H. R. 2431—22
(d) EXCEPTIONS.—Any action taken pursuant to subsection (a)
or (b) may not prohibit or restrict the provision of medicine, medical
equipment or supplies, food, or other humanitarian assistance.
SEC. 406. EFFECTS ON EXISTING CONTRACTS.
The President shall not be required to apply or maintain any
Presidential action under this subtitle—
(1) in the case of procurement of defense articles or defense
services—
(A) under existing contracts or subcontracts, including
the exercise of options for production quantities, to satisfy
requirements essential to the national security of the
United States;
(B) if the President determines in writing and so
reports to Congress that the person or other entity to
which the Presidential action would otherwise be applied
is a sole source supplier of the defense articles or services,
that the defense articles or services are essential, and
that alternative sources are not readily or reasonably avail-
able; or
(C) if the President determines in writing and so
reports to Congress that such articles or services are essen-
tial to the national security under defense coproduction
agreements; or
(2) to products or services provided under contracts entered
into before the date on which the President publishes his
intention to take the Presidential action.
SEC. 407. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the President may
waive the application of any of the actions described in paragraphs
(9) through (15) of section 405(a) (or commensurate action in substi-
tution thereto) with respect to a country, if the President determines
and so reports to the appropriate congressional committees that—
(1) the respective foreign government has ceased the
violations giving rise to the Presidential action;
(2) the exercise of such waiver authority would further
the purposes of this Act; or
(3) the important national interest of the United States
requires the exercise of such waiver authority.
(b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than the date
of the exercise of a waiver under subsection (a), the President
shall notify the appropriate congressional committees of the waiver
or the intention to exercise the waiver, together with a detailed
justification thereof.
SEC. 408. PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the President shall
cause to be published in the Federal Register the following:
(1) DETERMINATIONS
OF
GOVERNMENTS, OFFICIALS, AND
ENTITIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.—Any designation of a coun-
try of particular concern for religious freedom under section
402(b)(1), together with, when applicable and to the extent
practicable, the identities of the officials or entities determined
to be responsible for the violations under section 402(b)(2).
(2) 
PRESIDENTIAL
ACTIONS.—A 
description 
of 
any
Presidential action under paragraphs (9) through (15) of section
H. R. 2431—23
405(a) (or commensurate action in substitution thereto) and
the effective date of the Presidential action.
(3) DELAYS
IN
TRANSMITTAL
OF
PRESIDENTIAL
ACTION
REPORTS.—Any delay in transmittal of a Presidential action
report, as described in section 404(b).
(4) WAIVERS.—Any waiver under section 407.
(b) LIMITED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—The President may
limit publication of information under this section in the same
manner and to the same extent as the President may limit the
publication of findings and determinations described in section
654(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2414(c)),
if the President determines that the publication of information
under this section—
(1) would be harmful to the national security of the United
States; or
(2) would not further the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 409. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.
Any Presidential action taken under this Act with respect to
a foreign country shall terminate on the earlier of the following
dates:
(1) TERMINATION DATE.—Within 2 years of the effective
date of the Presidential action unless expressly reauthorized
by law.
(2) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT ACTIONS.—Upon the determina-
tion by the President, in consultation with the Commission,
and certification to Congress that the foreign government has
ceased or taken substantial and verifiable steps to cease the
particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
SEC. 410. PRECLUSION OF JUDICIAL REVIEW.
No court shall have jurisdiction to review any Presidential
determination or agency action under this Act or any amendment
made by this Act.
Subtitle II—Strengthening Existing Law
SEC. 421. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.
(a) IMPLEMENTATION
OF PROHIBITION
ON ECONOMIC ASSIST-
ANCE.—Section 116(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2151n(c)) is amended—
(1) in the text above paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and
in consultation with the Ambassador at Large for International
Religious Freedom’’ after ‘‘Labor’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (1);
(3) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2)
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(3) whether the government—
‘‘(A) has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe
violations of religious freedom, as defined in section 3 of
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998; or
‘‘(B) has failed to undertake serious and sustained
efforts to combat particularly severe violations of religious
freedom (as defined in section 3 of the International Reli-
gious Freedom Act of 1998), when such efforts could have
been reasonably undertaken.’’.
H. R. 2431—24
(b) IMPLEMENTATION
OF PROHIBITION
ON MILITARY ASSIST-
ANCE.—Section 502B(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2304(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
‘‘(4) In determining whether the government of a country
engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally
recognized human rights, the President shall give particular consid-
eration to whether the government—
‘‘(A) has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe
violations of religious freedom, as defined in section 3 of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998; or
‘‘(B) has failed to undertake serious and sustained efforts
to combat particularly severe violations of religious freedom
when such efforts could have been reasonably undertaken.’’.
SEC. 422. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE.
Section 701 of the International Financial Institutions Act (22
U.S.C. 262d) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(g) In determining whether the government of a country
engages in a pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized
human rights, as described in subsection (a), the President shall
give particular consideration to whether a foreign government—
‘‘(1) has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe
violations of religious freedom, as defined in section 3 of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998; or
‘‘(2) has failed to undertake serious and sustained efforts
to combat particularly severe violations of religious freedom
when such efforts could have been reasonably undertaken.’’.
SEC. 423. EXPORTS OF CERTAIN ITEMS USED IN PARTICULARLY
SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
(a) MANDATORY LICENSING.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Secretary of Commerce, with the concurrence of
the Secretary of State, shall include on the list of crime control
and detection instruments or equipment controlled for export and
reexport under section 6(n) of the Export Administration Act of
1979 (22 U.S.C. App. 2405(n)), or under any other provision of
law, items being exported or reexported to countries of particular
concern for religious freedom that the Secretary of Commerce, with
the concurrence of the Secretary of State, and in consultation with
appropriate officials including the Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the Ambassador at Large,
determines are being used or are intended for use directly and
in significant measure to carry out particularly severe violations
of religious freedom.
(b) LICENSING BAN.—The prohibition on the issuance of a
license for export of crime control and detection instruments or
equipment under section 502B(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(2)) shall apply to the export and reexport
of any item included pursuant to subsection (a) on the list of
crime control instruments.
H. R. 2431—25
TITLE V—PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM
SEC. 501. ASSISTANCE FOR PROMOTING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In many nations where severe violations of religious
freedom occur, there is not sufficient statutory legal protection
for religious minorities or there is not sufficient cultural and
social understanding of international norms of religious free-
dom.
(2) Accordingly, in the provision of foreign assistance, the
United States should make a priority of promoting and develop-
ing legal protections and cultural respect for religious freedom.
(b) ALLOCATION
OF FUNDS
FOR INCREASED PROMOTION
OF
RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS.—Section 116(e) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(e)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including
the right to free religious belief and practice’’ after ‘‘adherence
to civil and political rights’’.
SEC. 502. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING.
Section 303(a) of the United States International Broadcasting
Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6202(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (6);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (7)
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(8) promote respect for human rights, including freedom
of religion.’’.
SEC. 503. INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.
Section 102(b) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural
Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after paragraph (10);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (11)
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(12) promoting respect for and guarantees of religious
freedom abroad by interchanges and visits between the United
States and other nations of religious leaders, scholars, and
religious and legal experts in the field of religious freedom.’’.
SEC. 504. FOREIGN SERVICE AWARDS.
(a) PERFORMANCE PAY.—Section 405(d) of the Foreign Service
Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3965(d)) is amended by inserting after
the first sentence the following: ‘‘Such service in the promotion
of internationally recognized human rights, including the right to
freedom of religion, shall serve as a basis for granting awards
under this section.’’.
(b) FOREIGN SERVICE AWARDS.—Section 614 of the Foreign Serv-
ice Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4013) is amended by adding at the
end the following new sentence: ‘‘Distinguished, meritorious service
in the promotion of internationally recognized human rights, includ-
ing the right to freedom of religion, shall serve as a basis for
granting awards under this section.’’.
H. R. 2431—26
TITLE VI—REFUGEE, ASYLUM, AND
CONSULAR MATTERS
SEC. 601. USE OF ANNUAL REPORT.
