I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5878 

To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to further express 

United States foreign policy with respect to, and to strengthen United 

States advocacy on behalf of, freedom of religion or belief abroad and 

individuals persecuted in foreign countries on account of religion or 

belief, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 11, 2014 

Mr. PITTS (for himself and Ms. ESHOO) 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 further express United States foreign policy with respect to, and to strengthen United States advocacy on 

behalf of, freedom of religion or belief abroad and individuals persecuted in foreign countries on account of 

religion or belief, 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 ‘‘Shahbaz Bhatti International Religious Freedom Act of 

4 2014’’. 

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 on 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. Report on foreign assistance to promote religious freedom and religious engagement. 

Sec. 107. Reports on countries not designated as countries of particular concern for religious freedom. 

TITLE II—UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL 

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 

Sec. 201. Report of the Commission. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL 

Sec. 301. Special Adviser on International Religious Freedom. 

TITLE IV—PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS 

Sec. 401. Presidential actions in response to violations of religious freedom. 

Sec. 402. Presidential actions in response to particularly severe violations of religious freedom. 

Sec. 403. Consultations. 

Sec. 404. Description of Presidential actions. 

Sec. 405. Presidential waiver. 

Sec. 406. Termination of Presidential actions. 

TITLE V—PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 

Sec. 501. Assistance for promoting religious freedom. 

Sec. 502. International broadcasting. 


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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) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

6 (7) as paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively; 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(3) International religious freedom means the 

10 right of all persons to fully enjoy freedom of religion 

11 or belief, as protected by international law, and ap12 plies to the holders of all religious beliefs and those 

13 who reject religious belief altogether.’’; 

14 (3) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated)— 

15 (A) by striking the second and third sen16 tences and inserting the following: ‘‘More than 

17 76 percent of the world’s population live in 

18 countries in which religion is restricted in sig19 nificant ways, either by the government or by 

20 societal non-state actors. These limitations se21 verely restrict or prohibit the freedom of people 

22 to study, believe, observe, and freely practice 

23 the religious faith of their choice.’’; and 

24 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

25 sentence: ‘‘Other governmental violations in26 clude registration laws, laws limiting or prohibVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Dec 19, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5878.IH H5878

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1 iting religious dress or symbols, anti-conversion 

2 laws, blasphemy laws, and apostasy laws.’’; 

3 (4) by further redesignating paragraph (7) and 

4 (8) (as so redesignated) as paragraphs (9) and (12), 

5 respectively; 

6 (5) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol7 lowing new paragraphs: 

8 ‘‘(7) In addition to governments, non-state ac9 tors severely violate freedom of religion or belief. 

10 These actors include individuals, mobs, vigilante 

11 groups, anti-government insurgents, militant organi12 zations, and recognized terrorist groups. In those 

13 cases in which governments’ legal systems promote 

14 intolerance, non-state actors often act unilaterally to 

15 enforce these biased measures. 

16 ‘‘(8) Over the past 15 years, the global land17 scape for religious freedom has deteriorated. While 

18 authoritarian governments continue to persecute in19 dividuals, unchecked majoritarianism against reli20 gious minorities and increasing acts of violence by 

21 religious extremists against any who challenge their 

22 ideologies are troubling new threats to this funda23 mental freedom. Such violence includes the 2011 as24 sassination of Pakistan’s Minister of Minority AfVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Dec 19, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5878.IH H5878

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1 fairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, an advocate for religious free2 dom.’’; 

3 (6) by inserting after paragraph (9) (as so re4 designated) the following new paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(10) Freedom of religion or belief also is cen6 tral to a country’s stability and security. Religious 

7 freedom abuses are linked to abuses of other human 

8 rights, and to instability and violent extremism. 

9 Wherever religious freedom is abused, peace and se10 curity may be threatened, affecting societies and in 

11 some cases the security of the United States. As 

12 such, religious freedom merits consideration with 

13 economic, security, and other concerns. 

