[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 96 (Monday, June 8, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H3947-H3948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2026
Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1744) to extend and authorize annual appropriations for the
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom through
fiscal year 2028, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1744
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
2026''.
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 ``2025 and 2026'' and
inserting ``2027 and 2028, and for the period beginning on
October 1, 2028, and ending on December 31, 2028''.
(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, 2026'' and inserting
``December 31, 2028''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Mast) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Bera) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
General Leave
Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on H.R. 1744.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. MAST. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1744, the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of
2026.
Congress created this commission, otherwise known as USCIRF, in 1998
with a clear statutory mandate to monitor conditions of religious
freedom around the world and make recommendations to Congress and to
the President to protect this right.
Since then, Congress has reauthorized the commission's operations,
appropriations, and mandate numerous times. Under current law, USCIRF
terminates on September 30th of this year. This bill reauthorizes the
Commission through December of 2028.
America was founded on the principle that all human beings are
endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights. One of these,
the very first laid out in the Bill of Rights to the Constitution, is
the right to freely exercise one's religion according to one's
conscience. Yet, throughout the world, believers suffer extreme
persecution. Throughout history, tyrants and radical regimes always
target religion first.
In Nigeria, seemingly every week, Christians are massacred by radical
Fulani Muslims wielding machetes and crying: ``Allahu akbar.''
Christians in China are forced to worship underground. In Nicaragua,
the dictatorship has just forbidden Bibles from being brought into the
country. Christians across much of the Middle East and South Asia are
relegated to second-class citizens, harassed and discriminated against
simply for professing their beliefs.
Even in Europe, nations with freedom of religion enshrined in their
constitutions, Christians, who hold traditional biblical views on
marriage, gender, and sexuality, have been convicted under so-called
hate speech laws.
It is not only Christians who are persecuted globally. The Chinese
Communist Party right now is committing a horrific genocide against
Uyghurs. Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, Rohingya Muslims in Burma,
Buddhists in Vietnam, and many more face severe restrictions on their
religious freedom.
USCIRF gives Congress tools to confront persecution and protect
religious freedom.
As Vice President Vance said last year: Part of this country's moral
leadership ``means recognizing in our foreign policy the difference
between regimes that respect religious freedom and those that do not.''
USCIRF is a critical tool to that end.
I thank my colleague, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, as well as Mr. Sherman
of California, for leading this bipartisan effort. Mr. Smith has been
leading on this for many years.
Mr. Speaker, the bill advanced out of Committee unanimously, and I
urge
[[Page H3948]]
my colleagues to join in advancing it on the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BERA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill to
reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom, or USCIRF, through fiscal year 2028.
Since its establishment 28 years ago, USCIRF has served as an
independent, bipartisan watchdog monitoring conditions on the ground
and providing policy recommendations to Congress and the
administration.
Its work reinforces the principles reflected in Article 18 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and helps ensure that our
advocacy for religious freedom is consistent, credible, and universal.
True religious liberty cannot mean protection for only a favored few.
It extends to all people.
A consistent defense of freedom of thought, consciousness, religion,
and belief, or nonbelief, strengthens our voice globally and advances
global stability, security, and prosperity.
When governments suppress religious belief, broader repression often
follows. In many parts of the world, severe restrictions on religion
are an early warning sign of authoritarian consolidation and
instability.
Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, we need to reauthorize this
commission so they can continue to do their good work.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Subcommittee
on Africa.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank our very distinguished
chairman for his strong leadership on religious freedom generally but
for this legislation as well. I do appreciate that so much. I want to
thank Brad Sherman, who is the Democratic cosponsor, for his leadership
in backing this important reauthorization of the United States
International Religious Freedom Commission.
As I think Members know, USCIRF was created--the acronym we all use
for the commission--by Congress to protect religious freedom through
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, a historic landmark
law authored by Frank Wolf in 1998.
USCIRF's high-quality reporting and high-profile commissioners
influence the State Department's work on religious freedom, and also
provide Congress with insights with its incisive commentary, making all
of the work that all of us do, especially State, more transparent,
honest, and effective.
The Commission defends the universal right to freedom of religion
abroad. It sponsors hearings, fact-finding trips, reviews reports from
all comers, especially NGOs and others, religious communities who are,
unfortunately, being repressed in many countries of the world. They
make very, very good recommendations that often are followed.
{time} 1610
I also point out that I have probably chaired more than 700 hearings
on human rights over the years. I have been here since the year 1980. I
always want to have somebody from the commission there, always. They
come. They give whatever--the name of the country. They give their
insights after a great deal of due diligence. And what a difference
that makes in terms of our understanding what is actually going on.
USCIRF commissioners are appointed by the President and the
congressional leadership. There are nine of them of both parties, so it
is totally bipartisan.
Last month, our former colleague, Vicky Hartzler, completed a
distinguished term on the commission. None of you would be surprised to
know that she was very active as the chair of the commission and did a
magnificent job. She was appointed by Speaker Johnson, as was Maureen
Ferguson, who also just completed her term and did so with great
distinction.
Again, I remind my colleagues, it was our very good friend, Frank
Wolf, who, in 1998, with great legislative skill, commitment, and
driving passion, drove the adoption of a singularly important human
rights law, the International Religious Freedom Act, or IRFA. This law
created a system for naming and taking action of what was now called
Countries of Particular Concern, or CPCs.
History has shown that when the United States elevates religious
freedom and that priority is conveyed to Countries of Particular
Concern, conditions often change for the positive. Prisoners of
conscience gain their freedom, and progress is made toward the free
exercise of religious liberty.
As the author of the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act
of 2016, which updated Frank's legislation, I do follow the CPC
recommendations very closely. In that law, we created entities of
particular concern, like Boko Haram and some of these horrible
organizations that kill people simply because of their faith.
The USCIRF acts as a true watchdog, recommending with incisive
commentary that the State Department designated countries not leave
somebody off because of political considerations. If they are
committing human rights abuses against people of faith, they need to be
held to account.
CPC is followed by a two-step process: first a designation, followed
thereafter by sanctions, more than 18 of them prescribed into law. We
are hoping that they won't be used. We want to see real reform and
people protected like in China and elsewhere from people who wish them
ill.
I again thank our Members, Brad Sherman, Gus Bilirakis, Henry
Cuellar, and all the others who have supported this bill and ask my
colleagues to support the legislation.
Mr. BERA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the
purpose of closing.
Mr. Speaker, reauthorizing USCIRF would ensure continuity in its
important work. Protecting religious freedoms abroad advances both our
values and interests, and it promotes stability and respect for
fundamental rights. Join me in supporting this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the right to freely exercise your religion without fear
of persecution is an unalienable right that belongs to all people.
By passing this bill, the U.S. Congress is recommitting itself to
that fundamental truth, that fundamental freedom.
I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill, and I call upon
the Senate to take up and pass H.R. 1744 as soon as possible.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 1744, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to extend
and authorize annual appropriations for the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom through December 31, 2028.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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