United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2024

Floor Speech

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Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3764) to extend and authorize annual appropriations for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom through fiscal year 2026.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: S. 3764

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2024''. SEC. 2. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 207(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435(a)) is amended by striking ``2023 and 2024'' and inserting ``2025 and 2026''.

(b) Extension of Authorization.--Section 209 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6436) is amended by striking ``September 30, 2024'' and inserting ``September 30, 2026''.

Mr. Speaker, religious persecution is a tragic reality in many parts of the world, whether it be against Uyghur Muslims in China, Christian minorities in parts of Africa and the Middle East, the Baha'i in Iran, or religious communities attempting to worship without official control by repressive regimes in Burma, China, or North Korea. Anti-Semitism is on the rise.

This bipartisan bill, which unanimously passed the Senate, will continue the good work of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF.

Congress created USCIRF as an independent Federal entity in 1998. Although the fundamental freedom of religion was under siege around the world, it did not receive enough attention in U.S. foreign policy.

USCIRF is a body of experts who speak out on behalf of persecuted believers of any faith and push for accountability beyond what the State Department or the White House may view as diplomatically comfortable.

The commission's independent voice remains critical today, as the State Department too often pushes religious freedom to the side.

Although the law requires the department to designate countries of particular concern for religious freedom violations, their list of CPC countries never includes all the countries that meet the statutory criteria.

Thankfully, USCIRF continues its truth telling to identify the other persecutors that should be designated. Those countries include Vietnam, where Communist authorities severely repress Christians, Buddhists, and other believers who attempt to worship outside of state control. They also include Nigeria, where Islamist militias murder Christians with impunity.

They include Afghanistan, where the brutal Taliban have retaken power and moved that country back to an intolerant darkness. If any countries are countries of particular concern for serious violations of religious freedom, then those should be among them.

S. 3764 is a simple extension of USCIRF's statutory authority so that the commission can continue its bipartisan, nonsectarian work on behalf of our Nation's first freedom, religious liberty.

I am very pleased that this is a clean reauthorization and does not include any of the previous attempts by some in the other body to make USCIRF more partisan or to dilute its mandate with extraneous issues.

Through robust oversight, we also must work to ensure that USCIRF remains focused on its true, bipartisan statutory mandate; namely, ``the annual and ongoing review of the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom.''

I thank Senator Rubio and his bipartisan colleagues who introduced this bill in the Senate where it received unanimous support.

I also recognize the important work of the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Global Human Rights Subcommittee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is the author of the House side reauthorization. He has been a leader on religious freedom issues throughout his 43-year career in this House.

We need to pass this bill immediately to help ensure that freedom of religion under threat from extremists and authoritarian governments around the world remains front and center.

Mr. Speaker, religious freedom flows from the inherent dignity of every human person and should be protected wherever it is threatened.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom remains an independent voice on behalf of religious believers everywhere. USCIRF will continue to enjoy bipartisan support so long as they focus on their core mandate, which is the protection of religious liberty around the world.

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Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, attempts to distort definitions of religious freedom to cover unrelated or partisan issues will quickly squander that support and endanger the extension of USCIRF's mandate in the future. S. 3764 will ensure that the Commission continues its nonpartisan mission of promoting the right of religious liberty that we hold so dear as a nation. It deserves our unanimous support.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3764, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2024.

This is a simple, clean, 3-sentence bill that reauthorizes the Commission, popularly known as USCIRF, for 2025 and 2026. It does so by amending the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 in the authorization of appropriations merely by updating the years of authorization and expiration. This has become the tradition: clean, simple, 2-year reauthorizations, and we should stick to this.

It's vital that we reauthorize USCIRF because it is the linchpin of the entire program Congress created to promote religious freedom through the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF's high- quality reporting and high-profile commissioners influence the State Department's work on religious freedom, making it more honest and effective.

USCIRF is tasked with defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad, reviewing reports of religious freedom violations and making policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the congressional leadership of both political parties. In May, Speaker Johnson appointed our former colleague the Honorable Vicky Hartzler to the Commission, and none of you will be surprised to hear that she's been a very active and engaged commissioner.

It was my very good friend Chairman Frank Wolf, who, in 1998, with great legislative skill, commitment and driving passion, pushed a supportive Congress but highly reluctant White House into enacting a singularly important human rights law--the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Frank Wolf's law made the protection and promotion of religious freedom a serious priority in U.S. foreign policy by creating an Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom, by establishing the Office of International Religious Freedom at the Department of State--which among other duties, compiles the International Religious Freedom Reports on every country in the world--and by crafting the independent-minded U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the subject of today's reauthorization.

Importantly, Frank Wolf's landmark law also created a system for naming and taking action against Countries of Particular Concern, or CPCs. History has shown that when the U.S. elevates religious freedom and that priority is conveyed to Countries of Particular Concern, conditions often change for the better, prisoners of conscience gain their freedom and progress is made in the free or at least freer exercise of religious liberty.

As the author of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, which updated Frank's legislation in 2016, I follow the implementation of this law very closely. Since its founding, the International Religious Freedom Commission has issued 25 annual reports and recommended that 25 countries be designated CPCs--17 of them have ultimately been designated by the State Department. The IRFC acts as a true watchdog, recommending with incisive commentary that more countries be designated as Countries of Particular Concern than the State Department regularly designates. This demonstrates that USCIRF is a genuinely outside force, a constructive influence on the State Department. Convincing the State Department to heed the recommendations of USCIRF can be a process that takes years, and some administrations are more difficult to convince than others.

In this respect the Biden administration has been one of the worst. Nigeria is the most egregious case of all. USCIRF has recommended CPC status--after all, almost 5,000 Christians were killed there for their faith last year, with rampant government complicity. This is no- brainer--but not for the Biden-Harris Administration, which attributes this modern martyrdom to climate change and tribal conflict. This is egregious. Over 90 percent of Christians killed for their faith last year, in the entire world, were killed in Nigeria. USCIRF, however, calls it like it is and pulls no punches.

Mr. Speaker, USCIRF in recent years has been more effective than at any point in its history. Its recent chairs and commissioners have raised the profile and credibility of the Commission. I can say today that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is the U.S. government's strongest and most respected voice for victims of religious persecution worldwide.

Mr. Speaker, USCIRF's mission is to monitor religious freedom violations globally and make policy recommendation to the U.S. government--that's a big mission, and it's always commanded bipartisan support. S. 3764 and its House companion, H.R. 7025, which has identical language and was introduced by myself and my good friend Rep. Eshoo, has together an equal number of Republican and Democrat co- sponsors. I believe Speaker Johnson's most recent appointments to the Commission, our former colleague Vicky-Hartzler and Maureen Ferguson, will help keep it on course. Congress will continue to do its part.

USCIRF is important to millions of our constituents of all faiths. I urge my colleagues to support S. 3764 and reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

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Mrs. RADEWAGEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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