[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 148 (Friday, October 16, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2218-E2219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, October 10, 1998

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 2431, the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act of 1998. 
Essentially, this bill is an effort to protect one of the most sacred 
rights that human beings can enjoy, the right to seek out and worship 
the divine as they may deem fit.
  All over the world, nations, sovereign powers and totalitarian groups 
are restricting the religious freedom of others. From Christians to 
Jews to Muslims to Bahai's, religious persecution, as we stand on the 
brink of the next millennium, is as widespread as ever. So, in response 
to this crisis, this bill establishes a new office in the State 
Department to monitor religious persecution overseas called the Office 
of Religious Persecution Monitoring, directs U.S. sanctions against 
countries and individuals determined to have engaged in religious 
persecution and ensures that our foreign service officers are trained 
in the bringing relief to refugees and persons seeking asylum.
  As our history teaches us, many of the founders of this great nation 
crossed the imposing gulf of the Atlantic Ocean in order to preserve 
the sanctity of their personal religious choices. Without reservation, 
they flatly refused to let others dictate for them who they could 
worship and how that worship should be conducted. Instead of bowing to 
the suppression of their beliefs, these brave pioneers of a new and 
enlightened sense of public governance, chose to protect their freedom 
above all. Well over two centuries later, this same struggle is being 
fought again by literally millions of people around the globe who 
simply refuse to betray their most sacred beliefs about God.
  In Sudan, in particular, this struggle has taken on genocidically 
proportions. Some reports estimate that well over one million people 
have been killed by the Sudanese government, both Christians and 
Muslims, fighting to preserve their most fundamental religious beliefs. 
In China, millions of ``house church'' Christians are forced to worship 
in absolute secrecy in order to prevent the government from interfering 
in the practice of their worship. In Tibet, Buddhists have been 
brutalized, their religious leaders jailed, and their most holy of 
worship places completely desecrated. In Iran, practicing Bahai's have 
been met with a rash of sudden executions. We have also learned about 
the violent terrorism against Christians in both Pakistan and Egypt, 
while the government of these nations have simply stood back and 
watched. So now that we know what is happening around us, what are we 
going to do about these on-going travesties of justice?
  For me, the answer is as simple as this, we must take a stand on 
these important issues of principle. This bill, in my opinion, is a 
workable solution to these growing threats to religious freedom surging 
abroad. First of all, the bill does not exclude any religious groups 
from its protections. Whether you are Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu or 
something else, if you are persecuted because of your religious 
beliefs, this bill and its provisions will protect you. Furthermore, 
this bill is in no way mutually exclusive to any protections that may 
exist in current law for any other persecuted group. If you are 
persecuted for race, national origin, political affiliation or some 
other defining characteristic of personhood, existing federal law still 
addresses these concerns. Religion, I believe, because of the many on-
going tragedies of persecution, terrorism and violence that I listed 
above, definitely deserves some form of special consideration and 
treatment. Thus, the necessity of creating a new federal sub-agency to 
be responsible for this volatile issue.

  The newly created Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring in the 
State Department will be headed by a Director appointed by the 
President and confirmed by the Senate. This

[[Page E2219]]

director should be recognized as an expert in the area of religious 
persecution and is barred specifically by the language of the bill, 
from holding any other federal position while serving in this capacity. 
More importantly though, this office is empowered by the bill to make 
findings of fact on any potential violations as discovered by the State 
Department and submit these findings to the Secretary (of State) and 
President with recommendations for action. Additionally, the office 
will create and issue an ``Annual Report on Religions Persecution'' 
that can be used by this Congress and other policy-makers to ensure 
that no oppression go un-noticed. This bill, in sum, is a powerful 
statement to nations of the world, that we will not countenance the 
rampant disregard of our fellow man's unalienable rights.
  As for the bill's remaining provisions, in regard to the sanctions 
against aid given to countries that violate the religious freedom of 
their citizens; we should not, we must not, and we can not sit back and 
enrich governments that either conduct or condone the persecution of 
citizens on the basis of their religious beliefs. In all of our policy 
decisions, we need to show our displeasure with this kind of heinous 
conduct. This bill mandates that the President of the United States 
take action against all countries that engage in violations of 
religious freedom. It offers the President a list of options from which 
to choose an appropriate response, ranging from diplomatic protest to 
economic sanctions. That flexibility is important because it allows us 
to tailor our action so that more innocents are not hurt because of our 
mandated retaliation. Finally and importantly, this bill causes the 
creation of a structured asylum program for religious refugees a noble 
objective which is long overdue.
  Millions of persecuted people around the world are waiting for this 
bill. I hope that we can send it to them unanimously.

                          ____________________