The Annual Report, together with other relevant documenta-
tion, shall serve as a resource for immigration judges and consular,
refugee, and asylum officers in cases involving claims of persecution
on the grounds of religion. Absence of reference by the Annual
Report to conditions described by the alien shall not constitute
the sole grounds for a denial of the alien’s claim.
SEC. 602. REFORM OF REFUGEE POLICY.
(a) TRAINING.—Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
‘‘(f )(1) The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary
of State, shall provide all United States officials adjudicating refu-
gee cases under this section with the same training as that provided
to officers adjudicating asylum cases under section 208.
‘‘(2) Such training shall include country-specific conditions,
instruction on the internationally recognized right to freedom of
religion, instruction on methods of religious persecution practiced
in foreign countries, and applicable distinctions within a country
between the nature of and treatment of various religious practices
and believers.’’.
(b) TRAINING
FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.—Section 708
of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added by section 104 of
this Act, is further amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary of State’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) The Secretary of State shall provide sessions on refugee
law and adjudications and on religious persecution to each individ-
ual seeking a commission as a United States consular officer. The
Secretary shall also ensure that any member of the Service who
is assigned to a position that may be called upon to assess requests
for consideration for refugee admissions, including any consular
officer, has completed training on refugee law and refugee adjudica-
tions in addition to the training required in this section.’’.
(c) GUIDELINES FOR REFUGEE-PROCESSING POSTS.—
(1) GUIDELINES
FOR
ADDRESSING
HOSTILE
BIASES.—The
Attorney General and the Secretary of State shall develop
and implement guidelines that address potential biases in
personnel of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that
are hired abroad and involved with duties which could con-
stitute an effective barrier to a refugee claim if such personnel
carries a bias against the claimant on the grounds of religion,
race, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion. The subject matter of this training should
be culturally sensitive and tailored to provide a nonbiased,
nonadversarial atmosphere for the purpose of refugee adjudica-
tions.
(2) 
GUIDELINES
FOR
REFUGEE-PROCESSING
POSTS
IN
ESTABLISHING AGREEMENTS WITH UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT-
DESIGNATED
REFUGEE
PROCESSING
ENTITIES.—The Attorney
General and the Secretary of State shall develop and implement
H. R. 2431—27
guidelines to ensure uniform procedures for establishing agree-
ments with United States Government-designated refugee
processing entities and personnel, and uniform procedures for
such entities and personnel responsible for preparing refugee
case files for use by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
during refugee adjudications. These procedures should ensure,
to the extent practicable, that case files prepared by such
entities accurately reflect information provided by the refugee
applicants and that genuine refugee applicants are not dis-
advantaged or denied refugee status due to faulty case file
preparation.
(d) ANNUAL CONSULTATION.—The President shall include in
each annual report on proposed refugee admissions under section
207(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(d))
information about religious persecution of refugee populations
eligible for consideration for admission to the United States. The
Secretary of State shall include information on religious persecution
of refugee populations in the formal testimony presented to the
Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and
the Senate during the consultation process under section 207(e)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(e)).
SEC. 603. REFORM OF ASYLUM POLICY.
(a) GUIDELINES.—The Attorney General and the Secretary of
State shall develop guidelines to ensure that persons with potential
biases against individuals on the grounds of religion, race, national-
ity, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion,
including interpreters and personnel of airlines owned by govern-
ments known to be involved in practices which would meet the
definition of persecution under international refugee law, shall not
in any manner be used to interpret conversations between aliens
and inspection or asylum officers.
(b) TRAINING FOR ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION OFFICERS.—The
Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the
Ambassador at Large, and other relevant officials such as the
Director of the National Foreign Affairs Training Center, shall
provide training to all officers adjudicating asylum cases, and to
immigration officers performing duties under section 235(b) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)), on the nature
of religious persecution abroad, including country-specific condi-
tions, instruction on the internationally recognized right to freedom
of religion, instruction on methods of religious persecution practiced
in foreign countries, and applicable distinctions within a country
in the treatment of various religious practices and believers.
(c) TRAINING FOR IMMIGRATION JUDGES.—The Executive Office
of Immigration Review of the Department of Justice shall incor-
porate into its initial and ongoing training of immigration judges
training on the extent and nature of religious persecution inter-
nationally, including country-specific conditions, and including use
of the Annual Report. Such training shall include governmental
and nongovernmental methods of persecution employed, and dif-
ferences in the treatment of religious groups by such persecuting
entities.