14 ‘‘(11) The United States must do more to pro15 mote freedom of religion or belief overseas. This fun16 damental freedom is under serious and sustained 

17 pressure across much of the globe.’’; and 

18 (7) by striking paragraph (12) (as so redesig19 nated) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(12) Congress has recognized and denounced 

21 acts of religious persecution through the passage of 

22 the following measures and adoption of the following 

23 resolutions:— 

24 ‘‘(A) H.R. 2330 of the One Hundred 

25 Eighth Congress, which became Public Law 


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1 108–61, prohibiting the importation into the 

2 United States of any article that is a product 

3 of Burma (Myanmar) until the President deter4 mines and certifies to Congress that Burma has 

5 met certain conditions, including the releasing 

6 of all political prisoners and permitting the 

7 peaceful exercise of religion. 

8 ‘‘(B) H.R. 4011 of the One Hundred 

9 Eighth Congress, which became Public Law 

10 108–333, the North Korea Human Rights Act 

11 of 2004, which directs the Secretary of State 

12 and the Secretary of Homeland Security to re13 port annually on measures taken to facilitate 

14 access to the United States refugee program by 

15 persons fleeing countries of particular concern 

16 for violations of religious freedom. 

17 ‘‘(C) H.R. 6198 of the One Hundred 

18 Ninth Congress, which became Public Law 

19 109–293, the Iran Freedom Support Act, which 

20 holds the current regime in Iran accountable 

21 for its threatening behavior and supports a 

22 transition to democracy in Iran and states that 

23 assistance may be provided only to an indi24 vidual, organization, or entity that supports 

25 freedom of religion while also expressing the 


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1 sense of Congress that U.S. officials and rep2 resentatives should draw international attention 

3 to Iran’s violations of human rights and free4 dom of religion. 

5 ‘‘(D) House Resolution 1370 of the One 

6 Hundred Tenth Congress, calling on the Gov7 ernment of the People’s Republic of China to 

8 immediately end abuses of the human rights of 

9 its citizens, to cease repression of Tibetan and 

10 Uyghur people, and to end its support for the 

11 Governments of Sudan and Burma to ensure 

12 that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games take 

13 place in an atmosphere that honors the Olympic 

14 traditions of freedom and openness. 

15 ‘‘(E) House Resolution 944 of the One 

16 Hundred Eleventh Congress, expressing the 

17 sense of the House of Representatives on the 

18 protection of members of vulnerable religious 

19 and ethnic minority communities in Iraq. 

20 ‘‘(F) House Resolution 134 of the One 

21 Hundred Twelfth Congress, condemning the 

22 Government of Iran for its state-sponsored per23 secution of its Baha’i minority and its contin24 ued violation of the International Covenants on 

25 Human Rights. 


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1 ‘‘(G) House Resolution 306 of the One 

2 Hundred Twelfth Congress, urging the Republic 

3 of Turkey to safeguard its Christian heritage 

4 and to return confiscated church properties. 

5 ‘‘(H) House Resolution 484 of the One 

6 Hundred Twelfth Congress, calling on the Gov7 ernment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to 

8 respect basic human rights and cease abusing 

9 vague national security provisions such as arti10 cles 79 and 88 of the Vietnamese penal code 

11 which are often the pretext to arrest and detain 

12 citizens who peacefully advocate for religious 

13 and political freedom. 

14 ‘‘(I) House Resolution 556 of the One 

15 Hundred and Twelfth Congress, condemning 

16 the Government of Iran for its continued perse17 cution, imprisonment, and sentencing of Youcef 

18 Nadarkhani on the charge of apostasy. 

19 ‘‘(J) H.R. 515 of the One Hundred 

20 Twelfth Congress, which became Public Law 

21 112–81, to reauthorize the Belarus Democracy 

22 Act of 2004, which authorizes the denial of 

23 United States entry to members of the security 

24 or law enforcement services who have particiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Dec 19, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5878.IH H5878

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1 pated in the persecution of religious groups or 

2 human rights defenders. 

3 ‘‘(K) House Resolution 418 of the One 

4 Hundred and Thirteenth Congress, urging the 

5 Government of Burma to end the persecution of 

6 the Rohingya people and respect internationally 

7 recognized human rights for all ethnic and reli8 gious minority groups. 

9 ‘‘(L) House Resolution 599 of the One 

10 Hundred Thirteenth Congress, urging the Gov11 ernment of the People’s Republic of China to 

12 respect the freedom of assembly, expression, 

13 and religion and all fundamental human rights 

14 and the rule of law for all its citizens and to 

15 stop censoring discussion of the 1989 Tianan16 men Square demonstrations and their violent 

17 suppression. 

