II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2503 

To reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious 

Freedom, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. DURBIN, and 

Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Commis5 sion on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization 

6 Act of 2019’’. 

7 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION. 

8 Section 209 of the International Religious Freedom 

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

10 ‘‘2019’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 

2 Section 201 of the International Religious Freedom 

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

4 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—’’; and 

6 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); 

7 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting ‘‘3 

9 years’’; and 

10 (B) by striking the second and third sen11 tences and inserting the following: ‘‘Individuals 

12 serving on the Commission on the date of the 

13 enactment of the United States Commission on 

14 International Religious Freedom Reauthoriza15 tion Act of 2019 who were previously re16 appointed to the Commission may not remain 

17 in office after the end of the term for which the 

18 member was appointed. Individuals serving on 

19 the Commission as of such date of enactment 

20 who were not previously reappointed to the 

21 Commission may be reappointed for 1 addi22 tional 2-year term. Individuals appointed to the 

23 Commission on or after such date of enactment 

24 may not serve more than 1 term as members of 

25 the Commission under any circumstance. Indi26 viduals whose service as members of the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Sep 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2503.IS S2503

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1 mission ended before such date of enactment 

2 may not be reappointed to the Commission.’’; 

3 (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(d) ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—At the 

6 first meeting of the Commission after May 30 of each 

7 year, a majority of the members of the Commission who 

8 are present and voting shall elect a Chair and a Vice 

9 Chair. The Vice Chair shall have been appointed by an 

10 officeholder from a different political party than the office11 holder who appointed the member of the Commission who 

12 was elected Chair. The positions of Chair and Vice Chair 

13 shall be rotated annually between members who were ap14 pointed to the Commission by officeholders of different po15 litical parties.’’; 

16 (4) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘Country Re17 port on Human Rights Practices’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘International Religious Freedom Report’’; and 

19 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(j) REMOVAL.—If a payment is made under section 

21 415(a) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 

22 (2 U.S.C. 1415(a)) for an award or settlement in connec23 tion with a claim alleging a violation of unlawful harass24 ment, intimidation, reprisal, or discrimination under the 

25 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 


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1 et seq.) that was committed personally by an individual 

2 who, at the time of committing the violation, was a Mem3 ber of the Commission, the Member shall be removed from 

4 the Commission.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

6 (a) DUTIES.—Section 202 of the International Reli7 gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘globally 

10 and the abuse of religion to justify human rights vio11 lations, including those’’ after ‘‘freedom’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (e)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and in14 serting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) TRACKING; REVIEW.—The Commission 

18 shall regularly— 

19 ‘‘(A) track the implementation by the 

20 United States Government of the recommenda21 tions it makes under paragraph (1); and 

22 ‘‘(B) review, to the extent practicable, the 

23 effectiveness of such implemented recommenda24 tions in advancing religious freedom inter25 nationally.’’. 


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1 (b) POWERS.—Section 203(e) of the International 

2 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432a(e)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘The Members of the Commis5 sion’’ and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Members of the Com7 mission’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (1), as redesignated, by insert9 ing ‘‘When a member of the Commission is speaking 

10 at a public event in his or her capacity as a private 

11 citizen, the event sponsor shall not identify the mem12 ber’s affiliation with the Commission in any printed 

13 materials or when introducing the member.’’ after 

14 ‘‘private citizens.’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) SPEAKING AT EVENTS IN OFFICIAL CAPAC17 ITY.—When a Member of the Commission is invited 

18 to speak at an event in his or her capacity as a 

19 Commissioner, the Member shall provide notice of 

20 the request to all Commissioners and the Executive 

21 Director as soon as the Commissioner becomes 

22 aware of the request. When a specific Commissioner 

23 is requested to speak at an event, but a different 

24 Commissioner has more relevant subject-matter ex25 pertise, the Commission may propose that a difVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Sep 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2503.IS S2503

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1 ferent Commissioner speak at the event. If more 

2 than 1 Commissioner would like to speak at an event 

3 and interested Commissioners cannot reach a timely, 

4 amicable decision on who shall speak, the Commis5 sion, as a whole, shall decide who shall speak by ma6 jority vote. Speeches and responses to questions at 

7 events shall reflect the views of the Commission. 

