WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) applauded the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan passage of the “Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act,” which is co-sponsored by U.S. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (Mich.) and encourages the president to appoint a special envoy to promote religious freedom among religious minorities in the Middle East. To read the bill, click here.
“As we continue to witness disturbing violence against religious minorities around the world, I’m pleased the Senate passed this bipartisan bill to show the U.S. takes religious freedom very seriously,” said Blunt. “I hope the House will pass this updated bill quickly and the president will appoint a special envoy to promote religious freedom and call attention to all persecuted religious communities in the region.”
Blunt’s bill encourages the president to appoint a special envoy who would hold the rank of ambassador and work in coordination with the Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom. Together, they would monitor and combat acts of religious intolerance and incitement targeted against religious minorities in these regions. In addition, the special envoy would work with foreign governments and relevant multilateral organizations, and coordinate these efforts with the U.S. Secretary of State.
“It is in the interest of the United States to promote freedom of worship and the rights of religious minorities around the world, and especially in nations where those freedoms are under threat, such as Iraq, where Christians and other religious minorities have faced severe persecution,” said Levin. “Such violence is a threat to regional stability in a part of the world where U.S. interests are great. Moreover, our support for these universal human values affirms the principles upon which our own nation was founded.”
Blunt recently spoke on the U.S. Senate floor to urge U.S. officials to aggressively protect the rights of religious minorities throughout the world, specifically calling for the release of Meriam Ibrahim and her family in Sudan, as well as Pastor Saeed Abedini in Iran. Please click here to watch his remarks.
Additional Background Information:
Blunt and Levin originally introduced legislation to protect religious minorities in the Middle East in June 2011. Blunt also introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in November 2013 to appoint a special envoy in the Near East and South Central Asia. In December 2013, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee overwhelmingly passed Blunt’s bipartisan legislation. U.S. Representative Frank Wolf (Va.) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Blunt’s bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), John Boozman (Ark.), Dan Coats (Ind.), Susan Collins (Maine), John Cornyn (Texas), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Mike Johanns (Neb.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Rob Portman (Ohio), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Pat Roberts (Kan.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Tim Scott (S.C.), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Pat Toomey (Pa.), and Roger Wicker (Miss.).
In October 2013, Blunt joined U.S. Senators Bob Corker (Tenn.) and Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry noting recent reports of more frequent, targeted attacks against Coptic churches and individuals in Egypt “warrants a clear U.S. response.” In August 2013, Blunt reiterated his calls for Congress to pass bipartisan legislation aimed at promoting and protecting religious freedoms throughout the region.
Blunt serves on both the defense authorizing and appropriations committees, and he is a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.