II 

106TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1546 

To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to provide additional administrative authorities to the United States Commission on 

International Religious Freedom, and to make technical corrections to 

that Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 1999 

Mr. NICKLES (for himself, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Mr. HAGEL) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice, considered, and read the third time 

A BILL 

To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

to provide additional administrative authorities to the 

United States Commission on International Religious 

Freedom, and to make technical corrections to that Act, 

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. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES OF THE 

2 UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTER3 NATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION.—Section 

5 201 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

6 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘The’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 

9 IN GENERAL.—The’’; 

10 (2) by inserting after the first sentence the fol11 lowing new sentences: ‘‘The term of each member of 

12 the Commission appointed to the first two-year term 

13 of the Commission shall be considered to have begun 

14 on May 15, 1999, and shall end on May 14, 2001, 

15 regardless of the date of appointment to the Com16 mission. The term of each member of the Commis17 sion appointed to the second two-year term of the 

18 Commission shall begin on May 15, 2001, and shall 

19 end on May 14, 2003, regardless of the date of ap20 pointment to the Commission. In the case in which 

21 a vacancy in the membership of the Commission is 

22 filled during a two-year term of the Commission, 

23 such membership on the Commission shall terminate 

24 at the end of that two-year term of the Commis25 sion.’’; and 


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1 (3) by amending subsection (h) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Adminis4 trator of General Services shall provide to the Commission 

5 on a reimbursable basis (or, in the discretion of the Ad6 ministrator, on a non-reimbursable basis) such adminis7 trative support services as the Commission may request 

8 to carry out the provisions of this title.’’. 

9 (b) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.—The Inter10 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 

11 et seq.) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking section 202(f); 

13 (2) by redesignating sections 203, 204, 205, 

14 and 206 as sections 205, 206, 207, and 209, respec15 tively; 

16 (3) by inserting after section 202 the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 203. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

18 ‘‘(a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 

19 may, for the purpose of carrying out its duties under this 

20 title, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places in the 

21 United States, take testimony and receive evidence as the 

22 Commission considers advisable to carry out the purposes 

23 of this Act. 

24 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

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1 partment or agency such information as the Commission 

2 considers necessary to carry out the provisions of this sec3 tion. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Commission, 

4 the head of such department or agency shall furnish such 

5 information to the Commission, subject to applicable law. 

6 ‘‘(c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

7 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

8 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of 

9 the Federal Government. 

10 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—The Commis11 sion may adopt such rules and regulations, relating to ad12 ministrative procedure, as may be reasonably necessary to 

13 enable it to carry out the provisions of this title. 

14 ‘‘(e) VIEWS OF THE COMMISSION.—The Members of 

15 the Commission may speak in their capacity as private 

16 citizens. Statements on behalf of the Commission shall be 

17 issued in writing over the names of the Members. The 

18 Commission shall in its written statements clearly describe 

19 its statutory authority, distinguishing that authority from 

20 that of appointed or elected officials of the United States 

21 Government. Oral statements, where practicable, shall in22 clude a similar description. 

23 ‘‘(f) TRAVEL.—The Members of the Commission 

24 may, with the approval of the Commission, conduct such 

25 travel as is necessary to carry out the purpose of this title. 


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1 Each trip must be approved by a majority of the Commis2 sion. This provision shall not apply to the Ambassador3 at-Large, whose travel shall not require approval by the 

4 Commission. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 204. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, without 

7 regard to the civil service laws and regulations, appoint 

8 and terminate an Executive Director and such other addi9 tional personnel as may be necessary to enable the Com10 mission to perform its duties. The decision to employ or 

11 terminate an Executive Director shall be made by an af12 firmative vote of at least six of the nine members of the 

13 Commission. 

14 ‘‘(b) COMPENSATION.—The Commission may fix the 

15 compensation of the Executive Director and other per16 sonnel without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 

17 subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 

18 Code, relating to classification of positions and General 

19 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the 

20 Executive Director and other personnel may not exceed 

21 the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 

22 under section 5316 of such title. 

