III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 637 

Commemorating the 35th anniversary of United States broadcasting to Cuba. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2020 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 35th anniversary of United States 

broadcasting to Cuba. 

Whereas the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (Public Law 

98–111) passed by a wide margin in the House of Representatives on September 29, 1983, and passed unanimously by voice vote in the Senate on September 12, 

1983; 

Whereas, upon signing the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act 

into law on October 4, 1983, President Ronald Reagan 

said that the law ‘‘responds to an important foreign policy initiative of my administration: to break Fidel Castro’s monopoly on news and information within Cuba’’, 

further explaining that the purpose of providing impartial 

news to the Cuban people was so that they ‘‘will be in 

a better position to make Cuba’s leaders accountable for 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 637 IS 

their conduct in foreign policy, economic management, 

and human rights.’’; 

Whereas radio service into Cuba was named ‘‘Radio Marti’’ 

after renowned 19th century Cuban patriot Jose Martı ́; 

Whereas, on May 20, 1985, the 83rd anniversary of Cuba’s 

Independence Day, Radio Martı ́ began its first broadcast 

into Cuba; 

Whereas, in 1990, Congress passed and President George 

H.W. Bush signed into law the Television Broadcasting 

to Cuba Act (Public Law 101–246), which expanded 

broadcasting to include television, and ‘‘Television Martı ́’’ 

commenced broadcasting later that year; 

Whereas President William Jefferson Clinton signed into law 

the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–134), which required 

the relocation of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting from 

Washington, DC, to South Florida; 

Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting was relocated to 

Miami, Florida in 1998, ahead of schedule and under 

budget; 

Whereas United States broadcasts to Cuba were initiated to 

pierce the Castro regime’s information blockade and to 

provide timely, accurate, uncensored, and reliable information to the Cuban people; 

Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting at the United 

States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) oversees 

Radio and Television Martı ́; 

Whereas Radio and Television Martı ́ are multimedia hubs of 

news, information, and analysis that provide the people 

of Cuba with interactive programs 7 days a week through 

satellite television, shortwave and AM radio, and digital 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 637 IS 

platforms, including its website, flash drives, emails, 

DVDs, and SMS text; 

Whereas Radio and Television Martı ́ aim to inform and engage the people of Cuba by providing credible news and 

information rooted in respect for fundamental freedoms, 

democratic principles, and universal human rights; 

Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting facilitates critical 

technology services, allowing Cubans across provinces to 

connect, and linking Cuban pro-democracy activists with 

an expanding worldwide network of activists engaged in 

their own struggles for freedom and human rights in 

their respective countries; 

Whereas, on July 14, 2011, independent journalist and 

former political prisoner Jose Daniel Ferrer said, ‘‘the 

particular stories, the news selected for A Fondo [a joint 

Voice of America and Radio Martı ́ program], is what 

gives the show its quality, very professional. I listened to 

the show in prison on a daily basis.’’; 

Whereas Karen Caballero of Radio and Television Martı ́ received the David Burke Award in 2012 for her inspired 

coverage of the ‘‘Lights of Liberty Flotilla’’, a small 

group of boats with a mission to sail across the Florida 

Strait to bring attention to the solidarity between Cuban 

exiles and those on the island, and to the human rights 

abuses perpetrated by the regime in Cuba; 

Whereas, on August 13, 2013, Afro-Cuban activist and 

former political prisoner Jorge Luis Garcı ́a-Pe ́rez stated, 

‘‘In the 17 years that I spent behind bars, Radio Martı ́

was, at times, my ‘everything’. It was my lifeline.’’; and 

Whereas, in 2017, Television Martı ́’s ‘‘Alas de Libertad’’ 

(Wings of Freedom), which documented the activities of 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 637 IS 

the Brigade 2506 Air Force division during the 1961 

Bay of Pigs invasion, received the Suncoast Regional 

Emmy Award from The National Academy of Television 

Arts & Sciences: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) celebrates the 35th anniversary of Radio 

3 Martı ́ and the 30th anniversary of Television Martı ́; 

4 (2) recognizes the vital role that independent 

5 broadcasting to Cuba has served in providing uncen6 sored, reliable, and accurate information to the 

7 Cuban people for the past 35 years; 

8 (3) honors the journalists, programming edi9 tors, technical support, and many other employees at 

10 Radio and Television Martı ́, administered through 

11 the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, who commit to 

12 high journalistic standards, tenacity, and providing 

13 unbiased, objective information to the Cuban people; 

14 (4) remembers the deep and lasting contribu15 tions that the free flow of information, including 

16 broadcasting, to Cuba has provided to the Cuban 

17 people in bolstering Cuba’s pro-democracy move18 ment; and 

19 (5) reaffirms the importance of the United 

20 States strengthening policies in support of pro21 moting democracy, promoting freedom of the press, 

22 and supporting the transmission of external, reliable, 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 637 IS 

1 objective information to some of the most repressed 

2 parts of the world. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS