§6431 Establishment and composition

Summary

Creates the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and says who is on it and how it works. The Commission includes the Ambassador at Large as a nonvoting member and nine other U.S. citizens who are not paid federal workers. Three members are chosen by the President, three by the President pro tempore of the Senate (with two picked on the recommendation of the Senate leader from the party not the President’s and one on the recommendation of the other Senate leader), and three by the Speaker of the House (with two picked on the recommendation of the House leader from the party not the President’s and one on the recommendation of the other House leader). Members must be respected people with experience in things like foreign affairs, work abroad, human rights, or international law. Those appointments had to be made within 120 days after October 27, 1998. Members serve two-year terms and may not serve more than two terms. If a member had already served at least two full terms by December 23, 2011, that member’s term ended 90 days after that date. To set up staggered terms, appointments made for the period May 15, 2003, through May 14, 2005, included some one-year terms that ran from May 15, 2003, to May 14, 2004; later vacancies from one-year slots are filled with two-year terms. A member who attends less than 75 percent of meetings in a term cannot be reappointed. Each year, at the first meeting after May 30, members elect a Chair and Vice Chair; the Vice Chair must be appointed by an officeholder from a different party than the Chair’s appointing official, and the two roles rotate yearly between members appointed by different parties. Six voting members make a quorum. The Commission must meet within 15 days after the International Religious Freedom Report is issued and otherwise when the Chair or six voting members call a meeting. Vacancies do not stop the Commission from working and are filled the same way the original appointment was made; a member may serve after their term ends until a successor is in place. The General Services Administration will provide administrative help if requested. Members get travel pay and must follow federal travel rules. If a payment is made under section 415(a) of the Congressional Accountability Act for harassment, intimidation, reprisal, or discrimination personally committed by a Commission member, that member is removed from the Commission.