[Congressional Bills 112th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 2867 Introduced in House (IH)] 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2867 To reauthorize the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 8, 2011 Mr. Wolf (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and Mr. Berman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL 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) Membership.--Section 201(b)(1)(B) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(b)(1)(B)) is amended in the matter preceding clause (i) by striking ``Nine'' and inserting ``nine''. (b) Terms.--Section 201(c) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(c)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1), by striking the last sentence and inserting the following: ``An individual is not eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms as a member of the Commission. Each member serving on the Commission on the date of enactment of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2011 may be reappointed to not more than one additional consecutive 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.''. (c) Election of Chair and Executive Committee.--Section 201(d) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(d)) is amended-- (1) in the heading, by inserting ``and Executive Committee'' after ``Chair''; (2) by striking ``At'' and inserting the following: ``(1) Chair.--At''; (3) in paragraph (1), as designated by paragraph (2) of this subsection-- (A) by striking ``May 30'' and inserting ``May 1''; and (B) 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.''; and (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: ``(2) Executive committee.-- ``(A) In general.--At the first meeting of the Commission after May 1 of each calendar year, a majority of the members of the Commission present and voting shall elect the Executive Committee of the Commission. ``(B) Composition.--The Executive Committee shall be composed of-- ``(i) the Chair of the Commission; and ``(ii) two other members of the Commission appointed under subsection (b)(1)(B), who shall serve as Vice-Chairs of the Commission, and at least one of whom has been appointed under subsection (b)(1)(B) by an official whose political party is not the same political party as the official who appointed the member of the Commission who has been elected the Chair of the Commission.''. (d) Applicability.--A member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom who is serving on the Commission on the date of enactment of this Act shall continue to serve on the Commission until the expiration of the current term of the member under the terms and conditions for membership on the Commission as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS. 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.''. 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 ``$3,000,000 for the fiscal year 2003'' and inserting ``$4,291,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 and 2013''. 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, 2013''. 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). <all>