H. R. 2431—28
SEC. 604. INADMISSIBILITY OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
WHO HAVE ENGAGED IN PARTICULARLY SEVERE VIOLA-
TIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
(a) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS OR ADMISSION.—Section 212(a)(2)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(G) FOREIGN
GOVERNMENT
OFFICIALS
WHO
HAVE
ENGAGED
IN
PARTICULARLY
SEVERE
VIOLATIONS
OF
RELI-
GIOUS FREEDOM.—Any alien who, while serving as a foreign
government official, was responsible for or directly carried
out, at any time during the preceding 24-month period,
particularly severe violations of religious freedom, as
defined in section 3 of the International Religious Freedom
Act of 1998, and the spouse and children, if any, are
inadmissible.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall apply to aliens seeking to enter the United States on or
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 605. STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF EXPEDITED REMOVAL PROVI-
SIONS ON ASYLUM CLAIMS.
(a) STUDIES.—
(1) COMMISSION REQUEST FOR PARTICIPATION BY EXPERTS
ON
REFUGEE
AND
ASYLUM
ISSUES.—If the Commission so
requests, the Attorney General shall invite experts designated
by the Commission, who are recognized for their expertise
and knowledge of refugee and asylum issues, to conduct a
study, in cooperation with the Comptroller General of the
United States, to determine whether immigration officers
described in paragraph (2) are engaging in any of the conduct
described in such paragraph.
(2) DUTIES OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comptroller
General of the United States shall conduct a study alone or,
upon request by the Commission, in cooperation with experts
designated by the Commission, to determine whether immigra-
tion officers performing duties under section 235(b) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)) with respect
to aliens who may be eligible to be granted asylum are engaging
in any of the following conduct:
(A) Improperly encouraging such aliens to withdraw
their applications for admission.
(B) Incorrectly failing to refer such aliens for an inter-
view by an asylum officer for a determination of whether
they have a credible fear of persecution (within the meaning
of section 235(b)(1)(B)(v) of such Act).
(C) Incorrectly removing such aliens to a country where
they may be persecuted.
(D) Detaining such aliens improperly or in inappropri-
ate conditions.
(b) REPORTS.—
(1) PARTICIPATION BY EXPERTS.—In the case of a Commis-
sion request under subsection (a), the experts designated by
the Commission under that subsection may submit a report
to the committees described in paragraph (2). Such report may
be submitted with the Comptroller General’s report under sub-
section (a)(2) or independently.
H. R. 2431—29
(2) DUTIES
OF
COMPTROLLER
GENERAL.—Not later than
September 1, 2000, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Committee
on International Relations of the House of Representatives,
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report
containing the results of the study conducted under subsection
(a)(2). If the Commission requests designated experts to partici-
pate with the Comptroller General in the preparation and
submission of the report, the Comptroller General shall grant
the request.
(c) ACCESS TO PROCEEDINGS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), to
facilitate the studies and reports, the Attorney General shall
permit the Comptroller General of the United States and, in
the case of a Commission request under subsection (a), the
experts designated under subsection (a) to have unrestricted
access to all stages of all proceedings conducted under section
235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply in cases
in which the alien objects to such access, or the Attorney
General determines that the security of a particular proceeding
would be threatened by such access, so long as any restrictions
on the access of experts designated by the Commission under
subsection (a) do not contravene international law.
TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
SEC. 701. BUSINESS CODES OF CONDUCT.
(a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDING.—Congress recognizes the increas-
ing importance of transnational corporations as global actors, and
their potential for providing positive leadership in their host coun-
tries in the area of human rights.
(b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Congress
that transnational corporations operating overseas, particularly
those corporations operating in countries the governments of which
have engaged in or tolerated violations of religious freedom, as
identified in the Annual Report, should adopt codes of conduct—
(1) upholding the right to freedom of religion of their
employees; and
H. R. 2431—30
(2) ensuring that a worker’s religious views and peaceful
practices of belief in no way affect, or be allowed to affect,
the status or terms of his or her employment.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.