I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1323 
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 
MARCH 4, 2015 
Mr. PITTS (for himself, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. ELLISON, 
Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. SALMON, Ms. 
DELAURO, Mr. CHABOT, and Mr. BILIRAKIS) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in ad-
dition to the Committees on Financial Services and Oversight and Gov-
ernment 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 re-
spect to, and to strengthen United States advocacy on 
behalf of, freedom of religion or belief abroad and indi-
viduals persecuted in foreign countries on account of 
religion or belief, 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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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Shahbaz Bhatti International Religious Freedom Act of 
2015’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
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 reli-
gious engagement. 
Sec. 107. Reports on countries not designated as countries of particular con-
cern 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 re-
ligious 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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SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Section 2(a) of the International Re-
ligious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 
(7) as paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively; 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) International religious freedom means the 
right of all persons to fully enjoy freedom of religion 
or belief, as protected by international law, and ap-
plies to the holders of all religious beliefs and those 
who reject religious belief altogether.’’; 
(3) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated)— 
(A) by striking the second and third sen-
tences and inserting the following: ‘‘More than 
76 percent of the world’s population live in 
countries in which religion is restricted in sig-
nificant ways, either by the government or by 
societal non-state actors. These limitations se-
verely restrict or prohibit the freedom of people 
to study, believe, observe, and freely practice 
the religious faith of their choice.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
sentence: ‘‘Other governmental violations in-
clude registration laws, laws limiting or prohib-
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iting religious dress or symbols, anti-conversion 
laws, blasphemy laws, and apostasy laws.’’; 
(4) by further redesignating paragraphs (7) and 
(8) (as so redesignated) as paragraphs (9) and (12), 
respectively; 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol-
lowing new paragraphs: 
‘‘(7) In addition to governments, non-state ac-
tors severely violate freedom of religion or belief. 
These actors include individuals, mobs, vigilante 
groups, anti-government insurgents, militant organi-
zations, and recognized terrorist groups. In those 
cases in which governments’ legal systems promote 
intolerance, non-state actors often act unilaterally to 
enforce these biased measures. 
‘‘(8) Over the past 15 years, the global land-
scape for religious freedom has deteriorated. While 
authoritarian governments continue to persecute in-
dividuals, unchecked majoritarianism against reli-
gious minorities and increasing acts of violence by 
religious extremists against any who challenge their 
ideologies are troubling new threats to this funda-
mental freedom. Such violence includes the 2011 as-
sassination of Pakistan’s Minister of Minority Af-
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fairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, an advocate for religious free-
dom.’’; 
(6) by inserting after paragraph (9) (as so re-
designated) the following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(10) Freedom of religion or belief also is cen-
tral to a country’s stability and security. Religious 
freedom abuses are linked to abuses of other human 
rights, and to instability and violent extremism. 
Wherever religious freedom is abused, peace and se-
curity may be threatened, affecting societies and in 
some cases the security of the United States. As 
such, religious freedom merits consideration with 
economic, security, and other concerns. 
‘‘(11) The United States must do more to pro-
mote freedom of religion or belief overseas. This fun-
damental freedom is under serious and sustained 
pressure across much of the globe.’’; and 
(7) by striking paragraph (12) (as so redesig-
nated) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(12) Congress has recognized and denounced 
acts of religious persecution through the passage of 
the following measures and adoption of the following 
resolutions: 
‘‘(A) H.R. 2330 of the One Hundred 
Eighth Congress, which became Public Law 
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108–61, prohibiting the importation into the 
United States of any article that is a product 
of Burma (Myanmar) until the President deter-
mines and certifies to Congress that Burma has 
met certain conditions, including the releasing 
of all political prisoners and permitting the 
peaceful exercise of religion. 
‘‘(B) H.R. 4011 of the One Hundred 
Eighth Congress, which became Public Law 
108–333, the North Korea Human Rights Act 
of 2004, which directs the Secretary of State 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security to re-
port annually on measures taken to facilitate 
access to the United States refugee program by 
persons fleeing countries of particular concern 
for violations of religious freedom. 
‘‘(C) H.R. 6198 of the One Hundred 
Ninth Congress, which became Public Law 
109–293, the Iran Freedom Support Act, which 
holds the current regime in Iran accountable 
for its threatening behavior and supports a 
transition to democracy in Iran and states that 
assistance may be provided only to an indi-
vidual, organization, or entity that supports 
freedom of religion while also expressing the 
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