[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 148 (Monday, September 23, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5598-H5600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2024
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 3764) to extend and authorize annual appropriations for the
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom through
fiscal year 2026.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 3764
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
2024''.
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 ``2023 and 2024'' and
inserting ``2025 and 2026''.
(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, 2024'' and inserting
``September 30, 2026''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
American Samoa (Mrs. Radewagen) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina
(Ms. Manning) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from American Samoa.
General Leave
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from American Samoa?
There was no objection.
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, religious persecution is a tragic reality in many parts
of the world, whether it be against Uyghur Muslims in China, Christian
minorities in parts of Africa and the Middle East, the Baha'i in Iran,
or religious communities attempting to worship without official control
by repressive regimes in Burma, China, or North Korea. Anti-Semitism is
on the rise.
This bipartisan bill, which unanimously passed the Senate, will
continue the good work of the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom, or USCIRF.
Congress created USCIRF as an independent Federal entity in 1998.
Although the fundamental freedom of religion was under siege around the
world, it did not receive enough attention in U.S. foreign policy.
USCIRF is a body of experts who speak out on behalf of persecuted
believers of any faith and push for accountability beyond what the
State Department or the White House may view as diplomatically
comfortable.
The commission's independent voice remains critical today, as the
State Department too often pushes religious freedom to the side.
Although the law requires the department to designate countries of
particular concern for religious freedom violations, their list of CPC
countries never includes all the countries that meet the statutory
criteria.
Thankfully, USCIRF continues its truth telling to identify the other
persecutors that should be designated. Those countries include Vietnam,
where Communist authorities severely repress Christians, Buddhists, and
other believers who attempt to worship outside of state control. They
also include Nigeria, where Islamist militias murder Christians with
impunity.
They include Afghanistan, where the brutal Taliban have retaken power
and moved that country back to an intolerant darkness. If any countries
are countries of particular concern for serious violations of religious
freedom, then those should be among them.
S. 3764 is a simple extension of USCIRF's statutory authority so that
the commission can continue its bipartisan, nonsectarian work on behalf
of our Nation's first freedom, religious liberty.
I am very pleased that this is a clean reauthorization and does not
include any of the previous attempts by some in the other body to make
USCIRF more partisan or to dilute its mandate with extraneous issues.
Through robust oversight, we also must work to ensure that USCIRF
remains focused on its true, bipartisan statutory mandate; namely,
``the annual and ongoing review of the facts and circumstances of
violations of religious freedom.''
I thank Senator Rubio and his bipartisan colleagues who introduced
this bill in the Senate where it received unanimous support.
I also recognize the important work of the chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Global Human Rights Subcommittee, the gentleman from New Jersey
(Mr. Smith), who is the author of the House side reauthorization. He
has been a leader on religious freedom issues throughout his 43-year
career in this House.
We need to pass this bill immediately to help ensure that freedom of
religion under threat from extremists and authoritarian governments
around the world remains front and center.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3764, and I thank our
Senate colleagues, especially Senators Marco
[[Page H5599]]
Rubio, Ben Cardin, and James Lankford, and my dear friend and
colleague, Representative Chris Smith, for their leadership in
advancing this important measure.
This bill would reauthorize the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, which was established
nearly 26 years ago as an independent, bipartisan U.S. Government
advisory body to monitor and report annually on religious freedom
abroad and make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary
of State, and Congress.
Mr. Speaker, the right of each individual to freely practice his or
her religion or hold nonreligious beliefs is a fundamental human right.
Yet, everyday individuals and communities around the world are subject
to escalating violence, persecution, and discrimination simply for
practicing their beliefs.
USCIRF's 2024 report outlines serious violations of religious freedom
and highlights some concerning global developments, including laws
restricting religious freedom like blasphemy laws, anti-conversion
laws, and restrictions on religious garb, governments engaged in
transnational repression to silence religious minorities and their
advocates abroad, and the disturbing global rise of anti-Semitism
during 2023 and 2024.
USCIRF has done an excellent job highlighting the threat that anti-
Semitism poses to religious freedom, including issuing an important
report on anti-Semitism in Europe in 2021, as well as highlighting the
growing number of national strategies and other initiatives around the
world to combat this trend.
This year, USCIRF noted the significant increase in anti-Semitic hate
crimes following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks against
Israel in which Jews around the world were collectively blamed for the
actions of the Israeli Government. USCIRF continues to document anti-
Semitic tropes being weaponized in elections, Holocaust distortion and
denial, and even the impact of laws prohibiting ritual slaughter on
religious freedom.
Throughout this time, it has diligently followed its mission to
advance international freedom of religion or belief by independently
assessing and unflinchingly confronting threats to this fundamental
right.