23 ‘‘(c) PROFESSIONAL STAFF.—The Commission and 

24 the Executive Director shall hire Commission staff on the 

25 basis of professional and nonpartisan qualifications. ComVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:27 May 08, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\PICKUP\S1546.IS S1546

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1 missioners may not individually hire staff of the Commis2 sion. Staff shall serve the Commission as a whole and may 

3 not be assigned to the particular service of a single Com4 missioner or a specified group of Commissioners. This 

5 subsection does not prohibit staff personnel from assisting 

6 individual members of the Commission with particular 

7 needs related to their duties. 

8 ‘‘(d) STAFF AND SERVICES OF OTHER FEDERAL

9 AGENCIES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—The Secretary 

11 of State shall assist the Commission by providing on 

12 a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis to the 

13 Commission such staff and administrative services 

14 as may be necessary and appropriate to perform its 

15 functions. 

16 ‘‘(2) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon the 

17 request of the Commission, the head of any Federal 

18 department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable 

19 or non-reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of 

20 that department or agency to the Commission to as21 sist it in carrying out its functions under this title. 

22 The detail of any such personnel shall be without 

23 interruption or loss of civil service or Foreign Serv24 ice status or privilege. 


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1 ‘‘(e)(1) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The Executive Di2 rector shall be required to obtain a security clearance. The 

3 Executive Director may request, on a needs-only basis and 

4 in order to perform the duties of the Commission, that 

5 other personnel of the Commission be required to obtain 

6 a security clearance. The level of clearance shall be the 

7 lowest necessary to appropriately perform the duties of the 

8 Commission. 

9 ‘‘(2) COST.—The Commission shall reimburse all ap10 propriate Government agencies for the cost of obtaining 

11 clearances for members of the Commission, for the Execu12 tive Director, and for any other personnel.’’; 

13 (4) in section 207(a) (as redesignated by this 

14 Act), by striking all that follows ‘‘3,000,000’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘to carry out the provisions of this title.’’; 

16 and 

17 (5) by inserting after section 207 (as redesig18 nated) the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 208. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND DISCLOSURE. 

20 ‘‘(a) COOPERATION WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL OR21 GANIZATIONS, THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, AND CON22 GRESS.—The Commission shall seek to effectively and 

23 freely cooperate with all entities engaged in the promotion 

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1 mental, in the performance of the Commission’s duties 

2 under this title. 

3 ‘‘(b) CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND ANTINEPOTISM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) MEMBER AFFILIATIONS.—Except as pro5 vided in paragraph (3), in order to ensure the inde6 pendence and integrity of the Commission, the Com7 mission may not compensate any nongovernmental 

8 agency, project, or person related to or affiliated 

9 with any member of the Commission, whether in 

10 that member’s direct employ or not. Staff employed 

11 by the Commission may not serve in the employ of 

12 any nongovernmental agency, project, or person re13 lated to or affiliated with any member of the Commis14 sion while employed by the Commission. 

15 ‘‘(2) STAFF COMPENSATION.—Staff of the 

16 Commission may not receive compensation from any 

17 other source for work performed in carrying out the 

18 duties of the Commission while employed by the 

19 Commission. 

20 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara22 graph (B), paragraph (1) shall not apply to 

23 payments made for items such as conference 

24 fees or the purchase of periodicals or other 

25 similar expenses, if such payments would not 


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1 cause the aggregate value paid to any agency, 

2 project, or person for a fiscal year to exceed 

3 $250. 

4 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding sub5 paragraph (A), the Commission shall not give 

6 special preference to any agency, project, or 

7 person related to or affiliated with any member 

8 of the Commission. 

9 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

10 term ‘‘affiliated’’ means the relationship between a 

11 member of the Commission and— 

12 ‘‘(A) an individual who holds the position 

13 of officer, trustee, partner, director, or em14 ployee of an agency, project, or person of which 

15 that member, or relative of that member of, the 

16 Commission is an officer, trustee, partner, di17 rector, or employee; or 

18 ‘‘(B) a nongovernmental agency or project 

19 of which that member, or a relative of that 

20 member, of the Commission is an officer, trust21 ee, partner, director, or employee. 

