I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1856 

To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to strengthen 

the promotion of religious freedom in United States foreign policy and 

to reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious 

Freedom, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 11, 2011 

Mr. WOLF (for himself and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 

in addition to the Committees on Financial Services and Oversight and 

Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

to strengthen the promotion of religious freedom in 

United States foreign policy and to reauthorize the 

United States Commission on International Religious 

Freedom, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘International Religious Freedom Act Amendments of 

4 2011’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; policy. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 101. Office of International Religious Freedom; Ambassador at Large for 

International Religious Freedom. 

Sec. 102. Reports. 

Sec. 103. Training for Foreign Service officers. 

Sec. 104. Programs and allocations of funds by United States missions abroad. 

Sec. 105. Prisoner lists and issue briefs on religious freedom concerns. 

Sec. 106. Interagency report. 

TITLE II—COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS 

FREEDOM 

Sec. 201. Establishment and composition. 

Sec. 202. Commission personnel matters. 

Sec. 203. Report of the Commission. 

Sec. 204. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 205. Standards of conduct and disclosure. 

Sec. 206. Termination. 

TITLE III—PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS 

Sec. 301. Presidential actions in response to violations of religious freedom. 

Sec. 302. Presidential actions in response to particularly severe violations of religious freedom. 

Sec. 303. Consultations. 

Sec. 304. Presidential waiver. 

Sec. 305. Termination of Presidential actions. 

TITLE IV—PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 

Sec. 401. Assistance for promoting religious freedom. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Report on effectiveness of programs to promote religious freedom. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 2(a) of the International Re3 ligious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(a)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 

6 following: ‘‘Both America’s history and the experi7 ence of other countries demonstrate that the vig8 orous protection of religious freedom is necessary for 

9 democracy to endure, and to yield its social, eco10 nomic, political, intellectual, and religious benefits to 

11 all its citizens. Contemporary scholarship also dem12 onstrates that the absence of religious freedom in a 

13 country is causally related not only to the persecu14 tion of religious minorities, but also to religious con15 flict, violence, extremism, and terrorism, including 

16 the kind of terrorism that has reached the American 

17 homeland.’’; 

18 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘one-half’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘two-thirds’’; 

20 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘religious per21 secution’’ and inserting ‘‘persecution’’; and 

22 (4) by striking paragraph (7). 

23 (b) POLICY.—Section 2(b) of the International Reli24 gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(b)) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and non2 governmental organizations’’ after ‘‘other govern3 ments’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and non5 governmental organizations’’ after ‘‘governments’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and non7 governmental organizations’’ after ‘‘foreign govern8 ments’’; and 

9 (4) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘as well as 

10 foreign assistance and other programs funded by the 

11 United States Government,’’ after ‘‘cultural chan12 nels,’’. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 Section 3(3)(A) of the International Religious Free15 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402) is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘Committee on International Relations’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Committee on Foreign Affairs’’. 

18 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

19 STATE ACTIVITIES 

20 SEC. 101. OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREE21 DOM; AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR INTER22 NATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Section 101(a) of 

24 the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 

25 U.S.C. 6411(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘within the Department of 

2 State’’ and inserting ‘‘, in the Office of the Sec3 retary of State,’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

5 Ambassador at Large shall report directly to the 

6 Secretary of State.’’. 

7 (b) DUTIES.—Section 101(c) of the International Re8 ligious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411(c)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘responsibility’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘responsibilities’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘shall be to advance’’ and 

14 inserting the following: ‘‘shall be— 

15 ‘‘(A) to advance’’; 

16 (C) by striking the period at the end and 

17 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

19 subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(B) to integrate United States inter21 national religious freedom policies and religious 

22 engagement programs into democracy and civil 

23 society programs funded by the United States 

24 and into the counterterrorism policies of United 

25 States Government departments and agencies, 


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1 including the Department of Defense, the De2 partment of State, the Department of Home3 land Security, and the Department of the 

4 Treasury.’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘a principal 

6 advisor’’ and inserting ‘‘the principal advisor’’; 

7 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

9 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

10 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

11 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

13 subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(C) contacts with nongovernmental orga15 nizations that have an impact on the state of 

16 religious freedom in their respective societies or 

17 regions, or internationally.’’; 

18 (4) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para19 graph (5); and 

20 (5) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol21 lowing new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

23 Ambassador at Large shall seek to coordinate all 

24 programs, projects, and activities of the United 

25 States Government to promote religious freedom and 


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1 religious engagement abroad, including programs, 

2 projects, and activities of the Department of De3 fense, the Department of State, the Department of 

4 Homeland Security, the Department of the Treas5 ury, and the United States Agency for International 

6 Development.’’. 

7 (c) FUNDING.—Section 101(d) of the International 

8 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411(d)) is 

9 amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—The Secretary of State shall provide 

11 the Ambassador at Large with such funds as may be nec12 essary for the hiring of individuals to fill at least 15 full13 time-equivalent staff positions, including a senior advisor, 

14 for the Office, for the conduct of investigations by the Of15 fice, and for necessary travel to carry out the provisions 

16 of this section. The Secretary of State shall also provide 

17 the Ambassador at Large with representational funds 

18 equal to that of other Ambassadors at Large in the De19 partment of State.’’. 

20 SEC. 102. REPORTS. 

21 (a) STATUS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—Section 

22 102(b)(1) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 

23 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)(1)) is amended in the matter 

24 preceding subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Sep2 tember’’ and inserting ‘‘May’’; and 

3 (2) by inserting after the first sentence the fol4 lowing: ‘‘Each Annual Report shall be independent 

5 and distinct from the most recent Human Rights 

6 Reports and shall be made available to the public in 

7 such a manner.’’. 

8 (b) VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—Section 

9 102(b)(1)(B) of the International Religious Freedom Act 

10 of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)(1)(B)) is amended in the 

11 matter preceding clause (i) by inserting ‘‘whether in mat12 ters of private belief and practice or the peaceful involve13 ment of such groups or members in the political life of 

14 a nation,’’ after ‘‘including policies that discriminate 

15 against particular religious groups or members of such 

16 groups,’’. 

17 (c) UNITED STATES POLICIES.—Section 

18 102(b)(1)(C) of the International Religious Freedom Act 

19 of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)(1)(C)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘A description’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘A comprehensive description’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘policies in support’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘religious engagement policies in support’’; 

24 (3) by inserting ‘‘with respect to each such for25 eign country’’ after ‘‘including a description’’; and 


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1 (4) by striking the period at the end and insert2 ing the following: ‘‘, and an analysis of the impact 

3 of actions by the United States on the status of reli4 gious freedom in each country. This section of the 

5 report should be country-specific and comprehensive, 

6 and should avoid insofar as possible the repetition of 

7 standard phrases and sentences to be employed in 

8 every country report.’’. 

9 SEC. 103. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 708(a) of the Foreign 

11 Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of State’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘(1) The Secretary of State’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (1) (as added by paragraph 

15 (1) of this subsection)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘other relevant officials, 

17 such as’’ and inserting ‘‘relevant officials, in18 cluding’’; and 

19 (B) by inserting ‘‘the United States Com20 mission on International Religious Freedom es21 tablished under section 201(a) of such Act,’’ 

22 after ‘‘1998,’’ 

23 (3) by redesignating the subsequent paragraphs 

24 (1) through (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), 

25 respectively; and 


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1 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(2) Such training shall, at a minimum, be a sepa4 rate, independent, and required segment of each of the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(A) The A–100 course attended by all Foreign 

7 Service Officers. 

8 ‘‘(B) The courses required of every Foreign 

9 Service Officer prior to a posting abroad, each seg10 ment to be tailored to the religious demography, sta11 tus of religious freedom, and United States strate12 gies for advancing religious freedom, in the receiving 

13 country. 

14 ‘‘(C) The courses required of all deputy chiefs 

15 of mission and all chiefs of mission.’’. 

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, with 

18 the assistance of the Ambassador at Large for Inter19 national Religious Freedom appointed under section 

20 101(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 

21 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411(b)) and the Director of the George 

22 P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center and 

23 in consultation with the United States Commission on 

24 International Religious Freedom established under section 

25 201(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 


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1 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(a)), shall submit to the Committee 

2 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and 

3 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a com4 prehensive plan for administering training for Foreign 

5 Service officers required under section 708 of the Foreign 

6 Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028), as amended by sub7 section (a). 