18 ‘‘(M) House Resolution 683 of the One 

19 Hundred Thirteenth Congress, expressing the 

20 sense of the House of Representatives on the 

21 current situation in Iraq and the urgent need to 

22 protect religious minorities from the persecution 

23 from the Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist 

24 group the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant 


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1 (ISIL) as it expands its control over areas in 

2 northwestern Iraq. 

3 ‘‘(N) House Resolution 707 of the One 

4 Hundred Thirteenth Congress, condemning all 

5 forms of anti-Semitism and rejecting attempts 

6 to justify anti-Jewish hatred or violent attacks 

7 as an acceptable expression of disapproval or 

8 frustration over political events in the Middle 

9 East or elsewhere. 

10 ‘‘(O) H.R. 301 of the One Hundred Thir11 teenth Congress, which became Public 113–161, 

12 to provide for the establishment of the Special 

13 Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Reli14 gious Minorities in the Near East and South 

15 Central Asia. 

16 ‘‘(P) House Resolution 754 of the One 

17 Hundred Thirteenth Congress, condemning the 

18 Government of Iran for its gross human rights 

19 violations.’’. 

20 (b) POLICY.—Section 2(b) of the International Reli21 gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(b)) is amend22 ed— 

23 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

24 (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), respectively; 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(2) To ensure that religious freedom is a cen4 tral component of United States foreign policy and 

5 receives the appropriate prioritization across govern6 ment agencies, including in bilateral diplomacy, mul7 tilateral diplomacy, public diplomacy, and pro8 grammatic activities of the United States govern9 ment.’’; 

10 (3) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), by 

11 inserting ‘‘and non-state actors’’ after ‘‘persecuting 

12 regimes’’; and 

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

14 paragraphs: 

15 ‘‘(7) To work in coalition with international 

16 partners in support of religious freedom in those 

17 countries whose governments violate religious free18 dom or do not take action against those who violate 

19 religious freedom or in those cases in which non20 state actors perpetrate violations of religious free21 dom. 

22 ‘‘(8) To work with foreign governments and in 

23 international fora to support rule of law, good gov24 ernance, and a vigorous civil society and advocate in 


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1 support of prisoners of conscience abroad whose de2 tentions violate their freedom of religion or belief.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 Section 3 of the International Religious Freedom Act 

5 of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (13)(A)— 

7 (A) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

8 end; and 

9 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

10 clause: 

11 ‘‘(vi) having no religious beliefs; or’’; 

12 and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(14) NON-STATE ACTOR.—The term ‘non-state 

16 actor’ means any entity outside of government, in17 cluding an extremist group or terrorist organiza18 tion.’’. 

19 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

20 STATE ACTIVITIES 

21 SEC. 101. OFFICE ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREE22 DOM; AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR INTER23 NATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

24 (a) APPOINTMENT.—Section 101(b) of the Inter25 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 


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1 6411(b)) is amended by adding at the end before the pe2 riod the following: ‘‘, and shall report directly to the Sec3 retary of State’’. 

4 (b) ADVISORY ROLE.—Section 101(c)(2) of the Inter5 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

6 6411(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘a principal adviser’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘the principal adviser’’. 

8 SEC. 102. REPORTS. 

9 (a) ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS

10 FREEDOM; DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—Section 

11 102(b)(1) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 

12 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)(1)) is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (A) in clause (ii), by adding at the end be15 fore the semicolon the following: ‘‘or per16 petrated by non-state actors’’; 

17 (B) in clause (iii)— 

18 (i) by adding at the end before the 

19 semicolon the following: ‘‘or perpetrated by 

20 non-state actors’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

22 (C) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause 

23 (vii); and 

24 (D) by inserting after clause (iii) (as so 

25 amended) the following new clauses: 


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1 ‘‘(iv) particularly severe violations of 

2 religious freedom occurring in the country 

3 but where a government does not exist or 

4 the government does not control its terri5 tory; 

6 ‘‘(v) an identification of whether the 

7 country is designated or re-designated as a 

8 country of particular concern for religious 

9 freedom under section 402 and, if the 

10 country is designated or re-designated as a 

11 country of particular concern for religious 

12 freedom, a description of the presidential 

13 action or actions that have been taken with 

14 respect to the country as described in sec15 tion 402; 

16 ‘‘(vi) an identification of prisoners in 

17 that country pursuant to section 108; 

18 and’’; and 

19 (2) in subparagraph (C)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘A description’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘A comprehensive description’’; 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘the measures’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘the specific measures’’; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end before the period 

25 the following: ‘‘and an analysis of the impact of 


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1 such actions and policies on the status of reli2 gious freedom in the country’’. 

