joined Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in introducing legislation to reauthorize the independent, bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Introduce or support legislation to reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Occurrences
Evidence
Senators Chris Coons and Marco Rubio praised the House of Representatives for passing the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2022, which reauthorizes the USCIRF through fiscal year 2024. The bill now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
Senator Coons co-sponsored S.3764, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2024, which extends the USCIRF's authorization through fiscal year 2026.
Senator Coons, along with Senators Lankford, Kaine, and Tillis, reintroduced a bipartisan resolution expressing support for international religious freedom as a fundamental right and a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.
Congress.gov lists Sen. Christopher A. Coons as an original cosponsor of S.3764 on 2024-02-07.
Congress.gov shows S.3764 became Public Law No. 118-90 on 2024-09-30 and amended USCIRF authorization references to 2025 and 2026, with termination extended to September 30, 2026.
Congress.gov shows S.3895 became Public Law No. 117-181 on 2022-09-30; CRS summary states the act reauthorized USCIRF through FY2024.
Coons's Senate office said the House passed the 2022 USCIRF reauthorization through FY2024 and that Coons worked to pass the reauthorization in the Senate on a bipartisan basis.
Assessments
Coons directly supported USCIRF reauthorization legislation as an original cosponsor of S.3764 in the 118th Congress, and that bill became Public Law 118-90 on September 30, 2024, extending USCIRF authorization through September 30, 2026. The provided record also shows earlier same-term work on the 2022 reauthorization that became Public Law 117-181. Because the promised action was to introduce or support reauthorization legislation, and supported legislation was enacted while Coons remained in the Senate, the promise was fulfilled in the same term.
Multiple pieces of evidence confirm that Senator Coons co-sponsored and supported legislation to reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in multiple sessions, with successful legislative action resulting in extensions of USCIRF through 2024 and 2026. These actions directly fulfill the campaign promise to introduce or support such legislation within the same term.
Multiple pieces of evidence confirm that Senator Coons both co-sponsored and supported legislation to reauthorize the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in 2022 and 2024, as well as supported related resolutions in 2025. The bills in question passed through Congress and reached the stage of being signed into law, fully satisfying the specific campaign promise to introduce or support USCIRF reauthorization. The actions were undertaken within the same term as the promise.
Multiple pieces of evidence confirm that Senator Coons consistently introduced or supported legislation to reauthorize the USCIRF, both by co-sponsoring relevant legislation and by advocating for religious freedom in bipartisan resolutions. Bills reauthorizing the USCIRF passed both chambers, and Coons’s efforts span several years within the same Senate term. Therefore, the campaign promise was fulfilled.