certainly a step in the right direction.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), has spent 18 
years fighting against religious persecution and deserves the lion's 
share of credit. He is the one who made this a reality today, and I 
want to thank him for his great work.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Blagojevich) whose brother, Rob, has lived in the 
Nashville, Tennessee, area for a number of years.
  Mr. BLAGOJEVICH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman 
from Tennessee and tell him that I have some good news and some bad 
news for him. My brother that he refers to, the bad news first, happens 
to be a Republican. The good news is he has since moved to Florida, and 
he is no longer in the gentleman's congressional district.
  Mr. Speaker, before I speak about this issue, let me commend the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) who, I think, is truly a champion of 
human rights. That is certainly one of the legacies he will take with 
him when his career here in Congress is over.
  I would also like to thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) 
for allowing me the time and for his efforts on this particular bill. 
This is a very important bill, and it really is about all of the things 
that America is about.
  Our country, Mr. Speaker, was founded on the concepts of religious 
freedom and settled by people who were seeking a land where they could 
worship free from persecution. The Freedom From Religious Persecution 
Act was written in that spirit.
  Mr. Speaker, when we speak of the need to promote democracy in our 
world, religious freedom should not be considered ancillary to this 
goal. In fact, freedom of conscience is a cornerstone of all democratic 
rights.
  In our country, the concept of freedom of speech and freedom of 
association grew out of the efforts of the first European immigrants 
who came to this land to worship, to preach, and to form churches of 
their choice. One of the founding documents of our democracy is the 
Mayflower Compact, an agreement resting on the idea of the mutual 
consent of the governed, and written by people who voyaged halfway 
around the globe to find a place where they could worship according to 
their conscience.
  Today, our freedoms serve as an inspiration for others around the 
world. That is why so many people seek to come to these shores, to live 
their lives in a manner they see fit, to raise their families with 
their values and their beliefs, and to search for truth and inspiration 
as they define it. The Freedom From Religious Persecution Act is our 
answer to those people who look to the United States as a beacon of 
religious liberty.
  One of these is the Assyrian people. Our esteemed colleague, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo) is of Assyrian descent.
  In recent years the Assyrians have been subject to gross violations 
of their rights. Murder, rape, assault, and forced conversions to Islam 
have become commonplace, as armed death squads attempt to force 
Assyrians out of their ancestral home.
  In Iraq, Assyrians suffer at the hands of both the government of 
Saddam Hussein and the Kurdish rebels who battle for northern control 
of that country. According to Amnesty International, the two main 
Kurdish factions in Iraq support assassination squads who hunt 
Assyrians and other minorities.
  But much of the assault on the Assyrian culture is less overt. Last 
week, for example, in northern Iraq, Assyrian students were told that 
they could only attend Kurdish secondary schools. This oppressive move 
forces Assyrians to sacrifice their language, their culture, and their 
identity.
  Just last week, the Members of this House voted to support opposition 
to Saddam Hussein's regime. But our support for an alternative to 
Hussein's dictatorship is hollow if we do not insist that the 
alternative also uphold democratic values and respect the rights of all 
people.
  The Freedom From Religious Persecution Act will provide the United 
States Government with a powerful tool to ensure respect for religious 
diversity and freedom of conscience.
  We often view America's role as a global leader in terms of economic 
wealth or military might. But as Henry Kissinger said, ``Our Nation 
cannot rest its policy on power alone.'' America's leadership comes 
from our commitment to powerful ideals. I urge my

[[Page H10445]]

colleagues to support the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act and to 
further those ideals.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo), a member of our Committee on 
International Relations.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, we are finally taking a much-needed step 
to advance the cause of religious freedom and liberty around the world. 
I am proud to support this legislation here before us today.
  Initially, I had several reservations about the original version of 
this bill, but supported passage last May in order to help move along 
the process. I am glad to see that the other body has voted it out of 
theirs, 98-to-zero.
  This legislation is very well crafted. It focuses on all aspects of 
religious persecution, not just threats to life and limb. The bill 
gives the executive branch a great deal of flexibility on how to 
implement this congressional mandate. What is appropriate for one 
situation may not apply in another context. Yet, for more severe 
violations of religious freedom, the President has a list from which to 
choose of the economic sanction options.
  Most importantly, the legislation brings daylight to a problem that 
has long been ignored by our government officials. Thanks to the 
tenacity of my good friend from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), we are finally 
seeing religious freedom issues taking their rightful place in the 
fight for human rights around the world.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi).
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time and for his leadership on this important issue, not only on this 
bill, but the ongoing work of his office to protect people of faith 
throughout the world.
  I want to commend the original author of this legislation, the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), for his outstanding leadership on 
religious freedom, and indeed, human rights throughout the world. I 
would say to the gentleman, I think it is clear to all of us that he is 
the conscience of this Congress, and in the case of religious freedom 
he has fought against persecution throughout the world and seen it 
firsthand, whether it is nuns and monks, Buddhist nuns and monks in 
Tibet, the oppression of Christians in the Sudan, antisemitism 
throughout the world, other persecution that he has fought against.
  I want to commend the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Gilman), for his leadership in bringing the original 
legislation, which I frankly prefer, but it clearly did not share the 
support that this final product has; and I thank the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) once again for his outstanding leadership on human 
rights.
  The gentleman said in his statement the examples that he had seen 
come before his committee of religious oppression, and he too has 
traveled throughout the world to hear firsthand of those deprived of 
practicing the gift of faith that God has given them.
  I want to also commend Senator Specter in the Senate who, along with 
the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), started this process going. It 
was the leadership of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and 
Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania that first shone the bright light 
of this Congress and of this country on religious persecution 
throughout the world.
  Though it is not the original bill that we are passing today, I thank 
the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for starting the process and at 
least giving us a bill that we can use as a standard to see, perhaps, 
if we can go further in the future, if that is necessary. Hopefully, it 
will not be, that this bill will be sufficient.
  Others have talked about the provisions of the bill. I just want to 
mention a couple that I am particularly pleased are contained in it. 
The bill establishes a bipartisan independent commission to review the 
state of religious freedom and make policy recommendations to the 
President.
  It establishes an ambassador for international religious freedom 
under the direction of the Secretary of State, and the ambassador will 
help the Secretary review and report on the state of religious freedom 
and to make recommendations to the President regarding U.S. action in 
support of religious freedom.
  It strengthens our assistance, refugee and counselor laws and calls 
for a business code of conduct to promote religious freedom.
  The bill requires the President to determine violators, and 
particularly severe violators, of religious freedom.
  As was mentioned, the bill passed by 98-to-zero. I assume it has the 
support of the administration. It certainly gives the President a great 
deal of flexibility.
  Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues know, faith is a gift. What people 
believe is so much a part of them, it is impossible for them to change 
that. How, and then why, does it require courage for people to practice 
their religion? It should not have to be that way. And in this 
enlightened world that we live in, because of the leadership of the 
likes of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and Senator Specter and 
so many others who worked on this, life will be easier for those who 
want to practice the gift of faith that God has given them.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fox).
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chairman for 
yielding me this time.
  I also rise to congratulate the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), and Senator Specter for all 
of their leadership in moving this important bill forward, the 
International Freedom Act. It will, for the first time, establish in 
the United States, Mr. Speaker, a structure for the U.S. Government to 
actively investigate oppression of religious belief and take real 
action against all religious persecution.
  It will strengthen, for the first time, the State Department Country 
Reports and ensure that each country desk at the State Department 
provide accurate, accessible information to congressional executive 
branch officials concerning religious prisoners. It will create a 
special report on religious persecution so that the Congress and the 
President together may act.
  Finally, it will require the President to take action against all 
countries that engage in violations of religious freedom, and this bill 
offers a list of options ranging from diplomatic protest to terminating 
diplomatic exchanges and a variety of economic sanctions.
  It is certainly a bill whose time has arrived in our effort to take 
sanctions against the tragic scourge of religious persecution 
worldwide, and I thank again the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for all of their leadership in 
this regard. I ask unanimously we have votes on both sides of the aisle 
to support this worthy bill.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Scarborough).
  Mr. SCARBOROUGH. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Wolf), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) and others for their work on 
this important bill.
  I commend Abe Rosenthal of the New York Times who, for well over a 
year has been fighting to get the word out about religious persecution 
across the globe. And Michael Horowitz at the Hudson Institute who has 
also done just a wonderful job in making sure that Members like myself 
are educated on this very important issue.
  This religious persecution act is an important first step toward 
protecting the freedom of all to worship as they choose. For too long, 
America has turned its eyes away from those who are suffering religious 
persecution across the globe. And for too long, America has kept silent 
when we should have said more.
  We should have said more about Tibet where so many have been crushed 
under the oppressive hand of Chinese occupation. Where over 1 million 
citizens have been driven from their land, while their culture and 
monasteries have been destroyed.

[[Page H10446]]

  In Sudan, over 2 million Christians may have been killed for simply 
pursuing the worship of God.

                              {time}  1545

  Sudanese children have been beaten, tortured and even crucified for 
being Christians. And as the Baltimore Sun reported last year, children 
in Sudan are being sold into slavery for less than $50. Russell Kirk 
once said, regardless of a country's steel output, a society that 
forgets its values is vanquished.
  I believe today's action is a positive first step towards our country 
recognizing that America has a responsibility to ensure religious 
freedom at home and across the globe.
  I thank the gentleman from New York (Chairman Gilman) the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), Abe Rosenthal, Michael Horowitz, and all 
those who have fought so long for religious freedom.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have someone who has been on the international affairs 
staff for 5 years, Elana Broitman, and she is leaving to go to New York 
City with her husband. She has worked with us on this issue, the 
International Religious Freedom Act, and many other issues and she has 
been an outstanding member of the staff. We are going to miss her very, 
very much. And I just wish her well in her new endeavors.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to join the gentleman from Tennessee 
(Mr. Clement) in wishing our staff member, Elana Broitman, success in 
her future endeavors. We will miss her on our committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Wolf), author of this legislation and an outstanding 
leader.
  (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, in my prepared statement, I mention all of the 
people, many who are on the floor who have really done an outstanding 
job, and many names are there. I do want to cover some, and I hope if I 
run out of time, the gentleman may even yield me a minute or two:
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) for being faithful and 
always there, always dependable, always willing, never saying no, and 
for his staff that worked and complied and tried and pushed and pulled.
  To the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who was the same way, 
and his staff that were always there, always willing, setting the 
record, making the hearing.
  To the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), the majority leader, who 
came to our gathering and put the prestige of the leadership on this to 
make sure that this would not fall through the cracks as we get to the 
end.
  To the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who was always there 
on all of these issues. There was no center aisle dividing line. And 
Carolyn and her staff are always dependable, never saying, ``Well, we 
may not'' and ``that may be,'' and ``the administration says''; always, 
always, always there.
  Senator Nickles, Senator Specter, Senator Coats, my good, close 
friend Dan Coats, whom I hate to see leaving the Congress, former 
Senator Bill Armstrong and so many of the other groups. Michael 
Horowitz who is out of town with his daughter being married. The 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement), Laura, John Hanford and many 
others who all came together and worked on this.
  Mr. Speaker, this really is an example of people sending a message. 
As Abe Rosenthal said in his column last Friday, and I will read it; 
and Abe Rosenthal, as the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Scarborough) 
said, was always there. I do not know how he got the ink from the New 
York Times, but always shaking things up to make sure that this would 
not be forgotten.

       He said, Very soon, millions of people persecuted, arrested 
     and tortured for their religion will find out whether America 
     has finally confronted persecuting governments with a 
     permanent government searchlight and the threat of penalty. . 
     . .Mouth to ear they will find out in underground Protestant 
     and Catholic churches in China and in prisons run by expert 
     torturers for those refusing to pray in government-run 
     churches. The persecuted will find out in Sudan wilds and 
     deserts where Christians and animist refugees starve and die 
     under attack. They will find out in Pakistani villages where 
     Christian homes have been set afire. Or the village south of 
     Cairo where Coptic Christian clergy are sending frantic word 
     that 1,000 Copts were tortured by Egyptian police.

  When we do this tonight, I will tell my colleagues that in Tibet, and 
when I was there last year they told me they listen to Radio Free Asia 
in Tibet. In Lhasa tomorrow morning, they will know that this Congress, 
the people's Congress, the people's body, cares about what happens in 
Drapchi Prison, cares about the Catholic priests who are being 
persecuted. The Catholic bishops, the Muslims who no one speaks out for 
in the northern part of the country, the Protestant house churches, all 
of those people will know.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good legislation. I think both sides have 
taken a lot of good steps. Obviously, perhaps better people, wiser than 
we, can make it better. If they are, I guess fine. But until that time, 
I think this is good. I hope it will pass with unanimous consent.
  But again, on behalf of the voiceless, we have given them a voice, 
all of those I named and all who are in here on their behalf.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the measure before us, to 
concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 2431, the Freedom from Religious 
Persecution Act. What is before us is not the measure the House passed. 
It is different. However, I believe it is critical that the Congress 
pass legislation this year to deal with the issue of religious 
persecution and I strongly support this measure. I hope you will, too.
  In his column last Friday in the New York Times, A.M. Rosenthal 
wrote,

       Very soon, millions of people persecuted, arrested and 
     tortured for their religion will find out whether America has 
     finally confronted persecuting governments with a permanent 
     government searchlight and the threat of penalty. . . . Mouth 
     to ear they will find out in underground Protestant and 
     Catholic churches in China and in prisons run by expert 
     torturers for those refusing to pray in government-run 
     churches. The persecuted will find out in the Sudan wilds and 
     deserts where Christian and animist refugees starve and die 
     under government attack. They will find out in Pakistani 
     villages where Christian homes have been set afire. Or in the 
     village south of Cairo where Coptic Christian clergy are 
     sending frantic word that 1,000 Copts were tortured by 
     Egyptian police.

  Rosenthal's words should be taken to heart. I would add my own 
comments. In Tibet, Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns who are, at this 
moment, being tortured and beaten in Drapchi prison and the other 
Chinese-run prisons in Tibet will find out what we do today. In Iran, 
the families of the two Baha'i men sentenced to death last week and the 
36 Baha'i faculty members arrested will know what we do today. In 
Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims fearful of their lives will know what we do. 
And in China, the Muslims being persecuted in Xinjiang Province will 
hear the result of the vote in the House today.
  Mr. Speaker, the other body passed this bill, now called the 
International Religious Freedom Act, by a unanimous vote of 98-0. I'm 
told the White House supports this measure. It also has the support of 
a broad coalition of religious and civic groups, including the 
Christian Coalition, the National Association of Evangelicals, the U.S. 
Catholic Bishops' Conference, the National Jewish Coalition, the Anti-
Defamation League, the Christian Legal Society, the Traditional Values 
Coalition, the Episcopal Church, B'nai B'rith, Justice Fellowship, the 
American Jewish Committee, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, 
the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the United 
Methodist Church--Women's Division, and the American Coptic 
Association.
  Passing this historic legislation will send a message of hope to 
millions of suffering people worldwide who are being persecuted for 
their religious beliefs. Passing this bill will help ensure that 
eliminating religious persecution becomes a prominent goal of our 
foreign policy and will help loosen the chains of government oppression 
endured by many today.
  This bill meets the goals Senator Specter and I set out to achieve 
when we introduced the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act in May, 
1997. First, we wanted to ensure that the State Department has a 
permanent mechanism for monitoring this issue and spotlighting it in 
U.S. foreign policy. Second, we wanted to establish a framework for 
taking action against countries that persecute people for their faith. 
Both of these goals are met in this legislation and I pleased that I 
can strongly support it today.
  The International Religious Freedom Act contains a number of 
important provisions:
  It establishes a 9-member Commission on International Religious 
Liberty to report annually on religious freedom violations abroad and 
recommend policy options to the administration. This provision, in my 
view, greatly enhances the legislation because it helps ensure

