[Senate Report 113-214]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 475
113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     113-214

======================================================================



 
  TO AMEND THE INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998, H.R. 4028

                                _______
                                

                 July 21, 2014.--Ordered to be printed

         Mr. Menendez, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4028]

    The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred 
the 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, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page

  I. Purpose..........................................................1
 II. Committee Action.................................................1
III. Discussion.......................................................1
 IV. Cost Estimate....................................................2
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................2
 VI. Changes in Existing Law..........................................2

                               I. Purpose

    The purpose of H.R. 4028 is 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.

                          II. Committee Action

    H.R. 4028 was introduced on February 10, 2014, by 
Congresswoman Meng. It passed the House of Representatives on 
May 28, 2014, and was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee on June 2, 2014. On July 16, 2014, the committee 
considered H.R. 4028 and ordered it reported favorably by voice 
vote.

                            III. Discussion

    Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act in 
1998 to affirm America's commitment to religious freedom, 
enshrined both in the United States Constitution and in 
numerous international human rights instruments. H.R. 4028 
makes clear that the defacing or destruction of a cemetery--
based on an affiliation with a particular religious or 
spiritual group--should not be tolerated by governments. It 
also ensures inclusion of a description of this problem in the 
annual International Religious Freedom Report by the Department 
of State and will aid those working to monitor and combat 
religious intolerance.
    A section-by-section discussion of the legislation follows.
    Section 1 provides relevant findings on cemetery 
desecration.
    Section 2 amends Section 2(a)(4) of the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to insert ``desecration of 
cemeteries'' after ``confiscations of property,''.

                           IV. Cost Estimate

    In accordance with Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(a) of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee notes that the cost 
estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office was not 
available for inclusion in this report. The estimate will be 
printed in either a supplemental report or the Congressional 
Record when it is available.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(b) of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, the committee has determined that there is 
no regulatory impact as a result of this legislation.

                      VI. Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with Rule XXVI, paragraph 12 of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, 
as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in 
italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 
roman).

INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998

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TITLE II--COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

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SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:

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          (4) The right to freedom of religion is under renewed 
        and, in some cases, increasing assault in many 
        countries around the world. More than one-half of the 
        world's population lives under regimes that severely 
        restrict or prohibit the freedom of their citizens to 
        study, believe, observe, and freely practice the 
        religious faith of their choice. Religious believers 
        and communities suffer both government-sponsored and 
        government-tolerated violations of their rights to 
        religious freedom. Among the many forms of such 
        violations are state-sponsored slander campaigns, 
        confiscations of property, desecration of cemeteries, 
        surveillance by security police, including by special 
        divisions of ``religious police'', severe prohibitions 
        against construction and repair of places of worship, 
        denial of the right to assemble and relegation of 
        religious communities to illegal status through 
        arbitrary registration laws, prohibitions against the 
        pursuit of education or public office, and prohibitions 
        against publishing, distributing, or possessing 
        religious literature and materials.

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