8 SEC. 104. PROGRAMS AND ALLOCATIONS OF FUNDS BY 

9 UNITED STATES MISSIONS ABROAD. 

10 Section 106 of the International Religious Freedom 

11 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6415) is amended— 

12 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

13 striking ‘‘It is the sense of Congress’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘It is the policy of the United States’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking 

16 ‘‘should’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘shall’’. 

17 SEC. 105. PRISONER LISTS AND ISSUE BRIEFS ON RELI18 GIOUS FREEDOM CONCERNS. 

19 (a) INCREASED ADVOCACY.—Section 108(a) of the 

20 International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

21 6417(a)) is amended— 

22 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SENSE OF

23 CONGRESS’’ and inserting ‘‘INCREASED ADVOCACY’’; 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘it is the sense of Congress 

25 that’’; and 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘should promote’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘shall promote’’. 

3 (b) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—Section 108(c) 

4 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 

5 U.S.C. 6417(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘, as appro6 priate,’’. 

7 SEC. 106. INTERAGENCY REPORT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi9 nation with the heads of other relevant United States Gov10 ernment departments and agencies, including the Depart11 ment of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, 

12 the Department of the Treasury, and the United States 

13 Agency for International Development, shall submit to 

14 Congress a report on the best uses of United States for15 eign assistance to promote religious freedom and religious 

16 engagement abroad. 

17 (b) TIMING.—The report required under subsection 

18 (a) shall be issued not later than 6 months after the date 

19 on which the first report required under section 102(b) 

20 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 

21 U.S.C. 6412(b)) is transmitted to Congress after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE II—COMMISSION ON 

2 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS 

3 FREEDOM 

4 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION. 

5 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—Section 201(b)(1)(B) of the 

6 International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

7 6431(b)(1)(B)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by strik9 ing ‘‘Nine’’ and inserting ‘‘nine’’; 

10 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘President pro 

11 tempore’’ and inserting ‘‘leadership’’; and 

12 (3) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘Speaker’’ and in13 serting ‘‘leadership’’. 

14 (b) TERMS.—Section 201(c) of the International Re15 ligious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(c)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘to 

19 a second term’’; and 

20 (B) by striking the third and fourth sen21 tences; 

22 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘dur24 ing the period May 15, 2003, through May 14, 

25 2005,’’; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 

2 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘PRESI3 DENT PRO TEMPORE’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘President pro tem5 pore’’ each place it appears and inserting 

6 ‘‘leadership’’; 

7 (C) in subparagraph (D)— 

8 (i) in the heading, by striking 

9 ‘‘SPEAKER’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘Speaker’’ each place 

11 it appears and inserting ‘‘leadership’’; and 

12 (D) in subparagraph (E)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘2003’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘2012’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘2004’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘2013’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(3) INELIGIBILITY FOR REAPPOINTMENT.—If 

20 a member of the Commission attends, by being phys21 ically present or by conference call, less than 75 per22 cent of the meetings of the Commission during the 

23 member’s terms on the Commission, the member 

24 shall not be eligible for reappointment to the Com25 mission.’’. 


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1 (c) ELECTION OF CHAIR AND EXECUTIVE COM2 MITTEE.—Section 201(d) of the International Religious 

3 Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(d)) is amended— 

4 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘AND EXECU5 TIVE COMMITTEE’’ after ‘‘CHAIR’’; 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘At’’ and inserting the fol7 lowing: ‘‘(1) CHAIR.—At’’; 

8 (3) in paragraph (1), as designated by para9 graph (2) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘May 30’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘May 1’’; and 

11 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(2) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the first meeting of 

15 the Commission after May 1 of each calendar 

16 year, a majority of the members of the Commis17 sion present and voting shall elect the Executive 

18 Committee of the Commission. 

19 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—The Executive Com20 mittee shall be composed of— 

21 ‘‘(i) the Chair of the Commission; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) two other members of the Com23 mission appointed under subsection 

24 (b)(1)(B), who shall serve as Vice-Chairs 

25 of the Commission, and at least one of 


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1 whom has been appointed under subsection 

