Senate may kill US religious freedom commission
October 19, 2011
The existence of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom--a non-partisan body that documents religious-freedom violations around the world--is at risk.
“USCIRF’s mandate was to expire at the end of last month, but it was given a short reprieve through the continuing resolution on the budget,” explains Nina Shea. “Meanwhile, on September 15, the House of Representatives, in a 391–21 vote, overwhelmingly passed HR 2867 to reauthorize USCIRF for two more years. In the Senate, HR 2867 was poised to pass under a unanimous consent agreement when a single senator anonymously called it back for undisclosed reasons. If that secret hold is not lifted by November 18, the Senate will not be able to act and USCIRF will go out of existence.”
Archbishop Charles Chaput is a past member of the commission.
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Further information:
- Will the Senate Quietly Kill the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom? (National Review)
- United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
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