3 (b) ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS

4 FREEDOM; CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS AND BRIEFINGS

5 REQUIRED.—Section 102(b) of the International Reli6 gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)) is amend7 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS AND BRIEF9 INGS REQUIRED.—The Committee on Foreign Af10 fairs of the House of Representatives and the Com11 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate shall, not 

12 later than 30 days after the receipt by Congress of 

13 the report submitted under paragraph (1), hold 

14 hearings on the report, including any recommenda15 tions contained therein, and not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of completion of such hearings, the 

17 Ambassador at Large shall meet with such Commit18 tees to brief such Committees on the report and on 

19 progress to date with respect to implementation of 

20 such recommendations.’’. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section take effect on the date of the enactment of 

23 this Act and apply with respect to each Annual Report 

24 on International Religious Freedom that is required to be 

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1 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412) 

2 (as so amended) on or after such date of enactment. 

3 SEC. 103. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 708 of 

5 the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028) is 

6 amended by inserting ‘‘members of the United States 

7 Commission on International Religious Freedom,’’ after 

8 ‘‘International Religious Freedom Act of 1998,’’. 

9 (b) OTHER REQUIRED TRAINING.—Section 708 of 

10 the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028) is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(d) The Secretary of State, with the assistance of 

14 other relevant officials as specified in subsection (a), shall 

15 ensure that the standard training described in such sub16 section shall, at a minimum, be a required segment of each 

17 of the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) The A–100 course attended by all officers 

19 of the Service. 

20 ‘‘(2) The courses required of all officers of the 

21 Service prior to a posting abroad, tailored to the re22 ligious demography, status of religious freedom, and 

23 United States strategies for advancing religious free24 dom in the country of posting. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The courses required of all deputy chiefs 

2 of mission and all chiefs of mission.’’. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 

5 consultation with the Ambassador at Large for Inter6 national Religious Freedom and the Director of the Na7 tional Foreign Affairs Training Center, shall submit to the 

8 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa9 tives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen10 ate a comprehensive plan for administering training of 

11 Foreign Service officers required under section 708 of the 

12 Foreign Service Act (22 U.S.C. 4028), as amended by this 

13 section. 

14 SEC. 104. PROGRAMS AND ALLOCATIONS OF FUNDS BY 

15 UNITED STATES MISSIONS ABROAD. 

16 Section 106 of the International Religious Freedom 

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

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

19 striking ‘‘sense of the Congress’’ and inserting ‘‘pol20 icy of the United States’’; and 

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

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


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1 SEC. 105. PRISONER LISTS AND ISSUE BRIEFS ON RELI2 GIOUS FREEDOM CONCERNS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 108(b) of the Inter4 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

5 6417(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the United States 

6 Commission on International Religious Freedom,’’ after 

7 ‘‘United States chiefs of mission abroad,’’. 

8 (b) AVAILABILITY OF LISTS.—Section 108(c) of the 

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

10 6417(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘In addition, the Secretary of State shall transmit the lists 

12 of persons imprisoned, detained, or placed under house ar13 rest prepared under subsection (b) not later than 180 days 

14 after the enactment of the Shahbaz Bhatti International 

15 Religious Freedom Act of 2014, and every 180 days there16 after, to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Com17 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 

18 the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee 

19 on Appropriations of the Senate, the Tom Lantos Human 

20 Rights Commission, and the Senate Human Rights Cau21 cus.’’. 

22 SEC. 106. REPORT ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE 

23 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND RELIGIOUS EN24 GAGEMENT. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi26 nation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 


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1 Homeland Security, and the Secretary of the Treasury, 

2 shall submit to Congress a report on the best uses of for3 eign assistance to promote the goals of religious freedom 

4 and religious engagement, while also making a distinction 

5 between these two goals. 

