Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that to promote global religious freedom and freedom of expression, United States foreign aid should not be directed to countries that enforce blasphemy laws.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Affirms that the enforcement of blasphemy laws is incompatible with the moral principles of the United States.
Urges foreign governments to repeal such laws and release persons who have been imprisoned for blasphemy.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1132 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1132

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that to promote 
   global religious freedom and freedom of expression, United States 
foreign aid should not be directed to countries that enforce blasphemy 
                                 laws.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 23, 2018

Mr. Francis Rooney of Florida submitted the following resolution; which 
            was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that to promote 
   global religious freedom and freedom of expression, United States 
foreign aid should not be directed to countries that enforce blasphemy 
                                 laws.

Whereas the founding principles of the United States include the freedom of 
        religion and the freedom of expression;
Whereas the United States, in its support of and membership in the United 
        Nations and other international institutions, has been party to the 
        promotion and sustainment of global religious freedom;
Whereas the United States established the United States Commission on 
        International Religious Freedom (in this resolution referred to as 
        ``USCIRF'') to defend the universal right to freedom of religion or 
        belief abroad;
Whereas the USCIRF has identified 71 foreign countries with active blasphemy 
        laws as of 2017;
Whereas the United States continues to deliver significant sums of foreign aid 
        to countries with actively enforced blasphemy laws;
Whereas the Department of State in 2006 created a framework to organize United 
        States foreign aid around strategic objectives that include, among 
        others, governing justly and democratically, humanitarian assistance, 
        and investing in people;
Whereas sending foreign aid to countries with, and that enforce, blasphemy laws 
        does not support the strategic objectives of foreign aid laid out by the 
        Department of State;
Whereas before suspending a significant amount of foreign aid to Pakistan in 
        2018, the United States provided Pakistan $777,000,000 in foreign aid 
        during fiscal year 2016, despite Pakistan having some of the strictest 
        enforcement of blasphemy laws in the world;
Whereas in its 2017 Annual Report, the USCIRF stated it was aware of at least 40 
        individuals sentenced to death or serving life sentences for blasphemy 
        in Pakistan as of the date of the report;
Whereas Saudi Arabia receives significant United States aid in the form of arms 
        sales, despite the 2017 USCIRF Annual Report stating, ``Saudi courts 
        continue to prosecute and imprison individuals for dissent, apostasy, 
        and blasphemy, and a law classifying blasphemy and the promotion of 
        atheism as terrorism has been used to target human rights defenders, 
        among others'';
Whereas, in January 2018, the United States Agency for International Development 
        pledged an additional $89,000,000 in development assistance for Nigeria, 
        including $10,500,000 for supporting good governance, despite Nigeria 
        having an actively enforced blasphemy law and the USCIRF labeling 
        Nigeria as a country of particular concern;
Whereas blasphemy laws are often not objectively enforced, and are instead used 
        to punish, intimidate, and discriminate against religious minorities and 
        embolden sectarian divisions;
Whereas despite many countries with active blasphemy laws refusing to enforce 
        such laws, the existence of these laws within a legal system is an 
        affront to the basic human right to freedom of religion; and
Whereas to maintain its position as the leading global advocate of religious 
        freedom, the United States should refrain from providing foreign aid to 
        countries that oppose such freedom of religion: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the enforcement of blasphemy laws by foreign 
        countries as harmful to the advancement of global religious 
        freedom;
            (2) affirms the enforcement of blasphemy laws as wholly 
        incompatible with the moral principles of the United States;
            (3) supports the United States Commission on International 
        Religious Freedom and its role to document religious freedom 
        conditions abroad and engage multilaterally with organizations 
        and institutions around the world to promote religious freedom;
            (4) urges foreign governments to repeal any blasphemy laws 
        and release from custody those who have been imprisoned for 
        blasphemy; and
            (5) calls on the Department of State, and all other Federal 
        agencies engaged in foreign aid disbursements, when determining 
        recipients of United States foreign aid, to consider--
                    (A) the level of enforcement of blasphemy laws in 
                such countries that have them; and
                    (B) suspend, or reconsider the form or dollar 
                amount of, aid to those countries to discourage the 
                enforcement of blasphemy laws.
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