Political Quotes

“As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, I rise in strong support to H.R. 4653, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2014. I support this bipartisan legislation which reauthorizes the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for five years. First created in 1998, USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan Federal government commission that monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad, reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations based on international standards and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress. Mr. Speaker, if we are going to have religious freedom then it is important that we protect it. Everywhere we look, the choice of worship is being challenged. For example, we are reminded that significant threats to religious freedom persist across the globe. In Iraq the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is gaining territory in Iraq and threatening the very existence of ancient faith communities in the region, In addition to the crisis in Iraq, religious minorities are marginalized and imperiled in Egypt and Syria; the government of Vietnam severely restricts religious activities of all faiths, as does the government of China; and religious minorities such as the Ahmadiyya Muslims face governmental and social harassment in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.…”