H.R. 554 would require the Department of State to review educational materials published by the government of Saudi Arabia to determine whether they encourage intolerance or violence against religions other than Islam or against Muslims who hold dissenting views. The department also would be required to report each year to the Congress on:
The Saudi government’s actions to remove such content from educational materials, retrain teachers, and revise manuals used by teachers;
The use of those materials in schools outside Saudi Arabia; and
The department’s use of waiver authority in penalizing Saudi Arabia as a country that violates religious freedom.
On the basis of information about the cost to prepare similar reports, CBO estimates that satisfying the bill’s reporting requirement would cost less than $500,000 over the 2020-2024 period and $1 million over the 2020-2029 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.