WASHINGTON • Two bills co-sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., have passed the House and are headed to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

One, the "Near East and South Central Asia Religious Freedom Act," introduced by Blunt, urges Obama to appoint a special envoy to promote religious freedom among religious minorities in the Middle East. It passed the House after passing the Senate July 10. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, co-sponsored it. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., was among other sponsors.

The issue of religious freedom has attracted attention in Congress because of cases like that of Miriam Ibrahim, a Christian who had been imprisoned and faced a death sentence in Sudan for not renouncing her beliefs. She was recently released after the case drew international attention. Blunt spoke several times about her on the Senate floor or in interviews and wrote letters on her behalf.

The second bill that passed the House and is headed for Obama's signature re-authorizes the two-decades-old "Victims of Child Abuse Act," and includes $20 million in annual funding for centers for abused children. It had passed the Senate last month.

The measure was co-sponsored by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. Blunt's office said Missouri has 22 centers that annually serve about 7,000 children.

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