6 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

7 (a) shall address how assistance and other United States 

8 government actions can strengthen the protection of reli9 gious minorities and dissenters, strengthen democratic in10 stitutions, and foster a vibrant civil society, and create 

11 civic space for religious debate and discussion. 

12 (c) DEADLINE.—The report required by subsection 

13 (a) shall be submitted to Congress not later than 180 days 

14 after the date on which the first Annual Report on Inter15 national Religious Freedom required under section 102(b) 

16 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 

17 U.S.C. 6412(b)) is submitted to Congress after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act. 

19 (d) HEARINGS AND BRIEFINGS.—The information 

20 contained in the report required by subsection (a) report 

21 shall be included in the congressional hearings and brief22 ings required in paragraph (3) of section 102(b) of the 

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

24 6412(b)) (as added by section 102(b) of this Act). 


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1 SEC. 107. REPORTS ON COUNTRIES NOT DESIGNATED AS 

2 COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR 

3 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

5 date on which the President designates countries as a 

6 country of particular concern for religious freedom under 

7 section 402 of the International Religious Freedom Act 

8 of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442), the Comptroller General of the 

9 United States shall submit to Congress a report on the 

10 lack of designation by the President of any other countries 

11 recommended for such designation by the United States 

12 Commission on International Religious Freedom. 

13 (b) REPORT RELATING TO PAKISTAN.—In addition 

14 to the report required by subsection (a), the Comptroller 

15 General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 

16 report that focuses specifically on the lack of designation 

17 by the President of Pakistan as a country of particular 

18 concern for religious freedom under section 402 of the 

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

20 6442) despite the repeated recommendation for such des21 ignation by the United States Commission on Inter22 national Religious Freedom. 


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1 TITLE II—UNITED STATES COM2 MISSION ON INTERNATIONAL 

3 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 

4 SEC. 201. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION. 

5 Section 205 of the International Religious Freedom 

6 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6433) is amended by adding at 

7 the end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(d) CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS AND BRIEFINGS

9 REQUIRED.—The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 

11 Relations of the Senate shall, not later than 30 days after 

12 the receipt by Congress of the report submitted under sub13 section (a), hold hearings on the report, including any rec14 ommendations contained therein, and not later than 180 

15 days after the date of completion of such hearings, the 

16 Commission shall meet with such Committees on the re17 port and on progress with respect to implementation of 

18 such recommendations to date.’’. 

19 TITLE III—NATIONAL SECURITY 

20 COUNCIL 

21 SEC. 301. SPECIAL ADVISER ON INTERNATIONAL RELI22 GIOUS FREEDOM. 

23 Section 101(k) of the National Security Act of 1947 

24 (50 U.S.C. 3021(k)) is amended in the first sentence by 

25 inserting ‘‘senior’’ before ‘‘director’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—PRESIDENTIAL 

2 ACTIONS 

3 SEC. 401. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO VIOLA4 TIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

5 (a) RESPONSE TO VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREE6 DOM.—Section 401(a)(1) of the International Religious 

7 Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6441(a)(1)) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by adding at the 

10 end before the semicolon the following: ‘‘or carried 

11 out by non-state actors in that country’’; and 

12 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before ‘‘, 

13 the President’’ the following: ‘‘and for each foreign 

14 country in which non-state actors carry out viola15 tions of religious freedom’’. 

16 (b) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—Section 401(b)(2) of 

17 the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 

18 U.S.C. 6441(b)(2)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘September 1 of each year’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘30 days after the date on which each re21 port is submitted under section 102(b)’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘action’’ and inserting ‘‘1 or 

23 more of the actions’’; 


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1 (3) by inserting ‘‘or in which non-state actors 

2 in that country carried out violations of religious 

3 freedom’’ before ‘‘at any time’’; 

4 (4) by striking ‘‘September 1 of the preceding 

5 year’’ and inserting ‘‘the previous such report was 

6 submitted’’; and 

7 (5) by striking ‘‘thereto)’’ and all that follows 

8 and inserting ‘‘thereto) the action may only be taken 

9 after the President certifies to Congress that the re10 quirements of sections 403 and 404 have been satis11 fied.’’. 

12 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Section 401(c)(1)(B) of the 

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

14 6441(c)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or the non-state 

15 actors in that country,’’ after ‘‘special officials thereof,’’. 

