Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act

Bill: 114-hr-1150
Sponsor: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4]
Introduced: 2015-02-27 in the House
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of State
Detention of persons
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Executive Office of the President
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government trust funds
Higher education
Human rights
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
International law and treaties
Religion
Sanctions
School administration
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Terrorism
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-27
text: 

Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2015

 
 Amends the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to locate the Office on International Religious Freedom in the Office of the Secretary of State.
 
Directs the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to seek to coordinate religious freedom policies and religious engagement strategies across all U.S. programs, projects, and activities.
 
Specifies additional foreign government actions violating religious freedom for the Ambassador's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, including a Special Watch List of countries or violent nonstate actors that have engaged in or tolerated such violations but do not yet meet the criteria for designation as countries of particular concern for religious freedom.
 
Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary to develop a curriculum for, and the Director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center to begin, mandatory training on religious freedom for all Foreign Service officers.
 
Amends IRFA to require the Commission on International Religious Freedom to compile and make publicly available regularly updated lists of persons imprisoned, detained, disappeared, placed under house arrest, tortured, or subject to forced renunciations of faith by: (1) a foreign government recommended for designation as a country of particular concern for religions freedom, or (2) a violent nonstate actor.
 
 Extends the Commission's termination date.
 
Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to direct the President to appoint in the National Security Council a Special Adviser for Global Religion Engagement and International Religious Freedom (in lieu of the Special Adviser to the President on International Religious Freedom) who shall assist the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to coordinate executive branch international religious freedom policies and global religion engagement strategies. 
 
 Establishes within the National Security Council: (1) the Interagency Policy Committee on Religious Freedom and Engagement; and (2) the Interagency Policy Committee on Religion, International Religious Freedom, and National Security.
 
Amends IRFA to revise requirements, including reporting requirements, for presidential actions with respect to country and violent nonstate actor designations, in particular those countries on the Special Watch List.
 
Declares the sense of Congress that:
 
 
ongoing and persistent waivers for designated countries, especially those engaging in particularly severe violations of religious freedom, do not fulfill IRFA purposes; and 
 
the President, the Secretary, and other executive branch officials, in consultation with Congress, should seek to find ways to address existing violations, on a country-by-country basis, through specified actions.
 
 
Repeals the automatic termination of a presidential designation after two years.
 
 States that it should be U.S. policy that violent nonstate actors should be eligible for designation as countries of particular concern and that specified presidential actions should apply to them or individual members of such groups.
 
Makes funds available for FY2016-FY2021 for the Human Rights and Democracy Fund.
 
Establishes in the State Department the Religious Freedom Defense Fund, to be administered by the Ambassador at Large.
 
 Authorizes the President to take specified actions against foreign persons: (1) responsible for committing or supporting systemic violations of religious freedom, or (2) supporting violence or terrorist acts targeting members of religious groups. 
 
Declares the sense of Congress about: (1) adoption of codes of conduct by U.S. institutions of higher education outside the United States, and (2) national security strategy to promote religious freedom through U.S. foreign policy.

action_date: 2016-05-16
text: 

Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act

 
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to state in the congressional findings that the freedom of thought and religion is understood to protect theistic and non-theistic beliefs as well as the right not to profess or practice any religion.
 
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES
 
(Sec. 101) In order to promote religious freedom as a U.S. foreign policy interest, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom: (1) shall coordinate international religious freedom policies across all U.S. programs and activities, and (2) is urged to participate in any interagency processes in which the promotion of international religious freedom policy can advance U.S. national security interests. 
 
 The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Department of State should consider elevating the office of International Religious Freedom and the position of the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to the Office of the Secretary.
 
(Sec. 102) The deadline for submitting the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom is changed from September 1 to May 1 (or the first day thereafter on which the appropriate House of Congress is in session).
 
 Such report shall include information about: 
 
 
 severe violations of religious freedom in a country where a government does not exist or does not control its territory; 
 
 identification of prisoners in a country; 
 
action taken by a government to censor religious content, communications, or worship activities online;
 
persecution of human rights advocates seeking to defend the rights of members of religious groups or highlight religious freedom violations, including prohibitions on ritual animal slaughter or male infant circumcision; and 
 
country-specific analysis of the impact of U.S. actions on religious freedom. 
 
 
The executive summary of each such report shall include: (1) information about a country in which a non-state actor is designated as an entity of particular concern for religious freedom, and (2) a Special Watch List that shall identify each country that engages in or tolerates severe violations of religious freedom but which the President determines does not meet all the criteria for designation as a country of particular concern for religious freedom.
 
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that 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 State Department and the Commission on International Religious Freedom work together to fulfill the original intent of the IRFA.
 
(Sec. 103) The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended to direct the State Department to develop a curriculum for, and the Director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center to begin, mandatory training on religious freedom for all Foreign Service officers. The State Department shall submit a plan within 180 days for undertaking such training.
 
(Sec. 104) The commission shall make publicly available lists of persons who are imprisoned, detained, disappeared, placed under house arrest, tortured, or subject to forced renunciations of religious faith by the government of a foreign country or by a non-state actor that the commission recommends for designation as a country or entity of particular concern for religious freedom. 
 
TITLE II--NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
 
(Sec. 201) The National Security Act of 1947 is amended to express the sense of Congress that there should be within the National Security Council staff a Special Adviser to the President on International Religious Freedom with primary responsibility to serve as a religious freedom resource for executive branch officials.
 
TITLE III--PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS
 
(Sec. 301) The President: (1) concurrent with the annual review of the status of religious freedom in foreign countries required under the IFRA, shall identify any non-state actors operating in a reviewed country or surrounding region that have engaged in particularly severe violations of religious freedom; (2) shall designate each such non-state actor as an entity of particular concern for religious freedom; and (3) shall submit a report detailing the reasons for such designation. 
 
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the State Department should work with Congress to create new political, financial, and diplomatic tools to address severe violations of religious freedom by non-state actors. 
 
 The President shall, with respect to each non-state actor designated as an entity of particular concern for religious freedom, determine the specific officials or members who are responsible for such violations. 
 
(Sec. 302) The deadline for such annual review is changed from September 1 to not later than 90 days after a review is submitted. 
 
The President shall designate as a country of particular concern for religious freedom a country that appears on the special watch list in more than two consecutive annual reports. 
 
(Sec. 303) The President's report on action taken in response to violations of religious freedom or on designation of a country as a country of particular concern for religious freedom shall include: (1) an evaluation of the impact on the advancement of U.S. interests in democracy, human rights, and security; and (2) a description of policy tools being applied in the country, including programs that target democratic stability, economic growth, and counter-terrorism.
 
(Sec. 304) The waiver of specified presidential actions subsequent to the designation of a country as a country of particular concern for religious freedom is limited to 180 days. The bill prescribes additional presidential waiver authority after such 180-period.
 
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) ongoing waivers do not fulfill the purposes of the IRFA; and (2) the President, the State Department, and other executive branch officials should find ways to address existing violations through presidential actions.
 
(Sec. 305) The bill directs the President to publish in the Federal Register: (1) any designation of a non-state actor as an entity of particular concern for religious freedom, and (2) the identities of individuals responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by non-state actors.
 
TITLE IV--PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
 
(Sec. 401) The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the State Department should make specified assistance available to promote international religious freedom, and (2) preference for such assistance should be given to projects targeting religious freedom violations in countries designated as countries of particular concern for religious freedom and in countries on the special watch list.
 
TITLE V--DESIGNATED PERSONS LIST FOR PARTICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 
 
(Sec. 501) The State Department shall establish the Designated Persons List for Particularly Severe Violations of Religious Freedom of foreign individuals who are sanctioned (through visa denials, financial sanctions, or other measures) for ordering or otherwise directing particularly severe violations of freedom religion. The State Department shall submit the initial list within 180 days and provide updates every 180 days. 
 
TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
 
(Sec. 601) The bill express the sense of Congress that U.S. institutions of higher education operating campuses outside the United States or establishing educational entities with foreign governments, particularly with or in countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom, should adopt a voluntary code of operating conduct that should: 
 
 
uphold the right of freedom of religion of their employees and students; 
 
ensure that the religious views and peaceful practice of religion in no way affect the status of a worker's or faculty member's employment or a student's enrollment; and 
 
make every effort in all negotiations, contracts, or memoranda of understanding engaged in with a foreign government to protect academic freedom and the rights enshrined in the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.
 
 
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the President's annual national security strategy report should (1) promote international religious freedom as a foreign policy and national security priority; and (2) be a guide for the strategies and activities of relevant federal agencies, including the Department of Defense quadrennial defense review.

action_date: 2016-12-16
text: 

Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act

 
(Sec. 2) This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a foreign country's practice of routinely denying visa applications for religious workers can be indicative of a poor state of religious freedom in that country, and (2) the U.S. government should seek to reverse any such policy by reviewing the bilateral relationship between such country and the United States. 
 
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES
 
(Sec. 101) The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) is amended to provide that in order to promote religious freedom as a U.S. foreign policy interest, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom: (1) shall coordinate international religious freedom policies across all U.S. programs and activities, and (2) is urged to participate in any interagency processes in which the promotion of international religious freedom policy can advance U.S. national security interests. 
 
 It is the sense of Congress that maintaining an adequate staffing level at the Office of International Religious Freedom is necessary for the office to carry out its work.
 
(Sec. 102) The deadline for submitting the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom is changed from September 1 to May 1 (or the first day thereafter on which the appropriate House of Congress is in session).
 
 Such report shall include information about: 
 
 
 severe violations of religious freedom in a country where a government does not function or does not control its territory; 
 
 identification of prisoners in a country; 
 
action taken by a government to censor religious content, communications, or worship activities online;
 
persecution of human rights advocates seeking to defend the rights of members of religious groups or highlight religious freedom violations, including prohibitions on ritual animal slaughter or male infant circumcision; and 
 
country-specific analysis of the impact of U.S. actions on religious freedom. 
 
 
The executive summary of each such report shall include information about a country in which a non-state actor is designated as an entity of particular concern for religious freedom. 
 
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that 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 coordinates with the Commission on International Religious Freedom to fulfill IRFA's original intent. 
 
(Sec. 103) The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended to require the Director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center to conduct training on religious freedom for all Foreign Service officers and all outgoing deputy chiefs of mission and ambassadors. The State Department shall submit a plan within 180 days for undertaking such training.
 
Such curriculum and training materials shall be shared with the Armed Forces and other federal agencies with overseas personnel.
 
(Sec. 104) The commission shall make publicly available lists of persons who are imprisoned, detained, disappeared, placed under house arrest, tortured, or subject to forced renunciations of religious faith by the government of a foreign country or by a non-state actor that the commission recommends for designation as a country or entity of particular concern for religious freedom. 
 
TITLE II--NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
 
(Sec. 201) The Special Adviser to the President on International Religious Freedom is urged to assist the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to coordinate executive branch international religious freedom policies and strategies throughout the executive branch and within any interagency policy committee of which the Ambassador at Large is a member. 
 
TITLE III--PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS
 
(Sec. 301) The President: (1) concurrent with the annual review of the status of religious freedom in foreign countries required under the IFRA, shall identify any non-state actors operating in a reviewed country or surrounding region that have engaged in particularly severe violations of religious freedom; (2) shall designate each such non-state actor as an entity of particular concern for religious freedom; (3) shall submit a report detailing the reasons for such designation; and (4) is urged to take specific actions against such non-state actors.
 
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the State Department should work with Congress to create new political, financial, and diplomatic tools to address severe violations of religious freedom by non-state actors. 
 
 The President shall, with respect to each non-state actor designated as an entity of particular concern for religious freedom, determine the specific officials or members who are responsible for such violations. 
 
(Sec. 302) The deadline for such annual review is changed from September 1 to not later than 90 days after a review is submitted. 
 
(Sec. 303) The President's report on action taken in response to violations of religious freedom or on designation of a country as a country of particular concern for religious freedom shall include: (1) an evaluation of the impact on the advancement of U.S. interests in democracy, human rights, and security; and (2) a description of policy tools being applied in the country, including programs that target democratic stability, economic growth, and counter-terrorism.
 