8 Speeches and other prepared materials must be cir9 culated to all Commissioners in advance of the 

10 event.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204 of the International 

13 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432b) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘, without regard to civil 

17 service laws and regulations,’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘and such other additional 

19 personnel’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘. The 

20 Executive Director, with the approval of the 

21 Chair and the Vice Chair, may appoint or ter22 minate additional senior staff’’; and 

23 (C) by inserting ‘‘The Executive Director, 

24 in consultation with the relevant Directors, may 

25 appoint or terminate such junior staff as may 


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1 be necessary to enable the Commission to per2 form its duties.’’ after ‘‘duties.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘fix the compensation of 

5 the Executive Director and other personnel’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘provide reasonable compensation 

7 to the Executive Director’’; 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘and other personnel may 

9 not exceed the rate payable for level V of the 

10 Executive Schedule under section 5316’’ and in11 serting ‘‘may not exceed the rate payable under 

12 level II of the Executive Schedule under section 

13 5313’’; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘The rate of pay for other personnel of the 

16 Commission may not exceed the rate payable 

17 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 

18 section 5315 of such title. All employees of the 

19 Commission shall otherwise be treated as em20 ployees whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary 

21 of the Senate, including for purposes of apply22 ing the Standing Rules of the Senate. The 

23 Commission shall be treated as an employing 

24 office of the Senate’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘the commis2 sion, for the executive director’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

3 Commission, for the Executive Director’’; and 

4 (4) by striking subsection (g). 

5 (b) COVERAGE OF COMMISSION EMPLOYEES.—Sec6 tion 101(b) of the Congressional Accountability Act (2 

7 U.S.C. 1301) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘the United 

9 States Commission on International Religious Free10 dom,’’ after ‘‘With respect to’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

13 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii); 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Subject to 

15 paragraph (3),’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(B) Legal assistance and representation 

18 under this chapter, including assistance and 

19 representation with respect to the proposal or 

20 acceptance of the disposition of a claim under 

21 this chapter, shall be provided to the United 

22 States Commission on International Religious 

23 Freedom by the Office of Senate Chief Counsel 

24 for Employment of the Senate, in the case of 

25 assistance and representation in connection 


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1 with a claim filed under subchapter IV (includ2 ing all subsequent proceedings under such sub3 chapter in connection with such claim).’’; and 

4 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

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

6 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

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

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(D) the term ‘United States Commission 

11 on International Religious Freedom’ means the 

12 Commission established under section 201 of 

13 the International Religious Freedom Act of 

14 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431 et seq.).’’. 

15 SEC. 6. COMMISSION TRAVEL AND ANNUAL DISCLOSURES. 

16 (a) DUTIES.—Section 201(i) of the International Re17 ligious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(i)) is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘are subject to’’ and inserting ‘‘shall 

19 comply with’’. 

20 (b) POWERS.—Section 203(f) of the International 

21 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432a(f)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘The Members of the Commis24 sion’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Members of the Com2 mission’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION AGAINST PAYMENT OF OFFI5 CIAL TRAVEL BY NON-FEDERAL SOURCES.—Mem6 bers of the Commission and Commission staff may 

7 not accept payment from a non-Federal source for 

8 expenses related to official travel on behalf of the 

9 Commission.’’. 

10 (c) ANNUAL DISCLOSURES.—Section 203 of the 

11 International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended 

12 by subsection (b), is further amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL DISCLOSURES.—Not later than March 

15 1 of each year, each Member of the Commission shall sub16 mit a report to the appropriate congressional committees 

17 (as defined in section 4(a) of the United States Commis18 sion on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization 

19 Act of 2015 (22 U.S.C. 6433a(a)) that discloses, with re20 spect to the most recently concluded 12-month period— 

21 ‘‘(1) any travel by the Member outside of the 

22 United States that was paid for or reimbursed by a 

23 person or entity other than the Member, a relative 

24 of the Member, or the Federal Government, includ25 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) who paid for or reimbursed the trav2 el; 

3 ‘‘(B) a good faith estimate of the cost of 

4 the travel; and 

5 ‘‘(C) brief details of the travel and events 

6 related to such travel; and 

7 ‘‘(2) any instances in which the Member was 

8 identified as a Commissioner while speaking at, or 

9 otherwise participating in, a public event in his or 

10 her capacity as a private citizen.’’. 

11 SEC. 7. STRATEGIC PLAN. 

12 Section 4(d) of the United States Commission on 

13 International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 

14 2015 (22 U.S.C. 6433a(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘Not 

15 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

16 the Act, and not less frequently than biennially thereafter’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘Not later than December 15, 2019, and 

18 every 2 years thereafter’’. 

19 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 Section 207(a) of the International Religious Free21 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435(a)) is amended by strik22 ing ‘‘$3,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2016 to 

23 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘$4,500,000 for each of the fiscal 

24 years 2019 through 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. RECORD RETENTION. 

2 Section 208 of the International Religious Freedom 

3 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435a) is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(f) COMMISSION RECORDS.—The Commission shall 

6 comply with all of the records management requirements 

7 set forth in chapter 31 of title 44, United States Code 

8 (commonly referred to as the ‘Federal Records Act of 

9 1950’). 

10 ‘‘(g) OFFICIAL EMAIL FOR COMMISSION BUSI11 NESS.—When conducting any Commission business 

12 through email, Commission Members and staff shall use 

13 official Commission email.’’. 

Æ 


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