I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6482 
To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to improve 
the ability of the United States to advance religious freedom globally 
through enhanced diplomacy, training, counterterrorism, and foreign as-
sistance efforts, and through stronger and more flexible political re-
sponses to religious freedom violations and violent extremism worldwide, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 8, 2016 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees 
on Financial Services, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 
to improve the ability of the United States to advance 
religious freedom globally through enhanced diplomacy, 
training, counterterrorism, and foreign assistance efforts, 
and through stronger and more flexible political re-
sponses to religious freedom violations and violent extre-
mism worldwide, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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cations for religious workers can be indicative of a 
poor state of religious freedom in that country; and 
(2) the United States Government should seek 
to reverse any such policy by reviewing the entirety 
of the bilateral relationship between such country 
and the United States. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 3 of the International Religious Freedom Act 
of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (13) as para-
graph (16); 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (10), (11), and 
(12) as paragraphs (12), (13), and (14), respec-
tively; 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(10) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 
The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 101 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
‘‘(11) NON-STATE ACTOR.—The term ‘non-state 
actor’ means a nonsovereign entity that— 
‘‘(A) exercises significant political power 
and territorial control; 
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‘‘(B) is outside the control of a sovereign 
government; and 
‘‘(C) often employs violence in pursuit of 
its objectives.’’; 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (14), as redes-
ignated, the following: 
‘‘(15) SPECIAL WATCH LIST.—The term ‘Spe-
cial Watch List’ means the Special Watch List de-
scribed in section 402(b)(1)(A)(iii).’’; and 
(5) in paragraph (16), as redesignated— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) by redesignating clauses (iv) and 
(v) as clauses (v) and (vi), respectively; 
and 
(ii) by inserting after clause (iii) the 
following: 
‘‘(iv) not professing a particular reli-
gion, or any religion;’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (B)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘conscience, non-the-
istic views, or’’ before ‘‘religious belief or 
practice’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘forcibly compelling 
non-believers or non-theists to recant their 
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beliefs or to convert,’’ after ‘‘forced reli-
gious conversion,’’. 
TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 
STATE ACTIVITIES 
SEC. 101. OFFICE ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREE-
DOM; AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR INTER-
NATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101 of the International 
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘, and shall 
report directly to the Secretary of State’’ before the 
period at the end; 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘responsibility’’ and in-
serting ‘‘responsibilities’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘shall be to advance’’ 
and inserting the following: ‘‘shall be to— 
‘‘(A) advance’’; 
(iii) in subparagraph (A), as redesig-
nated, by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iv) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(B) integrate United States international 
religious freedom policies and strategies into 
the foreign policy efforts of the United States.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘the 
principal adviser to’’ before ‘‘the Secretary of 
State’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(C) contacts with nongovernmental orga-
nizations that have an impact on the state of 
religious freedom in their respective societies or 
regions, or internationally.’’; 
(D) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 
paragraph (5); and 
(E) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 
following: 
‘‘(4) 
COORDINATION
RESPONSIBILITIES.—In 
order to promote religious freedom as an interest of 
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United States foreign policy, the Ambassador at 
Large— 
‘‘(A) shall coordinate international reli-
gious freedom policies across all programs, 
projects, and activities of the United States; 
and 
‘‘(B) should participate in any interagency 
processes on issues in which the promotion of 
international religious freedom policy can ad-
vance United States national security interests, 
including in democracy promotion, stability, se-
curity, and development globally.’’; and 
(3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘staff for the 
Office’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘appro-
priate staff for the Office, including full-time equiva-
lent positions and other temporary staff positions 
needed to compile, edit, and manage the Annual Re-
port under the direct supervision of the Ambassador 
at Large, and for the conduct of investigations by 
the Office and for necessary travel to carry out this 
Act. The Secretary of State should provide the Am-
bassador at Large with sufficient funding to carry 
out the duties described in this section, including, as 
necessary, representation funds. On the date on 
which the President’s annual budget request is sub-
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mitted to Congress, the Secretary shall submit an 
annual report to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees that includes a report on staffing levels for 
the International Religious Freedom Office.’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that maintaining an adequate staffing level at the 
Office, such as was in place during fiscal year 2016, is 
necessary for the Office to carry out its important work. 