22 ‘‘(c) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 

24 of appropriations, the Commission may contract 

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1 sons for the conduct of activities necessary to the 

2 discharge of its functions under this title. Any such 

3 person shall be hired without interruption or loss of 

4 civil service or Foreign Service status or privilege. 

5 The Commission may not procure temporary and 

6 intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 

7 5, United States Code, or under other contracting 

8 authority other than that allowed under this title. 

9 ‘‘(2) EXPERT STUDY.—In the case of a study 

10 requested under section 605 of this Act, the Com11 mission may, subject to the availability of appropria12 tions, contract with experts and shall provide the 

13 funds for such a study. The Commission shall not be 

14 required to provide the funds for that part of the 

15 study conducted by the Comptroller General of the 

16 United States. 

17 ‘‘(d) GIFTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to preserve its 

19 independence, the Commission may not accept, use, 

20 or dispose of gifts or donations of services or prop21 erty. An individual Commissioner or employee of the 

22 Commission may not, in his or her capacity as a 

23 Commissioner or employee, knowingly accept, use or 

24 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property, 

25 unless he or she in good faith believes such gifts or 


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1 donations to have a value of less than $50 and a cu2 mulative value during a calendar year of less than 

3 $100. 

4 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—This subsection shall not 

5 apply to the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) Gifts provided on the basis of a per7 sonal friendship with a Commissioner or em8 ployee, unless the Commissioner or employee 

9 has reason to believe that the gift was provided 

10 because of the Commissioner’s position and not 

11 because of the personal friendship. 

12 ‘‘(B) Gifts provided on the basis of a fam13 ily relationship. 

14 ‘‘(C) The acceptance of training, invita15 tions to attend or participate in conferences or 

16 such other events as are related to the conduct 

17 of the duties of the Commission, or food or re18 freshment associated with such activities. 

19 ‘‘(D) Items of nominal value or gifts of es20 timated value of $10 or less. 

21 ‘‘(E) De minimis gifts provided by a for22 eign leader or state, not exceeding a value of 

23 $260. Gifts believed by Commissioners to be in 

24 excess of $260, but which would create offense 

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1 ment if refused, shall be accepted and turned 

2 over to the United States Government in ac3 cordance with the Foreign Gifts and Decora4 tions Act of 1966 and the rules and regulations 

5 governing such gifts provided to Members of 

6 Congress. 

7 ‘‘(F) Informational materials such as docu8 ments, books, videotapes, periodicals, or other 

9 forms of communications. 

10 ‘‘(G) Goods or services provides by any 

11 agency or component of the Government of the 

12 United States, including any commission estab13 lished under the authority of such Government. 

14 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT.—In addition to 

15 providing the reports required under section 202, the 

16 Commission shall provide, each year no later than January 

17 1, to the Committees on International Relations and Ap18 propriations of the House of Representatives, and to the 

19 Committees on Foreign Relations and Appropriations of 

20 the Senate, a financial report detailing and identifying its 

21 expenditures for the preceding fiscal year.’’. 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

23 209 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

24 (22 U.S.C. 6436) (as redesignated) is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘4 years after the initial appointment of all the Commis2 sioners’’ and inserting ‘‘on May 14, 2003.’’. 

3 SEC. 2. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

4 (a) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—Section 402(c) of the 

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

6 6442(c)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), in the text above subpara8 graph (A), by striking ‘‘and (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4), 

9 and (5)’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

11 (A) by inserting ‘‘UNDER THIS ACT’’ after 

12 ‘‘EXCEPTION FOR ONGOING PRESIDENTIAL AC13 TION’’; 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub15 paragraph (B); 

16 (C) by striking at the end of subparagraph 

17 (C) ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; and 

18 (D) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘(D) 

19 at’’ and inserting ‘‘(5) EXCEPTION FOR ONGO20 ING, MULTIPLE, BROAD-BASED SANCTIONS IN

21 RESPONSE TO HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.— 

22 At’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL CORRECTION.—Section 

24 201(b)(1)(B)(iii) of the International Religious Freedom 


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1 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(b)(1)(B)(iii)) is amended by 

2 striking ‘‘three’’ and inserting ‘‘Three’’. 

Æ 


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