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section take effect on the date of the enactment of 

18 this Act and apply with respect to each Annual Report 

19 on International Religious Freedom that is required to be 

20 submitted to Congress under section 102 of the Inter21 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412) 

22 (as so amended) on or after such date of enactment. 


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1 SEC. 402. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PAR2 TICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELI3 GIOUS FREEDOM. 

4 (a) RESPONSE TO PARTICULARLY SEVERE VIOLA5 TIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—Section 402(a) of the 

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

7 6442(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by adding at the end 

9 before the semicolon the following: ‘‘or carried out 

10 by non-state actors’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, or a non12 state actor has carried out,’’ after ‘‘engaged in or 

13 tolerated’’. 

14 (b) DESIGNATION OF COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR

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

16 the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 

17 U.S.C. 6442(b)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘September 1 of each 

21 year’’ and inserting ‘‘30 days after the 

22 date on which each report is submitted 

23 under section 102(b)’’; 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘whether’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘whether, during the preceding 12 

26 months,’’; 


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1 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, or in which a non2 state actor has carried out,’’ after ‘‘en3 gaged in or tolerated’’ each place it ap4 pears; and 

5 (iv) by striking ‘‘during the preceding 

6 12 months or since the date of the last re7 view of that country under this subpara8 graph, whichever period is longer’’; and 

9 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 

10 (i) by inserting ‘‘or non-state actor’’ 

11 after ‘‘foreign country’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘and may take place 

13 any time prior to September 1 of the re14 spective year’’ and inserting ‘‘and before 

15 the date on which the report is submitted 

16 under section 102(b)’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, or the 

18 non-state actor specifically responsible for the par19 ticularly severe violations of religious freedom,’’ after 

20 ‘‘by that government’’; 

21 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

23 (A), by striking ‘‘as soon as practicable’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘not later than 30 days’’; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

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

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

6 subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(C) the actions taken, the purposes of the 

8 actions taken, and evaluation of any previous 

9 actions taken pursuant to a designation by the 

10 President of a country as a country of par11 ticular concern for religious freedom under this 

12 section.’’; and 

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

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—A country that has been 

16 designated a country of particular concern for reli17 gious freedom under this section retains such des18 ignation until the President determines such des19 ignation should be terminated and submits to the 

20 appropriate congressional committees a report that 

21 includes the reasons for such termination.’’. 

22 (c) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO

23 COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR RELIGIOUS

24 FREEDOM.—Section 402(c)(5) of the International ReliVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Dec 19, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5878.IH H5878

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1 gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(c)(5)) is 

2 amended— 

3 (1) in the second sentence— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘must’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘shall’’; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘he determines’’ and in7 serting ‘‘the President determines’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end before the period 

9 the following: ‘‘and include a description of the 

10 impact of the designation of such sanction or 

11 sanctions’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sen13 tence: ‘‘The President shall submit to the Committee 

14 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

15 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen16 ate a report that explains why the decision was 

17 made to designate the specific sanction or sanctions 

18 which the President determines satisfy the require19 ments of this subsection.’’. 

20 SEC. 403. CONSULTATIONS. 

21 Section 403(a) of the International Religious Free22 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6443(a)) is amended by strik23 ing ‘‘As soon as practicable’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than 

24 30 days’’. 


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1 SEC. 404. DESCRIPTION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 405(a) of the Inter3 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

4 6445(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

6 (15) as paragraphs (10) through (16), respectively; 

7 and 

8 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol9 lowing new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(9) The raising of concerns and initiation of 

11 actions through multilateral and regional bodies.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The International 

13 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) 

14 is amended in sections 3(3), 401(c)(2), 402(c)(1)(A), 

15 403(a), 404(a), 405(b), and 407(a) by striking ‘‘para16 graphs (9) through (15)’’ each place it appears and insert17 ing ‘‘paragraphs (10) through (16)’’. 

18 SEC. 405. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER. 

19 Section 407(a) of the International Religious Free20 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6447(a)), as amended by sec21 tion 404(b), is further amended by inserting ‘‘for a period 

22 not to exceed 180 days’’ after ‘‘may waive’’. 

