[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 26, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E667-E668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   FRANK WOLF'S COMPELLING REFLECTION ON THE NEED TO STRENGTHEN AND 
                       ADVANCE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 2024

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, at home and overseas, Frank 
Wolf--my good

[[Page E668]]

friend and former colleague here in the House of Representatives--has 
been an indefatigable defender of human rights and human dignity.
  To add to the list of his many accomplishments, Frank recently 
finished his term on the United States Commission on International 
Religious Freedom, which was established by the landmark International 
Religious Freedom Act he authored in 1998.
  Upon completion of his term, Frank wrote a compelling reflection on 
what remains to be done to strengthen and advance our work to ensure 
religious believers worldwide can faithfully practice their beliefs. As 
Frank's profound insights provide an excellent blueprint for religious 
freedom advocates the world over, I include in the Record his statement 
in its entirety.

       In May I finished my term on the U.S. Commission on 
     International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and I want to offer 
     some thoughts for action going forward which I believe could 
     help promote religious freedom internationally and 
     domestically.
       The recently released Pew Survey on religious freedom 
     reports that over 80% of the world's population lives in a 
     religiously repressive environment, up from 70% in 2009. We 
     see religious persecution in China, North Korea, Iran, 
     Nicaragua, Cuba and many other countries. All one has to do 
     is look at the 2024 USCIRF Annual Report, which documents 
     that people of all faiths and beliefs are being persecuted in 
     many places around the globe.
       In our own country, we see troubling violations of 
     religious freedom--Christian schools and churches facing 
     threats, assaults on parental rights, the FBI visiting pro-
     life families, some businesses canceling people and 
     organizations because of their political and religious 
     beliefs, and Jewish students facing rampant antisemitism on 
     American college campuses. We witness an insidious relativism 
     that teaches that concepts of right and wrong are old-
     fashioned and even judgmental. Vices are elevated, virtues 
     are mocked, and faith is squeezed out of the public square. 
     Our culture is coarsened because of it.
       The late Cardinal Francis George, former president of the 
     U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Archbishop of 
     Chicago, predicted in 2012, ``I expect to die in bed, my 
     successor will die in prison, and his successor will die a 
     martyr in the public square.'' At the time I thought this was 
     alarmist, but seeing what is happening today, his statement 
     gives me pause.
       Cardinal George went on to say, ``This tendency for the 
     government to claim for itself authority over all areas of 
     human experience flows from a secularization of our culture. 
     If God cannot be part of public life, then the state itself 
     plays God.''
       Chuck Colson warned us of many of these things in his later 
     writings, especially ``My Final Word,'' which was published 
     posthumously and was almost prophetic about the world we now 
     face.
       I believe the following three ideas would help in the fight 
     for international and domestic religious freedom.
       First.
       There should be a total ban on lobbying for China. One of 
     the recommendations on China in the 2024 USCIRF Annual Report 
     reads ``The U.S. Congress should: Ban foreign lobbying by 
     agents representing the Chinese government and its state-
     affiliated commercial entities that undermine religious 
     freedom and related human rights.'' At the end of the China 
     section, there is an additional view signed by all nine 
     Commissioners, both Republican and Democrat, that shows how 
     China is involved in the persecution of all religious groups 
     in their own country and shows their influence around the 
     world. It states:
       ``It is imperative to ban lobbying for the Chinese 
     government, its state-affiliated commercial entities, and 
     their interests while the government continues its egregious 
     acts of religious persecution. These harsh actions impact 
     every faith group in China with the leaders of the Catholic 
     Church and Protestant house churches imprisoned and even 
     `disappeared.' Cultural genocide devastates Tibet where 
     Buddhist monks die in prison. Physical genocide ravishes 
     Uyghur Muslims, with millions in detention camps and children 
     taken from their parents. Organs are harvested from Falun 
     Gong and Uyghurs, some while still alive. Hong Kong represses 
     Christians, including 92-year-old Cardinal Zen. China's 
     influence spreads worldwide. China supports Iran, which 
     provided training and weapons for the attacks on Israel by 
     Hamas and they supply arms to Hezbollah and the Houthis. 
     China aids Russia in its war on Ukraine and supports North 
     Korea, one of the world's worst religious persecutors. China 
