United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5379 To reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 10, 2019 Mr. CICILLINE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Commis- 4 sion on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization 5 Act of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5379 IH SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION. 1 Section 209 of the International Religious Freedom 2 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6436) is amended by striking 3 ‘‘2019’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 4 SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 5 Section 201 of the International Religious Freedom 6 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431) is amended— 7 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 8 (A) by striking ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—’’; and 9 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); 10 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 11 (A) by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting ‘‘3 12 years’’; and 13 (B) by striking the second and third sen- 14 tences and inserting the following: ‘‘Individuals 15 serving on the Commission on the date of the 16 enactment of the United States Commission on 17 International Religious Freedom Reauthoriza- 18 tion Act of 2019 who were previously re- 19 appointed to the Commission may not remain 20 in office after the end of the term for which the 21 member was appointed. Individuals serving on 22 the Commission as of such date of enactment 23 who were not previously reappointed to the 24 Commission may be reappointed for 1 addi- 25 tional 2-year term. Individuals appointed to the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5379 IH Commission on or after such date of enactment 1 may not serve more than 1 term as members of 2 the Commission under any circumstance. Indi- 3 viduals whose service as members of the Com- 4 mission ended before such date of enactment 5 may not be reappointed to the Commission.’’; 6 (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol- 7 lows: 8 ‘‘(d) ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—At the 9 first meeting of the Commission after May 30 of each 10 year, a majority of the members of the Commission who 11 are present and voting shall elect a Chair and a Vice 12 Chair. The Vice Chair shall have been appointed by an 13 officeholder from a different political party than the office- 14 holder who appointed the member of the Commission who 15 was elected Chair. The positions of Chair and Vice Chair 16 shall be rotated annually between members who were ap- 17 pointed to the Commission by officeholders of different po- 18 litical parties.’’; 19 (4) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘Country Re- 20 port on Human Rights Practices’’ and inserting 21 ‘‘International Religious Freedom Report’’; and 22 (5) by adding at the end the following: 23 ‘‘(j) REMOVAL.—If a payment is made under section 24 415(a) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5379 IH (2 U.S.C. 1415(a)) for an award or settlement in connec- 1 tion with a claim alleging a violation of unlawful harass- 2 ment, intimidation, reprisal, or discrimination under the 3 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 4 et seq.) that was committed personally by an individual 5 who, at the time of committing the violation, was a Mem- 6 ber of the Commission, the Member shall be removed from 7 the Commission.’’. 8 SEC. 4. DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 9 (a) DUTIES.—Section 202 of the International Reli- 10 gious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432) is amend- 11 ed— 12 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘globally 13 and the abuse of religion to justify human rights vio- 14 lations, including those’’ after ‘‘freedom’’; and 15 (2) in subsection (e)— 16 (A) by striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and in- 17 serting the following: 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission’’; and 19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(2) TRACKING; REVIEW.—The Commission 21 shall regularly— 22 ‘‘(A) track the implementation by the 23 United States Government of the recommenda- 24 tions it makes under paragraph (1); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5379 IH ‘‘(B) review, to the extent practicable, the 1 effectiveness of such implemented recommenda- 2 tions in advancing religious freedom inter- 3 nationally.’’. 4 (b) POWERS.—Section 203(e) of the International 5 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432a(e)) is 6 amended— 7 (1) by striking ‘‘The Members of the Commis- 8 sion’’ and inserting the following: 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Members of the Com- 10 mission’’; 11 (2) in paragraph (1), as redesignated, by insert- 12 ing ‘‘When a member of the Commission is speaking 13 at a public event in his or her capacity as a private 14 citizen, the event sponsor shall not identify the mem- 15 ber’s affiliation with the Commission in any printed 16 materials or when introducing the member.’’ after 17 ‘‘private citizens.’’; and 18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(2) SPEAKING AT EVENTS IN OFFICIAL CAPAC- 20 ITY.—When a Member of the Commission is invited 21 to speak at an event in his or her capacity as a 22 Commissioner, the Member shall provide notice of 23 the request to all Commissioners and the Executive 24 Director as soon as the Commissioner becomes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5379 IH aware of the request. When a specific Commissioner 1 is requested to speak at an event, but a different 2 Commissioner has more relevant subject-matter ex- 3 pertise, the Commission may propose that a dif- 4 ferent Commissioner speak at the event. If more 5 than 1 Commissioner would like to speak at an event 6 and interested Commissioners cannot reach a timely, 7 amicable decision on who shall speak, the Commis- 8 sion, as a whole, shall decide who shall speak by ma- 9 jority vote. Speeches and responses to questions at 10 events shall reflect the views of the Commission. 11 Speeches and other prepared materials must be cir- 12 culated to all Commissioners in advance of the 13 event.’’. 14 SEC. 5. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204 of the International 16 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432b) is 17 amended— 18 (1) in subsection (a)— 19 (A) by striking ‘‘, without regard to civil 20 service laws and regulations,’’; 21 (B) by striking ‘‘and such other additional 22 personnel’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘. The 23 Executive Director, with the approval of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5379 IH Chair and the Vice Chair, may appoint or ter- 1 minate additional senior staff’’; and 2 (C) by inserting ‘‘The Executive Director, 3 in consultation with the relevant Members of 4 the Commission, may appoint or terminate such 5 junior staff as may be necessary to enable the 6 Commission to perform its duties.’’ after ‘‘du- 7 ties.’’; 8 (2) in subsection (b)— 9 (A) by striking ‘‘fix the compensation of 10 the Executive Director and other personnel’’ 11 and inserting ‘‘provide reasonable compensation 12 to the Executive Director’’; 13 (B) by striking ‘‘and other personnel may 14 not exceed the rate payable for level V of the 15 Executive Schedule under section 5316’’ and in- 16 serting ‘‘may not exceed the rate payable under 17 level II of the Executive Schedule under section 18 5313’’; and 19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘The rate of pay for other personnel of the 21 Commission may not exceed the rate payable 22 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 23 section 5315 of such title. All employees of the 24 Commission shall otherwise be treated as em- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5379 IH ployees whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary 1 of the Senate, including for purposes of apply- 2 ing the Standing Rules of the Senate. The 3 Commission shall be treated as an employing 4 office of the Senate.’’; 5 (3) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘the commis- 6 sion, for the executive director’’ and inserting ‘‘the 7 Commission, for the Executive Director’’; and 8 (4) by striking subsection (g). 9 (b) COVERAGE OF COMMISSION EMPLOYEES.—Sec- 10 tion 101(b) of the Congressional Accountability Act (2 11 U.S.C. 1301) is amended— 12 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘the United 13 States Commission on International Religious Free- 14 dom,’’ after ‘‘With respect to’’; 15 (2) in paragraph (2)— 16 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 17 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii); 18 (B) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Subject to 19 paragraph (3),’’; and 20 (C) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(B) Subject to paragraph (3), legal assist- 22 ance and representation under this Act, includ- 23 ing assistance and representation with respect 24 to the proposal or acceptance of the disposition 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5379 IH of a claim under this Act, shall be provided to 1 the United States Commission on International 2 Religious Freedom by the Office of Senate 3 Chief Counsel for Employment of the Senate, in 4 the case of assistance and representation in 5 connection with a claim filed under title IV (in- 6 cluding all subsequent proceedings under such 7 title in connection with such claim).’’; and 8 (3) in paragraph (3)— 9 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 10 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 11 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 12 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(D) the term ‘United States Commission 15 on International Religious Freedom’ means the 16 Commission established under section 201 of 17 the International Religious Freedom Act of 18 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431).’’. 19 SEC. 6. COMMISSION TRAVEL AND ANNUAL DISCLOSURES. 20 (a) DUTIES.—Section 201(i) of the International Re- 21 ligious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(i)) is 22 amended by striking ‘‘are subject to’’ and inserting ‘‘shall 23 comply with’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5379 IH (b) POWERS.—Section 203(f) of the International 1 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432a(f)) is 2 amended— 3 (1) by striking ‘‘The Members of the Commis- 4 sion’’ and inserting the following: 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Members of the Com- 6 mission’’; and 7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION AGAINST PAYMENT OF OFFI- 9 CIAL TRAVEL BY NON-FEDERAL SOURCES.—Mem- 10 bers of the Commission and Commission staff may 11 not accept payment from a non-Federal source for 12 expenses related to official travel on behalf of the 13 Commission.’’. 14 (c) ANNUAL DISCLOSURES.—Section 203 of the 15 International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended 16 by subsection (b), is further amended by adding at the 17 end the following: 18 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL DISCLOSURES.—Not later than March 19 1 of each year, each Member of the Commission shall sub- 20 mit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, 21 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep- 22 resentatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the Sen- 23 ate, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5379 IH of Representatives a report that discloses, with respect to 1 the most recently concluded 12-month period— 2 ‘‘(1) any travel by the Member outside of the 3 United States that was paid for or reimbursed by a 4 person or entity other than the Member, a relative 5 of the Member, or the Federal Government, includ- 6 ing— 7 ‘‘(A) who paid for or reimbursed the trav- 8 el; 9 ‘‘(B) a good faith estimate of the cost of 10 the travel; and 11 ‘‘(C) brief details of the travel and events 12 related to such travel; and 13 ‘‘(2) any instances in which the Member was 14 identified as a Commissioner while speaking at, or 15 otherwise participating in, a public event in his or 16 her capacity as a private citizen.’’. 17 SEC. 7. RECORD RETENTION. 18 Section 208 of the International Religious Freedom 19 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6435a) is amended by adding at 20 the end the following: 21 ‘‘(f) COMMISSION RECORDS.—The Commission shall 22 comply with all of the records management requirements 23 set forth in chapter 31 of title 44, United States Code 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Dec 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5379.IH H5379 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5379 IH (commonly referred to as the ‘Federal Records Act of 1 1950’). 2 ‘‘(g) OFFICIAL EMAIL FOR COMMISSION BUSI- 3 NESS.—When conducting any Commission business 4 through email, Commission Members and staff shall use 5 official Commission email.’’. 6 SEC. 8. APPLICABILITY OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMA- 7 TION ACT AND THE ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT 8 ACT OF 1978. 9 Section 206 of the International Religious Freedom 10 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6434) is amended by— 11 (1) inserting ‘‘(a) FEDERAL ADVISORY COM- 12 MITTEE ACT.—’’ before ‘‘The’’; and 13 (2) adding at the end the following new sub- 14 sections: 15 ‘‘(b) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Notwith- 16 standing sections 551 or 552(f) of title 5, United States 17 Code, the Commission shall be considered to be an agency 18 for purposes of section 552 of such title. 19 ‘‘(c) ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT OF 1978.—Each 20 Commissioner [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]