On Dec. 21, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, more commonly known as USCIRF, will run out of funding. After 21 years of problematic existence, the time has come to let it expire.
USCIRF was created as part of the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, which came about because of a House Republican effort to portray then-President Bill Clinton as a do-nothing when it came to religious freedom. It was a false portrayal, as John Hanford, religion point man for Sen. Richard Lugar, realized; after intense behind-the-scenes scrapping, the legislation was cleaned up, embraced by the Clinton administration and passed into law.
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