Russ Feingold: “I offer my comments on the Nickles substitute amendment to H.R. 2431, the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.…”

“I offer my comments on the Nickles substitute amendment to H.R. 2431, the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Mr. President, I commend the Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Nickles] for all the hard work that he and others have devoted to this important piece of legislation. These Senators, and our House colleagues, have recognized the importance of promoting religious freedom abroad, and have tried to craft legislation that both emphasizes our serious concerns about this issue, and provides authority to the President to react to governments which abuse these fundamental rights. In particular, I appreciate their efforts to make improvements to the original bill, most of which I support. Mr. President, the issue of religious freedom is especially important for our country. Freedom of religion is one of the bedrock principles of American democracy. Our founders, who came to America in part to flee religious intolerance, championed freedom of religion as a universal right, and made it an integral part of the Constitution through the Bill of Rights. Throughout our history, immigrants from every corner of the globe have arrived on our shores seeking a community where they could practice their religion openly and without fear of persecution. Today, we value the separation of church and state as one of our guiding principles.”