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S. 653: Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act of 2013
- Introduced:
- Mar 22, 2013
- Sponsor:
- Sen. Roy Blunt [R-MO]
- Status:
- Reported by Committee
The bill’s title was written by its sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.
- Status
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The committees assigned to this bill sent it to the House or Senate as a whole for consideration on December 18, 2013.
- Prognosis
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14% chance of being enacted.
Only about 23% of bills that made it past committee in 2011–2013 were enacted. [show factors | methodology]
- Text
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Last updated Mar 22, 2013.
5 pages
- Progress
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Introduced Mar 22, 2013 Referred to Committee Mar 22, 2013 Reported by Committee Dec 18, 2013 Passed Senate ... Passed House ... Signed by the President ...
- Full Title
A bill to provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia.
- Primary Source
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THOMAS.gov (The Library of Congress)
GovTrack gets most information from THOMAS, which is updated generally one day after events occur. Activity since the last update may not be reflected here. Data comes via the congress project.
- Cosponsors
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22 cosponsors (17R, 5D) (show)
- Committees
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The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.
- Summary
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No summaries available.
- Widget
- Citation
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Click a format for a citation suggestion:
Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
12/18/2013--Reported to Senate without amendment.
Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act of 2013 -
Section
2
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Authorizes the President to appoint a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia within the Department of State. Requires the Special Envoy to have the rank of ambassador.
Section
3
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Requires the Special Envoy to:
(1) promote the right of religious freedom of religious minorities in the countries of the Near East and South Central Asia, denounce the violation of such right, and recommend appropriate U.S government responses to such violations;
(2) monitor and combat acts of religious intolerance and incitement targeted against such religious minorities;
(3) ensure that the needs of such religious minority communities are addressed, including economic and security needs directly tied to religious-based discrimination and persecution;
(4) work with foreign governments of such countries to address inherently discriminatory laws; and
(5) coordinate and assist in the preparation of specified reports required by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
Section
4
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Authorizes the Special Envoy, subject to direction by the President and the Secretary of State, to represent the United States in matters and cases relevant to religious freedom in: (1) contacts with foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations, and specialized agencies of the United Nations (U.N.), the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other international organizations; and (2) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant to religious freedom.
Section
5
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Provides for the Special Envoy to consult, as appropriate, with domestic and international nongovernmental organizations and multilateral organizations and institutions.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
No summary available.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:
United States Code
The United States Code is the compilation of general and permanent laws enacted by Congress. Laws that are not permanent in nature, law that affect a single individual, family, or small group, regulations, case law, state law, and local law do not appear in the United States Code.
- Title 22: Foreign Relations and Intercourse
- Chapter 32: Foreign Assistance
- Subchapter I: International Development
- Part I: Declaration of Policy; Development Assistance Authorizations
- Section 2151n: Human rights and development assistance
- Subchapter II: Military Assistance and Sales
- Part I: Declaration of Policy
- Section 2304: Human rights and security assistance
- Chapter 73: International Religious Freedom
- Subchapter I: Department of State Activities
- Section 6412: Reports
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