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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1379

To provide statutory authority and standards for the conduct of United

States Government international broadcasting activities, to provide the

President with flexibility in using international broadcasting resources

to meet the foreign policy needs of the United States, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 17, 1993

Mr. BERMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

To provide statutory authority and standards for the conduct

of United States Government international broadcasting

activities, to provide the President with flexibility in

using international broadcasting resources to meet the

foreign policy needs of the United States, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Broad5 casting Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

2 The Congress makes the following findings and dec3 larations of policy:

4 (1) It is the policy of the United States to pro5 mote the freedom ‘‘to seek, receive and impart infor6 mation and ideas through any media and regardless

7 of frontiers’’, in accordance with article 19 of the

8 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

9 (2) Open communication among the peoples of

10 the world is in the interests of the United States.

11 (3) It is in the interests of the United States

12 to support broadcasting to other nations consistent

13 with the requirements of this Act.

14 SEC. 3. STANDARDS.

15 International broadcasting supported by United

16 States Government funds shall—

17 (1) be consistent with the broad foreign policy

18 objectives of the United States;

19 (2) be consistent with the international tele20 communications policies and treaty obligations of the

21 United States;

22 (3) complement the activities of private United

23 States broadcasters;

24 (4) complement the activities of government

25 supported broadcasting entities of other democratic

26 nations;
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1 (5) be conducted in accordance with the highest

2 professional standards of broadcast journalism;

3 (6) be based on reliable information about its

4 potential audience; and

5 (7) be designed so as to effectively reach a sig6 nificant audience.

7 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS.

8 United States international broadcasting shall in9 clude—

10 (1) news which is consistently reliable and au11 thoritative, accurate, objective, and comprehensive;

12 (2) a balanced and comprehensive projection of

13 American thought and institutions, reflecting the di14 versity of American culture and society;

15 (3) clear and effective presentation of the poli16 cies of the United States Government and respon17 sible discussion and opinion on those policies;

18 (4) programming to meet needs which remain

19 unserved by the totality of media voices available to

20 the people of certain nations;

21 (5) a source of information about developments

22 in each significant region of the world;

23 (6) a forum for a variety of opinions and voices

24 from within particular nations and regions prevented
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1 by censorship or repression from speaking to their

2 fellow countrymen;

3 (7) reliable research capacity to meet the cri4 teria under this section;

5 (8) adequate transmitter and relay capacity to

6 support the activities described in this section;

7 (9) a source of information about developments

8 in Asia and a forum for a variety of opinions and

9 voices from within Asian nations whose people do

10 not enjoy freedom of expression; and

11 (10) training and technical support for inde12 pendent indigenous media through government agen13 cies or private United States entities.

14 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

15 (a) AUTHORITY OF PRESIDENT.—The President may

16 assign responsibility for any of the functions of United

17 States Government supported international broadcasting

18 under this Act to any agency of the United States Govern19 ment. The President may authorize any public or private

20 entity to carry out the functions described in paragraphs

21 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of section 4(b).

22 (b) GRANTS.—The President and any agency of the

23 United States Government is authorized to make grants

24 to RFE/RL Incorporated or any other public or private

25 entity in order to carry out the functions of paragraphs
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1 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of section 4(b). In exercising oversight

2 responsibilities pursuant to any such grant, an agency

3 shall consider the necessity of maintaining the professional

4 independence and integrity of the grantee in carrying out

5 such functions.

6 SEC. 6. USIA SATELLITE AND TELEVISION.

7 The President is authorized to delegate any of the

8 authorities and duties under section 505 of the United

9 States Information and Educational Exchange Act of

10 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1464a) to any agency of the United

11 States Government.

12 SEC. 7. REPEAL OF BOARD FOR INTERNATIONAL BROAD13 CASTING ACT.

14 The Board for International Broadcasting Act of

15 1973 (22 U.S.C. 2871 et seq.) is repealed.

16 SEC. 8. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

17 (a) The Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22

18 U.S.C. 1465) is amended by striking out sections 2

19 and 5.

20 (b) The Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act

21 (22 U.S.C. 1465aa) is amended by striking out sec22 tion 242.

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