[[Page H10447]]

that this issue will get attention by an independent body of experts 
and puts pressure on the State Department and the White House to be 
accountable.
  It creates an Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Liberty in the State 
Department to serve as a point person on religious freedom issues. This 
person would represent the U.S. abroad and help provide expertise and 
leadership within the Department on this fundamental human rights 
issue.
  It provides the President with a list of options from which to choose 
when imposing sanctions on a country found to be violating religious 
freedom.
  Like the House bill, it contains a number of provisions designed to 
promote religious freedom abroad, such as incentives for foreign 
service officers who show meritorious service in promoting religious 
freedom, requiring the creation of a State Department Internet site to 
promote religious freedom, recommending high-level contacts with 
religious non-governmental organizations, requiring the State 
Department to prepare prisoner lists and issue briefs on religious 
freedom and others.
  It also includes a provision allowing equal access to U.S. missions 
abroad for conducting religious activities in places where religious 
activity is otherwise prohibited. This will help American citizens 
abroad who desire to worship, but cannot worship safely in local 
churches and would otherwise have nowhere to go. In places like Saudi 
Arabia, this is a real problem.
  The International Religious Freedom Act is a good bill and I urge my 
colleagues to support it.
  Many, many people have worked hard to get this bill where it is 
today. First, I want to thank my colleagues here in the House, 
particularly the distinguished Majority Leader Dick Armey, 
International Relations Committee Chairman Ben Gilman and Chris Smith, 
Tony Hall, Nancy Pelosi, and Bob Clement for their tireless leadership 
on and support for this bill and many other human rights issues. I also 
want to thank members of their staff, Heidi Stirrup and Brian Gunderson 
in the Office of the Majority Leader; Steve Rademaker and Rich Garon 
with the House International Relations Committee; Joseph Rees of the 
Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights; Bob Zachritz 
with Representative Hall; and Carolyn Bartholomew with Representative 
Pelosi and Laura Bryant with Representative Clement for their efforts. 
I also want to thank Anne Huiskes on my staff for pouring her heat and 
soul into this bill in the past two years and acknowledge the good work 
of John Hanford who over the years has committed his life to working on 
these issues and advocating on behalf of people being persecuted around 
the world.
  Mr. Speaker, there are a number of Members of the other body who are 
to be commended for their leadership in moving this legislation through 
the Senate. First and foremost, I want to commend and applaud the 
leadership of Senator Arlen Specter for being out front on this issue 
and introducing the Senate version of the Freedom from Religious 
Persecution Act. I also want to commend the distinguished Senate 
Majority Leader Trent Lott for his commitment to passing religious 
persecution legislation and Senator Don Nickles and Senator Joe 
Lieberman, the authors of the International Religious Freedom Act, for 
their work and leadership. I applaud them for sticking with this issue 
when many would have given up. I am also extremely grateful for the 
faithful efforts of Senator Dan Coats who kept his shoulder to the 
wheel in shepherding this legislation through the U.S. Senate. This 
bill is a tribute to him.