Mr. Speaker, USCIRF is needed more than ever. By reauthorizing
USCIRF, we will ensure the commission will be able to continue to
defend and promote religious freedom by conducting research, publishing
reports and analysis for the public, and offering recommendations to
policymakers on religious freedom violations around the world.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, I encourage my colleagues to
support its passage, and I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1715
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, religious freedom flows from the inherent dignity of
every human person and should be protected wherever it is threatened.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
remains an independent voice on behalf of religious believers
everywhere. USCIRF will continue to enjoy bipartisan support so long as
they focus on their core mandate, which is the protection of religious
liberty around the world.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, attempts to distort definitions of
religious freedom to cover unrelated or partisan issues will quickly
squander that support and endanger the extension of USCIRF's mandate in
the future. S. 3764 will ensure that the Commission continues its
nonpartisan mission of promoting the right of religious liberty that we
hold so dear as a nation. It deserves our unanimous support.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
the purpose of closing.
Mr. Speaker, this bill would allow USCIRF to continue its important
work of advising Congress, engaging with the executive branch,
monitoring religious freedom abroad, and raising public awareness.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Representative Chris Smith and
Senators Marco Rubio, Ben Cardin, and James Lankford, for their hard
work on this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S.
3764, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Reauthorization Act of 2024.
This is a simple, clean, 3-sentence bill that reauthorizes the
Commission, popularly known as USCIRF, for 2025 and 2026. It does so by
amending the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 in the
authorization of appropriations merely by updating the years of
authorization and expiration. This has become the tradition: clean,
simple, 2-year reauthorizations, and we should stick to this.
It's vital that we reauthorize USCIRF because it is the linchpin of
the entire program Congress created to promote religious freedom
through the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF's high-
quality reporting and high-profile commissioners influence the State
Department's work on religious freedom, making it more honest and
effective.
USCIRF is tasked with defending the universal right to freedom of
religion or belief abroad, reviewing reports of religious freedom
violations and making policy recommendations to the President, the
Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by
the President and the congressional leadership of both political
parties. In May, Speaker Johnson appointed our former colleague the
Honorable Vicky Hartzler to the Commission, and none of you will be
surprised to hear that she's been a very active and engaged
commissioner.
It was my very good friend Chairman Frank Wolf, who, in 1998, with
great legislative skill, commitment and driving passion, pushed a
supportive Congress but highly reluctant White House into enacting a
singularly important human rights law--the International Religious
Freedom Act (IRFA). Frank Wolf's law made the protection and promotion
of religious freedom a serious priority in U.S. foreign policy by
creating an Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom, by establishing
the Office of International Religious Freedom at the Department of
State--which among other duties, compiles the International Religious
Freedom Reports on every country in the world--and by crafting the
independent-minded U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom,
the subject of today's reauthorization.
Importantly, Frank Wolf's landmark law also created a system for
naming and taking action against Countries of Particular Concern, or
CPCs. History has shown that when the U.S. elevates religious freedom
and that priority is conveyed to Countries of Particular Concern,
conditions often change for the better, prisoners of conscience gain
their freedom and progress is made in the free or at least freer
exercise of religious liberty.
As the author of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom
Act, which updated Frank's legislation in 2016, I follow the
implementation of this law very closely. Since its founding, the
International Religious Freedom Commission has issued 25 annual reports
and recommended that 25 countries be designated CPCs--17 of them have
ultimately been designated by the State Department. The IRFC acts as a
true watchdog, recommending with incisive commentary that more
countries be designated as Countries of Particular Concern than the
State Department regularly designates. This demonstrates that USCIRF is
a genuinely outside force, a constructive influence on the State
Department. Convincing the State Department to heed the recommendations
of USCIRF can be a process that takes years, and some administrations
are more difficult to convince than others.
In this respect the Biden administration has been one of the worst.
Nigeria is the most egregious case of all. USCIRF has recommended CPC
status--after all, almost 5,000 Christians were killed there for their
faith last year, with rampant government complicity. This is no-
brainer--but not for the Biden-Harris Administration, which attributes
this modern martyrdom to climate change and tribal conflict. This is
egregious. Over 90 percent of Christians killed for their faith last
year, in the entire world, were killed in Nigeria. USCIRF, however,
calls it like it is and pulls no punches.
Mr. Speaker, USCIRF in recent years has been more effective than at
any point in its history. Its recent chairs and commissioners have
raised the profile and credibility of the Commission. I can say today
that the U.S.
[[Page H5600]]
Commission on International Religious Freedom is the U.S. government's
strongest and most respected voice for victims of religious persecution
worldwide.
Mr. Speaker, USCIRF's mission is to monitor religious freedom
violations globally and make policy recommendation to the U.S.
government--that's a big mission, and it's always commanded bipartisan
support. S. 3764 and its House companion, H.R. 7025, which has
identical language and was introduced by myself and my good friend Rep.
Eshoo, has together an equal number of Republican and Democrat co-
sponsors. I believe Speaker Johnson's most recent appointments to the
Commission, our former colleague Vicky-Hartzler and Maureen Ferguson,
will help keep it on course. Congress will continue to do its part.
USCIRF is important to millions of our constituents of all faiths. I
urge my colleagues to support S. 3764 and reauthorize the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from American Samoa (Mrs. Radewagen) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, S. 3764.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mrs. RADEWAGEN. 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.
____________________