United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2019

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2019

This bill reauthorizes the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom through FY2023 and makes changes to the administration of the commission.

Specifically, the bill removes staggered terms for commissioners, replacing them with one, non-renewable three-year term, and it eliminates the requirement that each commissioner obtain a security clearance.

The bill prescribes certain procedures when a commissioner speaks at a public event in either a private or official capacity, and it requires commissioners to disclose any instance in which they were identified as a commissioner while participating in a public event in a private capacity. The bill also prohibits commissioners and staff from accepting nonfederal funding for official travel expenses, and it requires each member of the commission to disclose any international travel that was paid for or reimbursed by anyone other than the commissioner or the federal government. Further, the commission must make its rules, opinions, orders, records, and proceedings publicly available, and each commissioner must submit financial disclosure reports in the same form and manner as an officer or employee of Congress.

In addition, the bill revises provisions related to commission personnel and compensation.