[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 13512-13513]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        AMENDING THE INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 475, H.R. 4028.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 4028) to amend the International Religious 
     Freedom Act of 1998 to include the desecration of cemeteries 
     among the many forms of violations of the right to religious 
     freedom.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to express my appreciation that the 
Senate has passed H.R. 4028, a bipartisan bill Representatives Grace 
Meng and Doug Collins introduced that amends the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to include the desecration of cemeteries 
among the many forms of violations of the right to religious freedom. 
Last month, Senator Risch and I introduced a Senate companion bill, S. 
2466, to H.R. 4028.
  In 1998, Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act to 
affirm America's commitment to religious freedom, enshrined both in the 
U.S. Constitution and in numerous international human rights 
instruments. The act acknowledges the pressure and persecution that 
many people around the world face because of their religious beliefs 
and requires the Department of State to issue an annual report on 
international religious freedom.
  Freedom of religion requires respect for those practicing their faith 
alone as well as in community with others. It also requires protection 
for those who identify as members of a religious community, for the 
symbols of the community, for the houses of worship, and for other 
institutions of the community. The defacing or destruction of a 
cemetery based on an affiliation with a particular religious or 
spiritual group should not be tolerated by governments and must factor 
into our international religious freedom reporting. This bill, H.R. 
4028, will ensure inclusion of these acts in the annual State 
Department reports and will better aid those of us working to monitor 
and combat anti-Semitism and other religious discrimination.
  There is no question that we need to report on these crimes. In 
recent years, we have witnessed with growing concern a number of

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cases involving the desecration of Jewish cemeteries in the 
Netherlands, Hungary, Russia, Poland, France, Germany, Georgia, 
Moldova, and Argentina. This legislation is even more important and 
timely given the rise in anti-Semitism across Europe. In just the past 
few weeks, large-scale anti-Semitic protests have taken place in major 
cities across Europe. In this year's European Union elections, 
extremist parties espousing anti-Semitic platforms have made alarming 
progress. And in Hungary and Greece, extremist parliamentary parties 
associated with street militias have been successful in elections.
  I have served on the Helsinki Commission for nearly 20 years. During 
my tenure, I have worked tirelessly to combat anti-Semitism and 
religious discrimination. Ensuring that religiously motivated cemetery 
desecration is reported is the first important step to combating this 
serious crime.
  I thank Senator Risch for his leadership on this issue. I also thank 
Senators Menendez and Corker for taking up H.R. 4028 and moving it 
quickly through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Finally, I 
thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle supporting this bill and 
for helping to recognize the desecration of cemeteries as a violation 
of the right to religious freedom.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 4028) was ordered to a third reading, was read the 
third time, and passed.

                          ____________________