releases: https://web.archive.org/web/20140206212738/http://waxman.house.gov/rep-waxman-urges-renewal-legislation-protect-religious-minorities-iran
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://web.archive.org/web/20140206212738/http://waxman.house.gov/rep-waxman-urges-renewal-legislation-protect-religious-minorities-iran | Rep. Waxman Urges Renewal of Legislation to Protect Religious Minorities in Iran | 2013-12-20 | 2013 | 2013-12 | Democrat | House | CA | Henry Waxman | W000215 | web.archive.org | legacy | December 20, 2013 The Honorable Hal Rogers Chairman Committee on Appropriations H-305 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Nita M. Lowey Ranking Member Committee on Appropriations 1016 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Dear Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey, We are writing to urge you to take swift action to once again extend the “Lautenberg Amendment,” a critical tool available to threatened religious minorities trapped inside Iran who seek religious freedom and refuge in the United States. Congress included this provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2013, and must include it again in any continuing resolution to prevent a lapse that would place these persecuted minorities at great risk. The Lautenberg Amendment, first enacted as part of the 1989 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill, established a presumption of refugee eligibility for historically persecuted groups in the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia. Since 2003, the Lautenberg Amendment has been expanded to cover Iranian religious minorities facing persecution. Today, the provision is more necessary than ever as Iranian Jews, Christians, and Baha’is suffer systematic persecution and discrimination by the Iranian government. The State Department International Religious Freedom Report and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom have consistently designated Iran as a “Country of Particular Concern” for chronic and systematic violations of religious freedom, and this year’s report states that “religious freedom in Iran deteriorated further from an already egregious situation.” At a time when the Iranian regime continues its campaigns to demonize Jews and jail Baha'i leaders for their beliefs, the Lautenberg Amendment preserves a pathway to freedom that is a beacon of hope. Without the safeguards provided by the Lautenberg Amendment, past experience has shown that safe transit countries like Austria would no longer be willing to provide visas to allow religious minorities to be processed on their soil. With no U.S. Embassy in Tehran, persecuted religious minorities would be forced to flee to dangerous neighboring countries such as Pakistan, where religious minorities also face grave danger. We urge you to act in an expeditious manner to reauthorize the Lautenberg Amendment and thus preserve a safe and reliable mechanism for vulnerable religious minorities to escape harm’s way. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |