Religious Freedom and Fairness Act

Bill: 118-hr-8720
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4]
Introduced: 2024-06-12
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2024-06-12
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8720 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 12, 2024 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Banks , Mr. Hern , Mr. Duncan , Ms. Salazar , Mr. Higgins of Louisiana , Mr. Self , Mr. Weber of Texas , Mr. Babin , Mr. Cline , and Mr. Bishop of North Carolina ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit preferential Federal grant treatment for atheist groups, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Religious Freedom and Fairness Act . 2. Amendments to the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (a) Findings Section 2(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ( 22 U.S.C. 6401(a) ) is amended— (1) by amending paragraph (6) to read as follows: (6) Targeting of non-theists, humanists, and atheists because of their beliefs occurs around the world. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (8) Decreasing religiosity and increasing secularization has, in some parts of the world, led to some practicing theists facing greater discrimination, harassment, and threats. . (b) High-Level contacts with nongovernmental organizations Section 105 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ( 22 U.S.C. 6414 ) is amended— (1) by striking United States chiefs of mission shall and inserting (a) In general .—United States chiefs of mission shall ; (2) by striking United States chiefs of mission and Foreign Service officers abroad shall and inserting the following: (b) Other meetings United States chiefs of mission and Foreign Services officers abroad shall ; and (3) in subsection (a) (as so designated)— (A) by striking to provide and inserting to— (1) provide ; (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (2) organize, participate in, and attend high-level meetings to understand, document, and report to the Department of State’s Office of International Religious Freedom any perceived or actual anti-religious or anti-theist funding concerns, in the Department of State’s programs and grant awards. . (c) Programs and allocations of funds by United States missions abroad Section 106 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ( 22 U.S.C. 6415 ) is amended— (1) by striking It is the sense of Congress and inserting (a) Sense of congress .—It is the sense of Congress ; (2) in subsection (a) (as so designated)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking and at the end; (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (3) in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds for programs and grants funded by the United States Government, the Department of State and United States diplomatic missions shall ensure that the programs and grants do not— (A) promote or advance non-theist or humanist ideologies or beliefs; or (B) aim to expand the membership of non-theist groups. ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (b) Limitations on funds (1) Other limitations No funds allocated for programs or grants funded by the United States Government as described in subsection (a) may be used to provide funding to— (A) any entity or close affiliate of such entity that has made public statements disparaging, infringing upon, or otherwise denigrating theistic belief; or (B) any atheist, agnostic, humanist, or other non-theist group in a foreign country unless the Department of State and United States diplomatic mission to that country also provide proportional funding to other religious groups in that country over the same time period, taking into account the severity and number of violations of religious freedom of the various religious groups and the population and financial capacity of the various religious groups. . 3. Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 Section 116(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2151n(e) ) is amended— (1) by striking (e) and inserting (e)(1) ; (2) by striking None of these funds and inserting the following: (2) (A) None of these funds ; and (3) in paragraph (2) (as so designated), by adding at the end the following: (B) None of these funds may be used, directly or indirectly, to— (i) promote or advance non-theist or humanist ideologies or beliefs; or (ii) directly aim to expand the membership of non-theist groups. (C) None of these funds may be provided to— (i) any entity or close affiliate of such entity that has made public statements disparaging, infringing upon, or otherwise denigrating theistic belief; or (ii) any atheist, agnostic, humanist, or other non-theist group in a foreign country unless the Department of State and United States diplomatic mission to that country also provide proportional funding to other religious groups in that country over the same time period, taking into account the severity and number of violations of religious freedom of the various religious groups and the population and financial capacity of the various religious groups. . 4. Report (a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Office of International Religious Freedom, in coordination with the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes a list of all grants, cooperative agreements, and programs funded by the Department in the previous fiscal year that have been provided to religious, atheist, agnostic, and humanist groups worldwide. (b) Matters To be included The list include in the report required by subsection (a)— (1) shall be disaggregated by country, dollar amount, name of implementing partner; (2) shall include a brief description of what objectives the grant was intended to achieve, what metrics suggest those objectives were met, and what national interests were advanced; and (3) how programming comports with both the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. (c) Form The report required by subsection (a) may be submitted in classified form if necessary.