[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2867 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.2867
One Hundred Twelfth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the fifth day of January, two thousand and eleven
An Act
To reauthorize the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and for
other purposes.
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 Reform and Reauthorization Act of
2011''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION.
(a) Terms.--Section 201(c) of the International Religious Freedom
Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--The term of office of each member of the
Commission shall be 2 years. An individual, including any member
appointed to the Commission prior to the date of the enactment of
the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2011, shall not serve more than 2
terms as a member of the Commission under any circumstance. For any
member serving on the Commission on such date who has completed at
least 2 full terms on the Commission, such member's term shall
expire 90 days after such date. A member of the Commission may not
serve after the expiration of that member's term.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Ineligibility for reappointment.--If a member of the
Commission attends, by being physically present or by conference
call, less than 75 percent of the meetings of the Commission during
one of that member's terms on the Commission, the member shall not
be eligible for reappointment to the Commission.''.
(b) Election of Chair.--Section 201(d) of the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(d)) is amended by
inserting at the end the following: ``No member of the Commission is
eligible to be elected as Chair of the Commission for a second,
consecutive term.''.
(c) Application of Federal Travel Regulation and Department of
State Standardized Regulations to the Commission.--Section 201(i) of
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(i)) is
amended by adding at the end the following: ``Members of the Commission
are subject to the requirements set forth in chapters 300 through 304
of title 41, Code of Federal Regulations (commonly known as the
`Federal Travel Regulation') and the Department of State Standardized
Regulations governing authorized travel at government expense,
including regulations concerning the mode of travel, lodging and per
diem expenditures, reimbursement payments, and expense reporting and
documentation requirements.''.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS.
(a) In General.--Section 204 of the International Religious Freedom
Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6432b) is amended by inserting after subsection
(f) the following new subsection:
``(g) Application of Antidiscrimination Laws.--For purposes of
providing remedies and procedures to address alleged violations of
rights and protections that pertain to employment discrimination,
family and medical leave, fair labor standards, employee polygraph
protection, worker adjustment and retraining, veterans' employment and
reemployment, intimidation or reprisal, protections under the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990, occupational safety and health, labor-
management relations, and rights and protections that apply to
employees whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the
Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, all
employees of the Commission shall be treated as employees whose pay is
disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative
Officer of the House of Representatives and the Commission shall be
treated as an employing office of the Senate or the House of
Representatives.''.
(b) Pending Claims.--Any administrative or judicial claim or action
pending on the date of the enactment of this Act may be maintained
under section 204(g) of the International Religious Freedom Act of
1998, as added by subsection (a).
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 207(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
(22 U.S.C. 6435(a)) is amended by striking ``for the fiscal year 2003''
and inserting ``for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2014''.
SEC. 5. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND DISCLOSURE.
Section 208 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22
U.S.C. 6435a) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``$100,000'' and
inserting ``$250,000''; and
(2) in subsection (e), by striking ``International Relations''
and inserting ``Foreign Affairs''.
SEC. 6. TERMINATION.
Section 209 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22
U.S.C. 6436) is amended by striking ``September 30, 2011'' and
inserting ``September 30, 2014''.
SEC. 7. REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on
the implementation of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
(b) Consultation.--The Comptroller General shall consult with the
appropriate congressional committees and nongovernmental organizations
for purposes of preparing the report.
(c) Matters To Be Included.--The report shall include the
following:
(1) A review of the effectiveness of all United States
Government programs to promote international religious freedom,
including their goals and objectives.
(2) An assessment of the roles and functions of the Office on
International Religious Freedom established in section 101(a) of
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411(a))
and the relationship of the Office to other offices in the
Department of State.
(3) A review of the role of the Ambassador at Large for
International Religious Freedom appointed under section 101(b) of
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411(b))
and the placement of such position within the Department of State.
(4) A review and assessment of the goals and objectives of the
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
established under section 201(a) of the International Religious
Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(a)).
(5) A comparative analysis of the structure of the United
States Commission on International Religious Freedom as an
independent non-partisan entity in relation to other United States
advisory commissions, whether or not such commissions are under the
direct authority of Congress.
(6) A review of the relationship between the Ambassador at
Large for International Religious Freedom and the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom, and possible reforms
that would improve the ability of both to reach their goals and
objectives.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' has the meaning given the term in section 3
of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402).
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.