  I also want to acknowledge the important work of the staff involved 
with this measure in the Senate: Gretchen Birkle with Senator Specter, 
Elayne Petty with Senator Mack, Sharon Payt with Senator Brownback, 
Steve Moffit with Senator Nickles, Jim Jatras with the Senate 
Republican Policy Committee, Pam Sellars and Sharon Soderstrom with 
Senator Coats, Fred Downey with Senator Lieberman, and Bill Gribbin in 
the Office of the Senate Majority Leader.
  Finally, I want to thank all those groups who helped generate support 
for this legislation and who work tirelessly each and every day to 
bring attention to this issue. My sincere thanks goes out to Michael 
Horowitz with the Hudson Institute; Chuck Colson and Mariam Bell with 
Justice Fellowship; Gary Bauer of the Family Research Council; Dr. 
James Dobson with Focus on the Family; Senator Bill Armstrong; John 
Carr with the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference; Ari Storch with the 
National Jewish Coalition; Steve McFarland with the Christian Legal 
Society; Jess Hordes [HOR-DES] and Stacy Burdett with the Anti-
Defamation League; Rabbi David Saperstein with the Religious Action 
Center for Reformed Judaism; Nina Shea, Paul Marshall and Joseph Assad 
with the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House; Diane Knippers 
and Faith McDonnell with the Institute for Religion and Democracy; Mary 
Beth Markey with the International Campaign for Tibet; Steve Snyder 
with International Christian Concern; Rich Cizik with the National 
Association of Evangelicals; Don Hodel, Randy Tate and Jeff Taylor with 
the Christian Coalition; Dr. Richard Land and Will Dodson with the 
Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; Rev. Stan 
DeBoe with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews; Nagi 
Kheir with the American Coptic Association; Neal Hogan with the 
Catholic Alliance; Father Keith Roderick with the Coalition for Human 
Rights Under Islamization and Dr. David Adams with the Lutheran Church, 
Missouri Synod. There were many, many others involved. I know I left 
some out, but I applaud all that has been done on behalf of this 
measure and this issue.
  Today is truly a historic day in the Congress. I urge my colleagues 
to vote yes on the International Religious Freedom Act. It will help 
millions of people around the world.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to fully endorse the 
statements made in support of H.R. 2431, the Freedom from Religious 
Persecution Act, by the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. 
Clement.
  Mr. Speaker, I am glad that we were able to work through the process 
to reach a compromise on the legislation before us today. It is a fully 
bi-partisan bill. It does not target one group or one country. Rather, 
it seeks to promote and protect religious freedom of all peoples 
throughout the world. This is an objective that deserves all of our 
support.
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the Senate amendments to 
the International Religious Freedom Act, H.R. 2431.
  I abhor the persecution of anyone because of their faith, whether 
they are Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, fellow Christians, or people of 
other faiths. Unfortunately, I was forced to oppose this bill when the 
House last considered it because I did not believe that it would 
achieve the desired result of curbing religious oppression by 
governments around the world. Indeed, my concern was that the proposed 
sanctions in the bill would do nothing to influence countries who do 
not share our ideas of religious liberty and only put at risk the jobs 
of innocent American workers.
  While the goal of the bill in seeking to use the influence of the 
United States to prevent or halt international religious persecution is 
commendable, the mechanisms of the House bill did not allow for enough 
flexibility for a U.S. response tailored to confront a particular 
foreign government engaged in religious persecution. Instead, a ``one 
size fits all'' approach including trade sanctions, denial of foreign 
aid and multinational assistance was mandated, leaving the President 
very narrow authority to craft appropriate responses.
  Instead, I urged my colleagues to modify the bill to allow the 
executive branch more flexibility to change the behavior of governments 
in order to stop religious persecution. I feared that, in certain 
instances, some of the proposed sanctions would only anger foreign 
governments and could have the perverse effect of inciting more 
religious persecution instead of less.
  I am grateful that my concerns and suggestions for improvements to 
this bill have been heeded and adopted by our colleagues in the other 
body. The Senate amendments give the Administration the flexibility it 
needs to appropriately respond to incidents of religious persecution. 
Furthermore, the sanctity of contracts is protected by the bill which 
will prevent incidents where, for example, American farmers are 
prevented from fulfilling binding agreements with targeted countries. 
In today's global economy, where there are a variety of sources for 
products and commodities, sanctions that do not allow existing 
contracts to be honored only injure American producers.
  It is my hope that this bill, as it is now drafted, will allow the 
United States to respond appropriately to international religious 
persecution. I certainly believe that we have an obligation to promote 
our values of religious freedom and democracy. However, our foreign 
policy must be crafted to achieve these goals, not to be a visceral and 
importent reaction to reprehensible persecution.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Senate changes to 
H.R. 2431.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) the House suspend the rules and 
concur in the Senate amendments to the bill, H.R. 2431.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendments were 
concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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