     supports both Nicaragua and Cuba where Christians are being 
     aggressively persecuted. Concerns are rising over China 
     threatening to attack Taiwan, which many experts believe may 
     lead to direct U.S. involvement and the loss of American 
     military lives. Amidst all of this, the words of 18th-century 
     British parliamentarian William Wilberforce about the evils 
     of the slave trade come to mind:
       `You may choose to look the other way, but you can never 
     say again that you do not know.' Congress cannot look the 
     other way. For the good of our country and religious freedom 
     worldwide, Congress must ban lobbying for the Chinese 
     government and its interests.''
       Recently I attended the ROTC commissioning ceremony at the 
     University of Virginia for all military service branches. I 
     was impressed that these young men and women are stepping 
     forward to serve our country. To think that anyone could 
     lobby for an adversary like China that could lead us into war 
     and put these young people in peril is unacceptable. There 
     must be a total ban on lobbying for China.
       Second.
       Do everything possible to help and support groups like 
     Alliance Defending Freedom, First Liberty, the Becket Fund, 
     and other outstanding groups that pursue legal action in 
     defense of religious freedom so they can bring more cases to 
     protect individuals and groups facing religious 
     discrimination and establish legal precedent that carries the 
     weight of law. Frankly, these groups have been more effective 
     than Congress in preserving religious freedom and they need 
     the resources necessary to expand their work. This should 
     include fighting the rapidly rising antisemitism we are 
     seeing around the world.
       We currently have the best Supreme Court we are likely to 
     have for a generation. This is leading to dangerous efforts 
     to pack the court which must be resisted. Religious freedom 
     cases reaching the Supreme Court today are generally 
     successful, but these cases can take up to five years to work 
     their way through the courts. It is an expensive proposition 
     to carry a case from pre-filing through many appeals and to 
     the Supreme Court. That is why these groups need help and 
     support for the long term.
       Many people of faith are unaware that they can protect 
     their First Amendment freedom of religion through the active 
     use of the courts. Many people and houses of worship do not 
     have the resources to bring cases on their own. The fact that 
     people don't know their rights, nor have the resources to 
     defend those rights, encourages school boards, government 
     agencies, the military, employers, and others to discriminate 
     as they believe their actions will not be challenged.
       For a more in-depth study of this, see Judge Ken Starr's 
     excellent book, ``Religious Liberty in Crisis.''
       Perhaps an 800-telephone number and email address could be 
     set up and advertised on Christian and other religious media 
     for people to contact for help with their religious 
     discrimination complaints.
       Third.
       While many groups have their own government affairs 
     outreach, which is good, many groups are too small to support 
     their own lobbying efforts. I believe there should be a 
     lobbying firm set up in Washington to focus entirely on 
     international and domestic religious freedom issues. The firm 
     should be staffed by former high-level Congressional Hill 
     staffers from both the House and Senate who know the inner 
     workings of the Congress and government agencies. These would 
     be people who worked on key committees and in Senate and 
     House leadership offices.
       Working with religious freedom advocacy groups they would 
     be another set of eyes and ears on the Hill, following and 
     helping shape legislation dealing with international and 
     domestic religious freedom. A board of directors made up of 
     various religious freedom groups could oversee the work of 
     this firm. I believe this would be a direct help to all 
     groups working on these issues.
       There have been very few successes lately on Capitol Hill 
     to further religious freedom. In the international arena, 
     some countries that have been designated by USCIRF as 
     egregious violators of religious freedom have been given 
     massive amounts of U.S. foreign aid and some have expensive 
     lobbying efforts in Washington. USCIRF has worked in a 
     bipartisan way and has been faithful in its mission of 
     researching, reporting, and naming international religious 
     rights violators. Yet at the same time, USCIRF has seen its 
     budget frozen, even cut, and it has not received the 
     necessary permanent or long-term reauthorization from 
     Congress.
       Having worked on religious freedom issues for many years, I 
     believe these steps would make a significant difference here 
     in the United States and around the world. I share these 
     thoughts with the hope that the religious freedom community 
     will take on some of these ideas to help advance the cause of 
     religious freedom and improve the lives of those who are 
     persecuted.
     Frank Wolf, June 2024.

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