9/21/11 United States (Washington Post) – Is it possible Congress may shut down the government body created to promote international religious freedom – a pet issue of conservative evangelical Christians in particular – even as most of our presidential candidates come from that community?
If it’s not reauthorized by the U.S. Senate in the next few days, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom may vanish. It was created 13 years ago as part of a broad act to promote religious freedom overseas, and reflected the rising influence of religious conservatives who still call religious freedom one of their top top priorities.
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Saying it was the only way to keep USCIRF alive and get a yes vote in the Senate, House representatives passed a measure that would whack USCIRF’s budget from more than $4 million a year to $3 million and cut the number of commissioners from nine to five. In clear recognition of the complaints about accountability, the bill that passed called for a comptroller general assessment and clarified that USCIRF employees are protected by all employment discrimination laws.
U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., a creator of the original 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, testifying last week, slammed Washington as being tone-deaf to the entire issue:
“ …Sadly, the constituency for human rights and religious freedom issues is growing smaller and smaller in Washington and in this Congress. These issues have become second-class citizens in this Congress and in this town. There are no big law firms downtown. They’re representing the Saudis. They’re representing the Chinese. They’re representing filth and garbage in certain cases, but no one represents human rights and religious freedom. So there are all the Members who have agonized and pushed and pulled and want to kill this.”
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