SEC. 102. ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS 
FREEDOM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102(b)(1) of the Inter-
national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
6412(b)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 
by striking ‘‘September 1’’ and inserting ‘‘May 1’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A)— 
(A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting ‘‘as well as the routine denial of visa 
applications for religious workers;’’; 
(B) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause 
(vii); and 
(C) by inserting after clause (iii) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(iv) particularly severe violations of 
religious freedom in that country if such 
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country does not have a functioning gov-
ernment or the government of such coun-
try does not control its territory; 
‘‘(v) the identification of prisoners, to 
the extent possible, in that country pursu-
ant to section 108(d); 
‘‘(vi) any action taken by the govern-
ment of that country to censor religious 
content, communications, or worship activi-
ties online, including descriptions of the 
targeted religious group, the content, com-
munication, or activities censored, and the 
means used; and’’; 
(3) in subparagraph (B), in the matter pre-
ceding clause (i)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘persecution of lawyers, 
politicians, or other human rights advocates 
seeking to defend the rights of members of reli-
gious groups or highlight religious freedom vio-
lations, prohibitions on ritual animal slaughter 
or male infant circumcision,’’ after ‘‘entire reli-
gions,’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘policies that ban or re-
strict the public manifestation of religious belief 
and the peaceful involvement of religious groups 
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or their members in the political life of each 
such foreign country,’’ after ‘‘such groups,’’; 
(4) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘A de-
scription of United States actions and’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘A detailed description of United States actions, 
diplomatic and political coordination efforts, and 
other’’; and 
(5) in subparagraph (F)(i)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘section 402(b)(1)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Any country in which a non-state actor des-
ignated as an entity of particular concern for 
religious freedom under section 301 of the 
Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom 
Act is located shall be included in this section 
of the report.’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the original intent of the International Reli-
gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) 
was to require annual reports from both the Depart-
ment of State and the Commission on International 
Religious Freedom to be delivered each year, during 
the same calendar year, and with at least 5 months 
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separating these reports, in order to provide updated 
information for policymakers, Members of Congress, 
and nongovernmental organizations; and 
(2) given that the annual Country Reports on 
Human Rights Practices no longer contain updated 
information on religious freedom conditions globally, 
it is important that the Department of State coordi-
nate with the Commission to fulfill the original in-
tent of the International Religious Freedom Act of 
1998. 
SEC. 103. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. 
(a) AMENDMENTS TO FOREIGN SERVICE ACT OF 
1980.—Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 
(22 U.S.C. 4028) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 
and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re-
spectively; 
(B) by striking ‘‘(a) The Secretary of 
State’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(a) HUMAN RIGHTS, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND 
HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRAINING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State’’; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(2) RELIGIOUS FREEDOM TRAINING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 
training required under paragraph (1)(B), the 
Director of the George P. Shultz National For-
eign Affairs Training Center shall, not later 
than the one year after the date of the enact-
ment of the Frank R. Wolf International Reli-
gious Freedom Act, conduct training on reli-
gious freedom for all Foreign Service officers, 
including all entry level officers, all officers 
prior to departure for posting outside the 
United States, and all outgoing deputy chiefs of 
mission and ambassadors. Such training shall 
be included in— 
‘‘(i) the A–100 course attended by all 
Foreign Service officers; 
‘‘(ii) the courses required of every 
Foreign Service officer prior to a posting 
outside the United States, with segments 
tailored to the particular religious demog-
raphy, religious freedom conditions, and 
United States strategies for advancing reli-
gious freedom, in each receiving country; 
and 
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‘‘(iii) the courses required of all out-
going deputy chiefs of mission and ambas-
sadors. 
‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT OF CURRICULUM.—In 
carrying out the training required under para-
graph (1)(B), the Ambassador at Large for 
International Religious Freedom, in coordina-
tion with the Director of the George P. Shultz 
National Foreign Affairs Training Center and 
other Federal officials, as appropriate, and in 
consultation with the United States Commission 
on International Religious Freedom established 
under section 201(a) of the International Reli-
gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
6431(a)), shall make recommendations to the 
Secretary of State regarding a curriculum for 
the training of United States Foreign Service 
officers under paragraph (1)(B) on the scope 
and strategic value of international religious 
freedom, how violations of international reli-
gious freedom harm fundamental United States 
interests, how the advancement of international 
religious freedom can advance such interests, 
how United States international religious free-
dom policy should be carried out in practice by 
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