Sec. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY; SENSE OF CONGRESS
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## SEC. 2 FINDINGS; POLICY; SENSE OF CONGRESS ###
(a)Findings Section 2(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(a)) is amended— ####
(1)in paragraph (3), by inserting “The freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is understood to protect theistic and non-theistic beliefs and the right not to profess or practice any religion.” before “Governments”; ####
(2)in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the following: “A policy or practice of routinely denying applications for visas for religious workers in a country can be indicative of a poor state of religious freedom in that country.”; and ####
(3)in paragraph (6)— #####
(A)by inserting “and the specific targeting of non-theists, humanists, and atheists because of their beliefs” after “religious persecution”; and #####
(B)by inserting “and in regions where non-state actors exercise significant political power and territorial control” before the period at the end. ###
(b)Policy Section 2(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(b)) is amended— ####
(1)by redesignating paragraphs
(1)through
(5)as subparagraphs
(A)through (E); ####
(2)by striking the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as redesignated, and inserting the following: > > #### “(1) In general > > The following shall be the policy of the United States:” > ; and ####
(3)by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(2) Evolving policies and coordinated diplomatic responses > > Because the promotion of international religious freedom protects human rights, advances democracy abroad, and advances United States interests in stability, security, and development globally, the promotion of international religious freedom requires new and evolving policies and diplomatic responses that— > > > ##### “(A) > > are drawn from the expertise of the national security agencies, the diplomatic services, and other governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations; and > > > ##### “(B) > > are coordinated across and carried out by the entire range of Federal agencies.” > . ###
(c)Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— ####
(1)a policy or practice by the government of any foreign country of routinely denying visa applications for religious workers can be indicative of a poor state of religious freedom in that country; and ####
(2)the United States Government should seek to reverse any such policy by reviewing the entirety of the bilateral relationship between such country and the United States.
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Sec. 2
FINDINGS; POLICY; SENSE OF CONGRESS
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