c. 1998 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Supporters unveiled a new compromise proposal Friday (Oct. 2) in a last-ditch effort to pass legislation to make opposition to religious persecution abroad a focal point of U.S. foreign policy.

The latest effort is the third legislative attempt to address the issue, which has been a running theme in Congress the past two years. Both conservative and liberal religious groups and their congressional supporters have pushed the issue, saying religious persecution in China, the Sudan, Pakistan, Russia and elsewhere is on the increase against Christian groups and others.

Backers said that by providing a greater range of possible presidential responses to offending nations they have now met the concerns of opponents and should gain Senate passage prior to Congress’ scheduled Oct. 9 adjournment.

Those options now range from a private diplomatic communication to stringent economic sanctions _ a sharp departure from the first bill to address the issue in 1997 which mandated sanctions in virtually all cases.

The new bill would also create the position of State Department ambassador-at-large”as a full-time high-level, single-issue diplomat opposing religious persecution by forcefully representing American values and interests in bilateral relations with persecuting nations,”according to a congressional synopsis of the legislation.

It would also create a 10-member Commission on International Religious Liberty appointed by the Congress and the president that would investigate religious persecution incidents and make policy recommendations, and would provide for an annual State Department report on religious persecution”country by country.” Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., a co-sponsor of the new bill, said religious freedom is”so intrinsic to who (Americans) are as a people … that it belongs at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy.” Opponents of the legislation have included some Democrats carrying the ball for a Clinton White House concerned the measure might limit its diplomatic maneuverability, and some Republicans who fear it would hamper free-trade.

Negotiations with key senators seeking additional compromises continued late Friday. One such lawmaker is Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has pushed for changes sought by the Clinton administration.

Supporters said the latest bill _ the second to be named the International Religious Freedom Act _ was the best they could hope for given the political considerations.”The original bill was significantly tougher,”said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who co-sponsored that first measure.”The reality is we cannot get the president to sign a bill with the sanctions, as I would have preferred.” Responding to critics who called the earlier bills punitive, Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., the new legislation’s principal sponsor, said”the purpose of this bill is not to punish anybody. The purpose of this bill is to make improvements in religious freedom.” In May, the House overwhelmingly passed a tough measure mandating automatic economic sanctions against offending nations. Ever since, Senate backers have unsuccessfully sought to muster the votes required for passage. An earlier Nickles version softened the House bill but failed to clear the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The legislation appeared dead, at least for this congressional session, until last week, when word surfaced a new Nickles compromise measure was in the works.

Religious groups that have backed the legislation since its inception said they supported the latest version.

The bill”lifts our moral obligation to stand on behalf of the persecuted, while offering moderate and flexible responses designed to work in the real world,”said the Rev. John Frizzell, an Episcopal Church official.”Support of this bill is a moral imperative _ religious persecution must be brought to an end,”Randy Tate, executive director of the Christian Coalition, said in a statement.

Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick of Newark, N.J., in a statement on behalf of the United States Catholic Conference, said the bill”offers a practical corrective to U.S. policy in one area where that is much needed.” Other religious backers included Jewish, Methodist, Coptic, (Christian Church) Disciples of Christ and Lutheran groups.

DEA END IRA