2 (b)(1)(B) by an official whose political 

3 party is not the same political party as the 

4 official who appointed the member of the 

5 Commission who has been elected the 

6 Chair of the Commission.’’. 

7 (d) APPLICABILITY.—A member of the United States 

8 Commission on International Religious Freedom who is 

9 serving on the Commission on the date of enactment of 

10 this Act shall continue to serve on the Commission until 

11 the expiration of the current term of the member under 

12 the terms and conditions for membership on the Commis13 sion as in effect on the day before the date of the enact14 ment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 202. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

16 Section 204 of the International Religious Freedom 

17 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432b) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘and such 

19 other additional personnel’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and other 

21 personnel’’ each place it appears; and 

22 (3) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) by striking the first sentence and in24 serting the following: ‘‘The Executive Director 

25 shall have the authority to hire Commission 


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1 staff on the basis of professional and non2 partisan qualifications and fix their compensa3 tion as may be necessary to enable the Commis4 sion to perform its duties and without regard to 

5 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 

6 of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, re7 lating to classification of positions and General 

8 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay 

9 for such staff may not exceed the rate payable 

10 for level V of the Executive Schedule under sec11 tion 5316 of such title.’’; and 

12 (B) by striking the second sentence and in13 serting the following: ‘‘The Executive Director 

14 shall have the authority to terminate Commis15 sion staff and shall have such other authorities 

16 as necessary to ensure the effective and effi17 cient operation of the Commission.’’. 

18 SEC. 203. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION. 

19 Section 205(a) of the International Religious Free20 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6433(a)) is amended by strik21 ing ‘‘May’’ and inserting ‘‘November’’. 

22 SEC. 204. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 Section 207 of the International Religious Freedom 

24 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘$3,000,000 

2 for the fiscal year 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘$4,300,000 

3 for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2018’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

5 following: ‘‘The Commission may use not more than 

6 5 percent of funds made available to carry out this 

7 title for a fiscal year for official reception and rep8 resentation to help fulfill the purposes for which the 

9 Commission was established.’’. 

10 SEC. 205. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND DISCLOSURE. 

11 Section 208 of the International Religious Freedom 

12 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435a) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘, except 

14 that the Commission may not expend more than 

15 $100,000 in any fiscal year to procure such serv16 ices’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘International 

18 Relations’’ and inserting ‘‘Foreign Affairs’’. 

19 SEC. 206. TERMINATION. 

20 Section 209 of the International Religious Freedom 

21 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6436) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘September 30, 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 

23 2018’’. 


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1 TITLE III—PRESIDENTIAL 

2 ACTIONS 

3 SEC. 301. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO VIOLA4 TIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

5 Section 401(b)(2) of the International Religious 

6 Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6441(b)(2)) is amended 

7 to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR ACTIONS.—Not later than 

9 90 days after the date of the submission of the re10 port required under section 102(b), the President 

11 shall take action under any of paragraphs (1) 

12 through (15) of section 405(a) (or commensurate ac13 tion in substitution thereto) with respect to each for14 eign country the government of which has engaged 

15 in or tolerated violations of religious freedom at any 

16 time since the date of submission of the report re17 quired under section 102(b) for the preceding year, 

18 except that in the case of action under any of para19 graphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a) (or com20 mensurate action in substitution thereto) the action 

21 may only be taken after the President makes a de22 termination that the requirements of sections 403 

23 and 404 have been satisfied.’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PAR2 TICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELI3 GIOUS FREEDOM. 

4 (a) DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR

5 CONCERN FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—Section 402(b) of 

6 the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 

7 U.S.C. 6442(b)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘Not later than Sep11 tember 1 of each year’’ and inserting ‘‘Not 

12 later than 90 days after the submission of 

13 the report required under section 102(b)’’; 

14 and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘or since the date’’ 

16 and all that follows through ‘‘The Presi17 dent’’ and inserting ‘‘and’’; and 

18 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘Sep19 tember 1 of the respective year’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘the date of submission of the report required 

21 under section 102(b)’’; 

22 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘Whenever’’ and inserting 

24 the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘as soon as practicable’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘not later than 120 days’’; 

3 (C) by redesignating the subsequent sub4 paragraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), 

5 respectively, and moving the margins of such 

6 clauses 2 ems to the right; 

7 (D) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

8 end; 

9 (E) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 

10 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (F) by adding at the end the following new 

12 clause: 

