Sponsors (5)
The bill preserves and funds the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom through 2028—maintaining U.S. capacity to monitor and respond to religious persecution—while adding modest federal costs and postponing potential structural reforms.
USCIRF commissioners and staff retain statutory authority through Sept. 30, 2028, preserving the Commission's ability to advise Congress and the State Department on religious persecution and policy responses.
USCIRF staff and commissioners keep receiving $3.5 million per year (through 2028), allowing the Commission to continue monitoring, reporting, and outreach work on international religious freedom.
Civil society actors and religious minorities benefit because the U.S. retains a government mechanism to document abuses and inform targeted diplomacy or sanctions against perpetrators.
U.S. taxpayers fund an additional $3.5 million per year for the funded period, increasing federal spending without an identified offset.
Extending the Commission's statutory existence delays any scheduled review or sunset that might have prompted broader reform or consolidation of overlapping functions.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Extends USCIRF authorization of $3.5M per year through FY2026–FY2028 and moves the Commission's statutory termination to Sept 30, 2028.
Extends the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's authorization to receive $3,500,000 per year through fiscal years 2026–2028 and pushes the Commission's statutory termination date from September 30, 2026 to September 30, 2028. Also provides the Act's short title but makes no other substantive changes to the Commission's duties or authorities.
Introduced March 4, 2026 by Theodore Paul Budd · Last progress March 4, 2026