22 U.S.C. § 6432 — Duties of Commission

Page 1808 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 6432 concerning the mode of travel, lodging and per diem ex- penditures, reimbursement payments, and expense re- porting and documentation requirements.’’ 2002—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 107–228, § 681(b), added par. (2). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107–228, § 681(c), substituted ‘‘after May 30 of each’’ for ‘‘in each calendar’’. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 107–228, § 681(d), inserted at end ‘‘A member may serve after the expiration of that member’s term until a successor has taken office. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term.’’ 1999—Pub. L. 106–55, § 1(a)(2), which directed amend- ment of section by inserting after first sentence ‘‘The term of each member of the Commission appointed to the first two-year term of the Commission shall be con- sidered to have begun on May 15, 1999, and shall end on May 14, 2001, regardless of the date of appointment to the Commission. The term of each member of the Com- mission appointed to the second two-year term of the Commission shall begin on May 15, 2001, and shall end on May 14, 2003, regardless of the date of appointment to the Commission. In the case in which a vacancy in the membership of the Commission is filled during a two-year term of the Commission, such membership on the Commission shall terminate at the end of that two- year term of the Commission.’’, was executed by mak- ing the insertion after the first sentence of subsec. (c)(1) to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Subsec. (b)(1)(B)(iii). Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(b), substituted ‘‘Three’’ for ‘‘three’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 106–55, § 1(a)(1), designated exist- ing provisions as par. (1) and inserted par. heading. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 106–55, § 1(a)(3), amended heading and text of subsec. (h) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The Secretary of State shall as- sist the Commission by providing to the Commission such staff and administrative services of the Office as may be necessary and appropriate for the Commission to perform its functions. Any employee of the execu- tive branch of Government may be detailed to the Com- mission without reimbursement to the agency of that employee and such detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege.’’ § 6432. Duties of Commission (a) In general The Commission shall have as its primary re- sponsibility— (1) the annual and ongoing review of the facts and circumstances of violations of reli- gious freedom presented in the Country Re- ports on Human Rights Practices, the Annual Report, and the Executive Summary, as well as information from other sources as appro- priate; and (2) the making of policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress with respect to matters involving international religious freedom. (b) Policy review and recommendations in re- sponse to violations The Commission, in evaluating United States Government policies in response to violations of religious freedom, shall consider and rec- ommend options for policies of the United States Government with respect to each foreign country the government of which has engaged in or tolerated violations of religious freedom, in- cluding particularly severe violations of reli- gious freedom, including diplomatic inquiries, diplomatic protest, official public protest de- marche of protest, condemnation within multi- lateral fora, delay or cancellation of cultural or scientific exchanges, delay or cancellation of working, official, or state visits, reduction of certain assistance funds, termination of certain assistance funds, imposition of targeted trade sanctions, imposition of broad trade sanctions, and withdrawal of the chief of mission. (c) Policy review and recommendations in re- sponse to progress The Commission, in evaluating the United States Government policies with respect to countries found to be taking deliberate steps and making significant improvement in respect for the right of religious freedom, shall consider and recommend policy options, including pri- vate commendation, diplomatic commendation, official public commendation, commendation within multilateral fora, an increase in cultural or scientific exchanges, or both, termination or reduction of existing Presidential actions, an in- crease in certain assistance funds, and invita- tions for working, official, or state visits. (d) Effects on religious communities and individ- uals Together with specific policy recommenda- tions provided under subsections (b) and (c), the Commission shall also indicate its evaluation of the potential effects of such policies, if imple- mented, on the religious communities and indi- viduals whose rights are found to be violated in the country in question. (e) Monitoring (1) In general The Commission shall, on an ongoing basis, monitor facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom, in consultation with independent human rights groups and non- governmental organizations, including church- es and other religious communities, and make such recommendations as may be necessary to the appropriate officials and offices in the United States Government. (2) Tracking; review The Commission shall regularly— (A) track the implementation by the United States Government of the rec- ommendations it makes under paragraph (1); and (B) review, to the extent practicable, the effectiveness of such implemented rec- ommendations in advancing religious free- dom internationally. (Pub. L. 105–292, title II, § 202, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2798; Pub. L. 106–55, § 1(b)(1), Aug. 17, 1999, 113 Stat. 401; Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title VIII, § 804(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3077.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 116–94 designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, and added par. (2). 1999—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 106–55 struck out heading and text of subsec. (f). Text read as follows: ‘‘The Com- mission may, for the purpose of carrying out its duties under this subchapter, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places in the United States, take testimony, Page 1809 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 6432a and receive evidence as the Commission considers ad- visable to carry out the purposes of this chapter.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SENSE OF CONGRESS Pub. L. 114–71, § 2, Oct. 16, 2015, 129 Stat. 563, provided that: ‘‘It is the sense of the Congress that the United States Commission on International Religious Free- dom— ‘‘(1) was created by Congress to independently as- sess and to accurately and unflinchingly describe threats to religious freedom around the world; and ‘‘(2) in carrying out its prescribed duties, should use its authorized powers to ensure that efforts by the United States to advance religious freedom abroad are timely, appropriate to the circumstances, pru- dent, and effective.’’ § 6432a. Powers of the Commission (a) Hearings and sessions The Commission may, for the purpose of car- rying out its duties under this subchapter, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places in the United States, take testimony and receive evi- dence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out the purposes of this chapter. (b) Information from Federal agencies The Commission may secure directly from any Federal department or agency such information as the Commission considers necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such department or agency shall furnish such information to the Commission, subject to ap- plicable law. (c) Postal services The Commission may use the United States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government. (d) Administrative procedures The Commission may adopt such rules and regulations, relating to administrative proce- dure, as may be reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out the provisions of this subchapter. (e) Views of the Commission The Members of the Commission may speak in their capacity as private citizens. Statements on behalf of the Commission shall be issued in writing over the names of the Members. The Commission shall in its written statements clearly describe its statutory authority, distin- guishing that authority from that of appointed or elected officials of the United States Govern- ment. Oral statements, where practicable, shall include a similar description. If a Member of the Commission is invited to speak at an event in his or her capacity as a Commissioner, the Mem- ber shall provide notice of the request to all Commissioners and the Executive Director as soon as the Commissioner becomes aware of such invitation. Speeches and responses to ques- tions at official events shall reflect the views of the Commission. Official speeches and other pre- pared materials shall be made available to all Commissioners in advance of the event. If a Commissioner is speaking in his or her private capacity, he or she shall include qualifying lan- guage that the views they are representing are his or her own views and not the views of the Commission. (f) Travel (1) In general The Members of the Commission may, with the approval of the Commission, conduct such travel as is necessary to carry out the purpose of this subchapter. Each trip must be approved by a majority of the Commission. This provi- sion shall not apply to the Ambassador-at- Large, whose travel shall not require approval by the Commission. (2) Prohibition against payment of official travel by non-Federal sources Members of the Commission and Commis- sion staff may not accept payment from a non- Federal source for expenses related to official travel on behalf of the Commission. (g) Annual disclosures Not later than March 1 of each year, each Member of the Commission shall submit a re- port to the appropriate congressional commit- tees (as defined in section 6433a(a) of this title) with respect to the most recently concluded 12- month period, that discloses any travel by the Member outside of the United States that was paid for or reimbursed by a person or entity other than the Member, a relative of the Mem- ber, or the Federal Government, including— (1) who paid for or reimbursed the travel; (2) a good faith estimate of the cost of the travel, if the travel was funded by a person or entity that does not employ the Member; and (3) brief details of the travel and events re- lated to such travel. (Pub. L. 105–292, title II, § 203, as added Pub. L. 106–55, § 1(b)(3), Aug. 17, 1999, 113 Stat. 401; amended Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title VIII, §§ 804(b), 806(b), (c), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3077, 3078.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 105–292, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2787, known as the International Reli- gious Freedom Act of 1998, which is classified prin- cipally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6401 of this title and Tables. PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 203 of Pub. L. 105–292 was renumbered section 205 and is classified to section 6433 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 116–94, § 804(b), inserted at end ‘‘If a Member of the Commission is invited to speak at an event in his or her capacity as a Commissioner, the Member shall provide notice of the request to all Commissioners and the Executive Director as soon as the Commissioner becomes aware of such invitation. Speeches and responses to questions at official events shall reflect the views of the Commission. Official speeches and other prepared materials shall be made available to all Commissioners in advance of the event. If a Commissioner is speaking in his or her private ca- pacity, he or she shall include qualifying language that the views they are representing are his or her own views and not the views of the Commission.’’