House Foreign Affairs Committee Votes to Advance Schneider Bill to Elevate Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
Amidst rising reports of anti-Semitic incidents, bill would require President to fill currently vacant Special Envoy position
This week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to advance bipartisan legislation to elevate the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism at the U.S. State Department to the rank of Ambassador, and require the President nominate a Special Envoy within 90 days of enactment. The Special Envoy position is currently vacant and has been so since the start of the Trump Administration.
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) joined Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Peter Roskam (R-IL) to introduced H.R. 1911, the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act in April 2017.
"Against the deeply troubling backdrop of rising incidents of anti-Semitism worldwide, it is incomprehensible that the State Department office tasked with countering this hate remains unfilled," said Schneider. "Our bipartisan bill elevates the Special Envoy to a position of proper importance at the ambassadorial rank and sets requirements to ensure the role is filled. I was pleased to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to introduce this legislation and gratified to see it gain bipartisan support in Committee. I urge the Speaker to bring this bill to the floor for a vote soon by the whole House."
Specifically, the bill would elevate the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism to that of Ambassador, with Presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, require the Special Envoy to be a person of recognized distinction in the field of combating anti-Semitism or religious freedom, direct the Special Envoy to report directly to the Secretary of State, and prohibit the Special Envoy from being tasked with another issue portfolio. The legislation also seeks to ensure the mandate of the Special Envoy is clear, to "serve as the primary advisor to, and coordinate efforts across, the United States Government relating to monitoring and combating anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incitement that occur in foreign countries."
In this week's Committee markup, the bill was amended to add law enforcement experience to the list of qualifications to become the Special Envoy as well as language requiring the President nominate a Special Envoy no later than 90 days after the bill's enactment, and no more than 120 days after the position becomes vacant.
The bill is supported by Agudath Israel of America, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, B'nai B'rith International, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, The Jewish Federations of North America, National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry, Orthodox Union, Secure Community Network, Simon Wiesenthal Center, and World Jewish Congress, North America.