[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 150 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7898-H7899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2022
Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 3895) to extend and authorize annual appropriations for the
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom through
fiscal year 2024.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 3895
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 207(a) of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C.
6435(a)) is amended by striking ``2019 through 2022'' and
inserting ``2023 and 2024''.
(b) Extension of Authorization.--Section 209 of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6436)
is amended by striking ``September 30, 2022'' and inserting
``September 30, 2024''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Malinowski) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski).
General Leave
Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on S. 3895.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of
2022. I thank our Senate colleagues and Mr. Smith and Ms. Eshoo for
their leadership in advancing this important measure--in Mr. Smith's
case, his leadership over many, many years in advancing the cause of
religious freedom across the world.
Since 1998, USCIRF has served as a leading advisory panel to the
United States Government on matters related to religious freedom
globally. It is responsible for monitoring the freedom of religion or
belief abroad and for making policy recommendations to the President,
Secretary of State, and to Congress.
The past several USCIRF reauthorizations have been bipartisan and
faithful to the original mandate as established by Congress.
Mr. Speaker, the right to practice a religion, or to practice no
religion, is a fundamental human right. The principle of religious
liberty should extend to all people, not only ones who come from a
specific set of religious beliefs. As respect for democracy and human
rights continue to be under stress in many parts of the world, the work
of USCIRF and other human rights groups to shine a light on religious
freedom is even more important.
I thank Chairman Meeks and Ranking Member McCaul for moving this
legislation forward in a bipartisan way. The bill will enhance the
Commission's ability to continue its important work promoting religious
freedom and to highlight those countries around the world that have to
do better.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all Members to vote in support of the
bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill,
S. 3895, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I and my good friend and colleague, Anna Eshoo, have
worked together on many religious freedom issues over the many years
and have introduced the House companion bill to the Senate bill before
us to authorize the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom.
It is both timely and essential that we pass this legislation.
Timely, because USCIRF's authorization runs out at the end of this
month; and essential, because the cause of religious freedom is under
sustained and escalating threat around the globe, particularly in the
world's remaining communistic dictatorships, from Cuba to Vietnam to
North Korea to Iran, and to the world's largest oppressor of religious
freedom in the world today, the People's Republic of China under Xi
Jinping.
Indeed, just today, we see that the great defender for religious
liberty, 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, has been put on trial in Hong
Kong, a city-state which was once a bastion of freedom, but which now
sadly has buckled to the dictates of Xi Jinping and the Chinese
Communist Party. All of us here in Congress and the White House need to
raise our voices in defense of Cardinal Zen.
Sadly, we also need to add to that list of oppressors Nicaragua,
where Comandante Daniel Ortega has reestablished his Sandinista
dictatorship along communist lines and is waging a relentless war
against the Catholic Church, the one institution which has consistently
stood up for freedom throughout his tenure of abuse.
I would note parenthetically that I met with Ortega in 1984 on a
human rights trip with Tony Hall and Frank Wolf, and the man is back.
He has been back for a number of years, and his proclivity toward
dictatorial rule, imprisoning the very people who run against him--I
held a hearing earlier this year with the wives of two of the opponents
for him in the general election. What does he do? It was with their
wives, and they were very articulate, very passionate, very courageous
in speaking out for their husbands. But Ortega says, ``I don't like
what you are doing; I don't like that you are running against me,'' so
he throws them in prison, and they are still in prison. And his
oppression of the church has reached new lows as we speak.
Mr. Speaker, USCIRF also calls attention to other issues around the
world, including whether you are a Christian or a Muslim or you happen
to be Jewish or happen to be a member of a lesser-known faith, such as
Baha'i or Falun Gong, USCIRF reports--I encourage everyone to go to
their website and read their reports. They are fact-filled, they are
very persuasive, based on all these kinds of investigations. The human
rights NGOs all feed information to them about what is going on. They
talk to the State Department, but they are really a good check on the
State Department in terms of getting it right.
That is particularly true when it comes to designating certain
countries to be CPC countries, countries of particular concern.
Unfortunately, the State Department has a less-than-stellar record of
picking and choosing and giving passing grades artificially to some
countries that ought to be on the CPC designation, which is the worst
violator and, therefore, susceptible to sanctioning by the United
States Government.
As a matter of fact, this just happened with regards to Nigeria,
where USCIRF accurately labeled Nigeria a top-tier violator of
religious freedom while the State Department gave it an unwarranted
upgrade right before the Secretary of State went to Abuja to meet with
the President there.
We should have said to the President of Nigeria, President Buhari:
``You have got to clean up your act. The killing of Christians, of
churches, houses of worship and schools, has to come to an end.'' Some
of it he can't stop, but the response could be far better for much of
it. Unfortunately, there is serious allegations of aiding and abetting,
particularly with Fulani, the killing of Christians there.
I would also point out to my colleagues that Nury Turkel, who is the
Chairman of the Board of USCIRF, was born, of all places, in a Chinese
detention center during the cultural revolution. He has been a leader
on behalf of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, as my colleagues on both sides of
the aisle
[[Page H7899]]
know--we all know it--they are committing genocide. Now, we have
walking point of USCIRF, a man who was actually born in a detention
center, and he has been articulate and strong.
Last week, in the China Commission, which I serve as ranking member,
when he testified, he just hit it out of the park in terms of good,
factual information, persuasive, what next to do, with regards to that
genocide and other concerns of all religious faiths that are being
oppressed by the Chinese Communist Party.
I will end by saying that it is this great Commission that keeps
speaking out so boldly about de-Sinicization of all religions in China.
That means they all comport with Xi Jinping's etiology. Whether you are
Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Uyghur, or Falun Gong, they are
breathing down your neck and putting people in prisons if they do not
adhere and comport with Xi Jinping's mandates.
Frank Wolf is now a member of the Commission, and I congratulate him
on that. Here is the guy that wrote the law in 1998, the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998. We had real opposition to it. I was one
of his cosponsors, and I put together a number of hearings in my
committee where the bill first originated. But it was Frank who was the
absolute champion, and we named the 2016 act after him to honor the
champion work that he is doing, the life-changing work across the
globe.
I thank Frank for his tenacious defense of religious freedom of all
people.
Mr. Speaker, USCIRF needs to be reauthorized. I thank my colleague,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time
for the purpose of closing.
Mr. Speaker, S. 3895, the USCIRF Reauthorization Act, is critically
needed to ensure that our country maintains the tools we need to stand
up for human rights and, in particular, religious freedom around the
world.
I thank my friend from New Jersey, once again, for encouraging us to
move on this and really for being the conscience of the House on these
issues for so many, many years.
I remember many times testifying before you back in the day, and I am
glad that you are still reminding us that this is some of the most
important work that we can do.
Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me and support the bill,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, S. 3895.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________