23 SEC. 406. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 409 of the International 

25 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6449) is 

26 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 409. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

2 ‘‘Any Presidential action taken under this Act with 

3 respect to a foreign country shall remain in effect unless 

4 expressly terminated by Presidential actions based upon 

5 the determination by the President and certification to 

6 Congress that the foreign government has ceased or taken 

7 substantial and verifiable steps to cease the particularly 

8 severe violations of religious freedom.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

10 this section takes effect on the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act and applies with respect to any Presidential ac12 tion taken under the International Religious Freedom Act 

13 of 1998 (as so amended) on or after such date of enact14 ment. 

15 TITLE V—PROMOTION OF 

16 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 

17 SEC. 501. ASSISTANCE FOR PROMOTING RELIGIOUS FREE18 DOM. 

19 Section 501 of the International Religious Freedom 

20 Act of 1998 is amended by adding at the end the following 

21 new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(c) ECONOMIC SUPPORT FUND ASSISTANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

24 assistance authorized to be provided under chapter 

25 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 


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1 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to the Economic 

2 Support Fund) should include assistance— 

3 ‘‘(A) to entities and individuals in support 

4 of religious freedom, the rule of law, good gov5 ernance, and the creation of a strong and vi6 brant civil society; and 

7 ‘‘(B) to provide enhanced security for 

8 human rights and religious freedom defenders. 

9 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Assistance authorized 

11 to be provided under the provisions of law spec12 ified in subparagraph (B) may not be provided 

13 to a foreign government that is designated or 

14 re-designated as a country of particular concern 

15 for religious freedom under section 402 until 

16 the Secretary of State certifies to the appro17 priate congressional committees that the gov18 ernment of such country has agreed to use such 

19 funds to support improvements in respecting 

20 international standards of religious freedom for 

21 all its residents and to take measures to ad22 dress discrimination and violence against reli23 gious minorities or dissenting members of the 

24 majority community in such country. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PROVISIONS OF LAW.—The provi2 sions of law specified in this subparagraph are 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) Chapter 4 of part II of the For5 eign Assistance Act of 1961. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Part II of the Foreign Assistance 

7 Act of 1961. 

8 ‘‘(iii) The Arms Export Control Act. 

9 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The President may waive for a 

10 period not to exceed 180 days the application of 

11 paragraph (2) if the President determines and re12 ports to the appropriate congressional committees 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(A) the exercise of such waiver authority 

15 would further the purposes of this Act; or 

16 ‘‘(B) it is important to the national inter17 est of the United States to provide for the exer18 cise of such waiver authority. 

19 ‘‘(d) PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE AND PROTECT FREE20 DOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting 

22 through the Federal departments and other entities 

23 described in paragraph (3)(B), is authorized to carry 

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1 tries. Such programs shall focus on supporting civil 

2 society, especially in countries designated or re-des3 ignated as countries of particular concern for reli4 gious freedom under section 402, or recommended 

5 by the United States Commission on International 

6 Religious Freedom for such designation or re-des7 ignation. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Programs carried out under 

9 paragraph (1) shall include proposed reforms to a 

10 country’s education systems to promote respect for 

11 religious tolerance and freedom. 

12 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Presi14 dent $17,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2015 

15 through 2018 to carry out this subsection, of 

16 which— 

17 ‘‘(A) $5,000,000 is authorized to be appro18 priated to each of the Office on International 

19 Religious Freedom within the Department of 

20 State, the National Endowment for Democracy, 

21 and the United States Institute for Peace; and 

22 ‘‘(B) $2,000,000 is authorized to be appro23 priated to the United States Commission on 

24 International Religious Freedom. 


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1 ‘‘(e) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that the Secretary of State should prioritize the pro3 tection of religious minorities and places where these mi4 norities reside and congregate when developing policy and 

5 directing programs that are administered by the Depart6 ment of Defense.’’. 

7 SEC. 502. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING. 

8 Section 502 of the International Religious Freedom 

9 Act of 1998 is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘Section 303(a)’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a)’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts authorized 

15 to be appropriated for democracy programs of the Bureau 

16 of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the Depart17 ment of State, the United States Agency for International 

18 Development, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors 

19 are authorized to be used to support the development and 

20 implementation of innovative uses of the Internet and 

21 other electronic methods to support freedom of religion or 

22 belief abroad.’’. 

Æ 


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