Will GOP Senator Kill U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom?
A U.S. senator has placed an anonymous hold on a bill extending the U.S. Commission in International Religious Freedom, one of the panel’s creators says.
Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-Va., who wrote a bill passed by the House that provides funding for the commission, told The Washington Times he believes the Obama administration would like to see the panel go out of business. The bill cuts funding from $4 million to $3 million and reduces the number of members from nine to five.
“Sadly, the constituency for human rights and religious freedom issues is growing smaller and smaller in Washington and in this Congress,” Wolf said before the House voted. “These issues have become second-class citizens in this Congress and in this town.”
Senators can place secret holds on bills and nominations. If the Senate does not act, the commission would go out of business at the end of the fiscal year.
The commission was created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act at a time when there were concerns violence, especially against Christians, was not getting enough attention…