(Sec. 304) The waiver of specified presidential actions subsequent to the designation of a country as a country of particular concern for religious freedom is limited to 180 days. The bill prescribes additional presidential waiver authority after such 180-period.
 
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) ongoing waivers do not fulfill the purposes of the IRFA; and (2) the President, the State Department, and other executive branch officials should find ways to address existing violations through presidential actions.
 
(Sec. 305) The bill directs the President to publish in the Federal Register: (1) any designation of a non-state actor as an entity of particular concern for religious freedom, and (2) the identities of individuals responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by non-state actors.
 
TITLE IV--PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
 
(Sec. 401) The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should request sufficient appropriations to promote international religious freedom, and (2) preference for such assistance should be given to projects targeting religious freedom violations in watch list countries countries and in countries designated as countries of particular concern for religious freedom. 
 
TITLE V--DESIGNATED PERSONS LIST FOR PARTICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 
 
(Sec. 501) The State Department shall establish the Designated Persons List for Particularly Severe Violations of Religious Freedom of foreign individuals who are sanctioned (through visa denials, financial sanctions, or other measures) for ordering or otherwise directing particularly severe violations of freedom religion. The State Department shall submit the initial list within 180 days and provide updates every 180 days. 
 
TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
 
(Sec. 601) The bill express the sense of Congress that U.S. institutions of higher education operating campuses outside the United States or establishing educational entities with foreign governments, particularly with or in countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom, should adopt a voluntary code of operating conduct that should: 
 
 
uphold the right of freedom of religion of their employees and students; 
 
ensure that the religious views and peaceful practice of religion in no way affect the status of a worker's or faculty member's employment or a student's enrollment; and 
 
make every effort in all negotiations, contracts, or memoranda of understanding engaged in with a foreign government to protect academic freedom and the rights enshrined in the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.
 
 
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the President's annual national security strategy report should (1) promote international religious freedom as a foreign policy and national security priority; (2) be a guide for the strategies and activities of relevant federal agencies, and (3) inform the Department of Defense quadrennial defense review and the Department of State Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-12-16
text: Became Public Law No: 114-281.
action_date: 2016-12-16
text: Became Public Law No: 114-281.
action_date: 2016-12-16
text: Signed by President.
action_date: 2016-12-16
text: Signed by President.
action_date: 2016-12-15
text: Presented to President.
action_date: 2016-12-15
text: Presented to President.
action_date: 2016-12-13
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2016-12-13
text: On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to without objection. (consideration: CR H7580-7584; text as House agreed to Senate amendment: CR H7580-7583)
action_date: 2016-12-13
text: Resolving differences -- House actions: On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to without objection.(consideration: CR H7580-7584; text as House agreed to Senate amendment: CR H7580-7583)
action_date: 2016-12-13
text: Mr. Smith (NJ) asked unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table and agree to the Senate amendment.
action_date: 2016-12-12
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2016-12-10
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2016-12-10
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2016-12-10
text: The committee substitute withdrawn by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7127)
action_date: 2016-12-10
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S7123-7127; text as reported to Senate: CR S7123-7127)
action_date: 2016-12-07
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 705.
action_date: 2016-12-07
text: Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Corker with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2016-12-07
text: Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Corker with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2016-12-06
text: Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2016-05-17
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2016-05-16
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2016-05-16
text: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2399-2403)
action_date: 2016-05-16
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H2399-2403)
action_date: 2016-05-16
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1150.
action_date: 2016-05-16
text: Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2399-2406)
action_date: 2016-05-16
text: Mr. Royce moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
action_date: 2016-04-20
text: Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2016-04-20
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2015-04-15
text: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Unanimous Consent .
action_date: 2015-04-15
text: Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2015-03-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.
action_date: 2015-02-27
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Oversight and Government 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.
action_date: 2015-02-27
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Oversight and Government 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.
action_date: 2015-02-27
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Oversight and Government 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.
action_date: 2015-02-27
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Oversight and Government 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.
action_date: 2015-02-27
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-02-27
text: Introduced in House

Enacted as: number: 114-281