13 ‘‘(iii) the actions taken, the purposes 

14 of the actions taken, and evaluation of the 

15 effectiveness of the actions taken.’’; and 

16 (G) by adding at the end the following new 

17 subparagraphs: 

18 ‘‘(B) COUNTRIES RECOMMENDED BY THE

19 COMMISSION.—If the President does not des20 ignate a country as a country of particular con21 cern for religious freedom under paragraph 

22 (1)(A) that the Commission has recommended 

23 be so designated, the President shall submit to 

24 Congress a report that contains the reasons 

25 therefor. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REMOVAL OF DESIGNATION.—A 

2 country that is designated as a country of par3 ticular concern for religious freedom under 

4 paragraph (1)(A) shall retain such designation 

5 until the President determines and reports to 

6 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

7 of Representatives and the Committee on For8 eign Relations of the Senate that the country 

9 should no longer be so designated.’’. 

10 (b) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO

11 COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR RELIGIOUS

12 FREEDOM.—Section 402(c)(5) of the International Reli13 gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(c)(5)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in the second sentence, by adding at the end 

16 before the period the following: ‘‘and include a de17 scription of the impact of the designation of such 

18 sanction or sanctions’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

20 President shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 

21 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

22 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a re23 port explaining why the decision was made that one 

24 or more of such sanctions also satisfy the require25 ments of this subsection.’’. 


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1 SEC. 303. CONSULTATIONS. 

2 Section 403(a) of the International Religious Free3 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6443(a)) is amended by strik4 ing ‘‘As soon as practicable’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than 

5 90 days’’. 

6 SEC. 304. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER. 

7 Section 407 of the International Religious Freedom 

8 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6447) is amended by inserting 

9 ‘‘for a 180-day period’’ after ‘‘may waive’’. 

10 SEC. 305. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

11 Section 409 of the International Religious Freedom 

12 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6449) is amended by striking ‘‘on 

13 the earlier of’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Upon’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘upon’’. 

15 TITLE IV—PROMOTION OF 

16 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 

17 SEC. 401. ASSISTANCE FOR PROMOTING RELIGIOUS FREE18 DOM. 

19 Section 501 of the International Religious Freedom 

20 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2151n note) is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Of the amounts 

23 made available for the Human Rights and Democracy 

24 Fund for fiscal years 2012 through 2018, the Secretary 

25 of State shall provide to the Office not less than 5 percent 

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1 motion of international religious freedom through groups 

2 that are able to develop legal protections and promote cul3 tural and societal understanding of international norms of 

4 religious freedom.’’. 

5 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

6 PROVISIONS 

7 SEC. 501. REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAMS TO 

8 PROMOTE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

11 of the United States shall submit to the appropriate con12 gressional committees a report on the implementation of 

13 this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

14 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Comptroller General shall 

15 consult with the appropriate congressional committees and 

16 nongovernmental organizations for purposes of preparing 

17 the report. 

18 (c) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report shall 

19 include the following: 

20 (1) A review of the effectiveness of all United 

21 States Government programs to promote inter22 national religious freedom, including their goals and 

23 objectives. 

24 (2) An assessment of the roles and functions of 

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1 lished in section 101(a) of the International Reli2 gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411(a)) and 

3 the relationship of the Office to other offices in the 

4 Department of State. 

5 (3) A review of the role of the Ambassador at 

6 Large for International Religious Freedom ap7 pointed under section 101(b) of the International 

8 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411(b)) 

9 and the placement of such position within the De10 partment of State. 

11 (4) A review and assessment of the goals and 

12 objectives of the United States Commission on Inter13 national Religious Freedom established under sec14 tion 201(a) of the International Religious Freedom 

15 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(a)). 

16 (5) A comparative analysis of the structure of 

17 the United States Commission on International Reli18 gious Freedom as an independent non-partisan enti19 ty in relation to other United States advisory com20 missions, whether or not such commissions are 

21 under the direct authority of Congress. 

22 (6) A review of the relationship between the 

23 Ambassador at Large for International Religious 

24 Freedom and the United States Commission on 

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1 forms that would improve the ability of both to 

2 reach their goals and objectives. 

3 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro4 priate congressional committees’’ has the meaning given 

5 the term in section 3 of the International Religious Free6 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402). 

Æ 


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