US Codex
Bill
Notes

To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to support religious freedom in foreign countries.

S. 2675 · 113th Congress · Jul 29, 2014 · Lineage

A BILL

Section 1 Presidential actions in response to violations of religious freedom

Section 401(b)(2) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6441(b)(2)) is amended to read as follows:

“(2) Deadline for actions

“(A) In general—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), not later than 90 days after the date on which each report is submitted under section 102(b), the President shall take 1 or more of the actions described in section 405(a) or a commensurate action with respect to each foreign country in which the government has engaged in or tolerated violations of religious freedom at any time since the previous such report was submitted.

“(B) Additional prerequisite—The President may not take any of the actions described in paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a) or a commensurate action until the President certifies that the requirements under sections 403 and 404 have been satisfied.”

Sec. 2 Presidential actions in response to particularly severe violations of religious freedom

(a)
Designations of countries of particular concern for religious freedom— Section 402(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
in subparagraph (A)—
(i)
by striking “Not later than September 1 of each year, the President shall review” and inserting the following: “Not later than 90 days after the date on which each report is submitted under section 102(b), the President shall—

“(i) review”

(ii)
by striking “or since the date” and all that follows through “longer. The President shall designate” and inserting the following: “longer; and

“(ii) designate”

(B)
in subparagraph (C), by striking “prior to September 1 of the respective year” and inserting “before the date on which the report is submitted under section 102(b)”; and
(2)
in paragraph (3)—
(A)
by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and moving each clause 2 ems to the right;
(B)
in the matter preceding clause (i), as redesignated—
(i)
by striking “Whenever” and inserting the following:

“(A) In general—Whenever”

(ii)
by striking “as soon as practicable” and inserting “not later than 120 days”;
(C)
in subparagraph (A), as redesignated—
(i)
in clause (i), as redesignated, by striking “and” at the end;
(ii)
in clause (ii), as redesignated, by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
(iii)
by adding at the end the following:

“(iii) the actions taken, the purposes of the actions taken, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the actions taken.”

(D)
by adding at the end the following:

“(B) Countries recommended by the commission—If the President does not designate a country as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under paragraph (1)(A) after the Commission has recommended such designation, the President shall submit a report to Congress that contains the reasons for such nondesignation.

“(C) Removal of designation—A country that is designated as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under paragraph (1)(A) shall retain such designation until the President determines and reports to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that the country should no longer be so designated.”

(b)
Presidential actions with respect to countries of particular concern for religious freedom— Section 402(c)(5) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(c)(5)) is amended—
(1)
in the second sentence—
(A)
by striking “must” and inserting “shall”;
(B)
by striking “he” and inserting “the President”; and
(C)
by inserting “and include a description of the impact of the designation of such sanction or sanctions” before the period at the end; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following: “The President shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that explains why the decision was made that 1 or more of such sanctions also satisfy the requirements of this subsection.”.

Sec. 3 Consultations

Section 403(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6443(a)) is amended by striking “As soon as practicable” and inserting “Not later than 90 days”.

Sec. 4 Presidential waiver

Section 407(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6447(a)) is amended by inserting “, for a 180-day period,” after “may waive”.

Sec. 5 Termination of presidential actions

Section 409 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6449) is amended by striking “on the earlier of” and all that follows through “Upon” and inserting “upon”.