In 1998, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the International Religious Freedom Act, creating USCIRF as an independent government Commission led by a bipartisan group of nine Commissioners appointed by both political party leaders in Congress, and by the president. Twenty-five years later, USCIRF’s Commissioners continue to lead the non-partisan staff to monitor egregious religious freedom violations around the world and to make independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.

On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck and Vice Chair Eric Ueland join us to discuss USCIRF's bipartisan nature and its unique framework to ensure international religious freedom remains a bipartisan issue in U.S. foreign policy.

Read USCIRF’s 2024 Annual Report

With Contributions from:

Stephen Schneck, Chair, USCIRF

Eric Ueland, Vice Chair, USCIRF

Jamie Staley, Acting Director of Research & Policy, USCIRF

Veronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Associate, USCIRF