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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8720 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8720
To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit preferential Federal grant
treatment for atheist groups, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2024
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Banks, Mr. Hern, Mr. Duncan,
Ms. Salazar, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Self, Mr. Weber of Texas,
Mr. Babin, Mr. Cline, and Mr. Bishop of North Carolina) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit preferential Federal grant
treatment for atheist groups, 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 ``Religious Freedom and Fairness
Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998.
(a) Findings.--Section 2(a) of the International Religious Freedom
Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(a)) is amended--
(1) by amending paragraph (6) to read as follows:
``(6) Targeting of non-theists, humanists, and atheists
because of their beliefs occurs around the world.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) Decreasing religiosity and increasing secularization
has, in some parts of the world, led to some practicing theists
facing greater discrimination, harassment, and threats.''.
(b) High-Level Contacts With Nongovernmental Organizations.--
Section 105 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22
U.S.C. 6414) is amended--
(1) by striking ``United States chiefs of mission shall''
and inserting ``(a) In General.--United States chiefs of
mission shall'';
(2) by striking ``United States chiefs of mission and
Foreign Service officers abroad shall'' and inserting the
following:
``(b) Other Meetings.--United States chiefs of mission and Foreign
Services officers abroad shall''; and
(3) in subsection (a) (as so designated)--
(A) by striking ``to provide'' and inserting ``to--
``(1) provide'';
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting
``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) organize, participate in, and attend high-level
meetings to understand, document, and report to the Department
of State's Office of International Religious Freedom any
perceived or actual anti-religious or anti-theist funding
concerns, in the Department of State's programs and grant
awards.''.
(c) Programs and Allocations of Funds by United States Missions
Abroad.--Section 106 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
(22 U.S.C. 6415) is amended--
(1) by striking ``It is the sense of Congress'' and
inserting ``(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of
Congress'';
(2) in subsection (a) (as so designated)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds
for programs and grants funded by the United States Government,
the Department of State and United States diplomatic missions
shall ensure that the programs and grants do not--
``(A) promote or advance non-theist or humanist
ideologies or beliefs; or
``(B) aim to expand the membership of non-theist
groups.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Limitations on Funds.--
``(1) Other limitations.--No funds allocated for programs
or grants funded by the United States Government as described
in subsection (a) may be used to provide funding to--
``(A) any entity or close affiliate of such entity
that has made public statements disparaging, infringing
upon, or otherwise denigrating theistic belief; or
``(B) any atheist, agnostic, humanist, or other
non-theist group in a foreign country unless the
Department of State and United States diplomatic
mission to that country also provide proportional
funding to other religious groups in that country over
the same time period, taking into account the severity
and number of violations of religious freedom of the
various religious groups and the population and
financial capacity of the various religious groups.''.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.
Section 116(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2151n(e)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``(e)'' and inserting ``(e)(1)'';
(2) by striking ``None of these funds'' and inserting the
following:
``(2)(A) None of these funds''; and
(3) in paragraph (2) (as so designated), by adding at the
end the following:
``(B) None of these funds may be used, directly or indirectly, to--
``(i) promote or advance non-theist or humanist ideologies
or beliefs; or
``(ii) directly aim to expand the membership of non-theist
groups.
``(C) None of these funds may be provided to--
``(i) any entity or close affiliate of such entity that has
made public statements disparaging, infringing upon, or
otherwise denigrating theistic belief; or
``(ii) any atheist, agnostic, humanist, or other non-theist
group in a foreign country unless the Department of State and
United States diplomatic mission to that country also provide
proportional funding to other religious groups in that country
over the same time period, taking into account the severity and
number of violations of religious freedom of the various
religious groups and the population and financial capacity of
the various religious groups.''.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Office of
International Religious Freedom, in coordination with the Department of
State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes a list
of all grants, cooperative agreements, and programs funded by the
Department in the previous fiscal year that have been provided to
religious, atheist, agnostic, and humanist groups worldwide.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The list include in the report
required by subsection (a)--
(1) shall be disaggregated by country, dollar amount, name
of implementing partner;
(2) shall include a brief description of what objectives
the grant was intended to achieve, what metrics suggest those
objectives were met, and what national interests were advanced;
and
(3) how programming comports with both the Free Exercise
Clause and the Establishment Clause of the United States
Constitution.
(c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) may be submitted
in classified form if necessary.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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