A bipartisan bill to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) through fiscal year 2028 cleared a key hurdle March 26, passing unanimously out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and advancing to the House floor.
The committee approved H.R. 1744 — introduced by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. — by a 45-0 vote during a markup session. The legislation would extend the commission’s mandate and funding, allowing it to continue monitoring religious persecution worldwide and to issue policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state, and Congress.
Smith, who has chaired more than 30 congressional hearings on religious persecution, called the commission “the linchpin” of U.S. efforts in a press release.
“The USCIRF is tasked with defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad,” Smith said. “Today, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is the U.S. government’s strongest and most respected voice for victims of religious persecution worldwide.”
According to the release, the commission was established under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act as an independent federal body that helps coordinate a federal response to global religious persecution. The president and leaders of both parties in Congress appoint members of the commission.
The bill, introduced in February 2025 with 11 bipartisan cosponsors, now heads to the House floor for consideration.
Meanwhile, Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Ted Budd, R-N.C.; Chris Coons, D-Del.; Jim Risch, R-Idaho; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., introduced a companion measure in the Senate. According to a press release from Cruz, the commission is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2026, if it is not reauthorized.