I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2323 

To enhance the missions, objectives, and effectiveness of United States 

international communications, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2015 

Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. 

SALMON, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. 

KEATING, and Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To enhance the missions, objectives, and effectiveness of 

United States international communications, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘United States International Communications Reform Act 

6 of 2015’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and declarations. 

Sec. 3. Purposes. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

Sec. 5. Broadcasting standards. 

Sec. 6. Eligible broadcast areas. 

TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND MANAGEMENT 

OF THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

AGENCY 

Subtitle A—Establishment of the United States International Communications 

Agency 

Sec. 101. Existence within the Executive Branch. 

Sec. 102. Establishment of the Board of the United States International Communications Agency. 

Sec. 103. Authorities and duties of the board of the United States International 

Communications Agency. 

Sec. 104. Establishment of the Chief Executive Officer of the United States 

International Communications Agency. 

Sec. 105. Authorities and duties of the Chief Executive Officer of the United 

States International Communications Agency. 

Sec. 106. Role of the Secretary of State. 

Sec. 107. Role of the Inspector General. 

Sec. 108. Enhanced coordination between United States International Communications Agency and the Freedom News Network; Program 

content sharing; Grantee independence. 

Sec. 109. Enhanced coordination among the United States International Communications Agency, the Freedom News Network, and the Department of State; Freedom News Network independence. 

Sec. 110. Grants to the Freedom News Network. 

Sec. 111. Other personnel and compensation limitations. 

Sec. 112. Reporting requirements of the United States International Communications Agency. 

Subtitle B—The Voice of America 

Sec. 121. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 122. Principles of the Voice of America. 

Sec. 123. Duties and responsibilities of the Voice of America. 

Sec. 124. Limitation on Voice of America news, programming, and content; Exception for broadcasting to Cuba. 

Sec. 125. Director of Voice of America. 

Subtitle C—General Provisions 

Sec. 131. Federal agency coordination in support of United States public diplomacy. 

Sec. 132. Federal agency assistance and coordination with the United States 

International Communications Agency and the Freedom News 

Network during international broadcast surges. 

Sec. 133. Freedom News Network right of first refusal in instances of Federal 

disposal of radio or television broadcast transmission facilities 

or equipment. 

Sec. 134. Repeal of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994. 

Sec. 135. Effective date. 


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TITLE II—THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK 

Sec. 201. Sense of Congress. 

Subtitle A—Consolidation of Existing Grantee Organizations 

Sec. 211. Formation of the Freedom News Network from existing grantees. 

Sec. 212. Mission of the Freedom News Network. 

Sec. 213. Standards and principles of the Freedom News Network. 

Subtitle B—Organization of the Freedom News Network 

Sec. 221. Governance of the Freedom News Network. 

Sec. 222. Budget of the Freedom News Network. 

Sec. 223. Assistance from other government agencies. 

Sec. 224. Reports by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of 

State; Audits by GAO. 

Sec. 225. Amendments to the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948. 

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Preservation of United States National Security objectives. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS. 

2 Congress finds and declares the following: 

3 (1) United States international broadcasting ex4 ists to advance the United States interests and val5 ues by presenting accurate, objective, and com6 prehensive news and information, which is the foun7 dation for democratic governance, to societies that 

8 lack a free media. 

9 (2) Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of 

10 Human Rights states that ‘‘[e]veryone has the right 

11 to freedom of opinion and expression’’, and that 

12 ‘‘this right includes freedom to hold opinions without 

13 interference and to seek, receive and impart infor14 mation and ideas through any media and regardless 

15 of frontiers’’. 


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1 (3) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified 

2 before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

3 House of Representatives on January 23, 2013, that 

4 the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) ‘‘is 

5 practically a defunct agency in terms of its capacity 

6 to be able to tell a message around the world. So 

7 we’re abdicating the ideological arena and need to 

8 get back into it.’’. 

9 (4) The BBG, which was created by Congress 

10 to oversee the United States international broad11 casting in the wake of the Cold War, has, because 

12 of structural and managerial issues, had limited suc13 cess to date in both coordinating the various compo14 nents of the international broadcasting framework 

15 and managing the day-to-day operations of the Fed16 eral components of the international broadcasting 

17 framework. 

18 (5) The lack of regular attendance by board 

19 members and a periodic inability to form a quorum 

20 have plagued the BBG and, as a result, it has been 

21 functionally incapable of running the agency. 

22 (6) The board of governors has only achieved 

23 the full slate of all nine governors for seven of its 

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1 ties of confirming and retaining governors under the 

2 current structure. 

3 (7) Both the Department of State’s Office of 

4 Inspector General and the Government Account5 ability Office have issued reports which outline a se6 verely dysfunctional organizational structure of the 

7 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 

8 (8) The Inspector General of the Department of 

9 State concluded in its January 2013 report that dys10 function of the BBG stems from ‘‘a flawed legisla11 tive structure and acute internal dissension’’. 

12 (9) The Inspector General of the Department of 

13 State also found that the BBG’s structure of nine 

14 part-time members ‘‘cannot effectively supervise all 

15 United States Government-supported, civilian inter16 national broadcasting’’, and its involvement in day17 to-day operations has impeded normal management 

18 functions. 

19 (10) The Government Accountability Office re20 port determined that there was significant overlap 

21 among the BBG’s languages services, and that the 

22 BBG did not systematically consider the financial 

23 cost of overlap. 

24 (11) According to the Office of the Inspector 

25 General, the BBG’s Office of Contracts is not in 


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1 compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, 

2 lacks appropriate contract oversight, and violates the 

3 Anti-Deficiency Act. The Office of the Inspector 

4 General also determined that the Broadcasting 

5 Board of Governors has not adequately performed 

6 full and open competitions or price determinations, 

7 has entered into hundreds of personal service con8 tracts without statutory authority, and contractors 

9 regularly work without valid contracts in place. 

10 (12) The size and make-up of the BBG work11 force should be closely examined, given the agency’s 

12 broader broadcasting and technical mission, as well 

13 as changing media technologies. 

14 (13) The BBG should be structured to ensure 

15 that more taxpayer dollars are dedicated to the sub16 stantive, broadcasting, and information-related ele17 ments of the agency’s mission. 

18 (14) The lack of a coherent and well defined 

19 mission of the Voice of America has led to program20 ming that duplicates the efforts of the Office of 

21 Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, RFE/RL, In22 corporated, and the Middle East Broadcasting Net23 works, Incorporated that results in inefficient use of 

24 tax-payer funding. 


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1 (15) The annual survey conducted by the 

2 ‘‘Partnership for Public Service’’ consistently ranks 

3 the Broadcasting Board of Governors at or near the 

4 bottom of all Federal agencies in terms of ‘‘overall 

5 best places to work’’ and ‘‘the extent to which em6 ployees feel their skills and talents are used effec7 tively’’. The consistency of these low scores point to 

8 structural, cultural, and functional problems at the 

9 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 

10 (16) The Federal and non-Federal organiza11 tions that comprise the United States international 

12 broadcasting framework have different, yet com13 plementary, missions that necessitate coordination at 

14 all levels of management. 

15 (17) The Broadcasting Board of Governors has 

16 an overabundance of senior civil service positions, 

17 defined here as full-time employees encumbering 

18 GS–14 and GS–15 positions on the General Sched19 ule pay scale. 

20 (18) United States international broadcasting 

21 should seek to leverage public-private partnerships, 

22 including the licensing of content and the use of 

23 technology owned or operated by non-governmental 

24 sources, where possible to expand outreach capacity. 


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1 (19) Shortwave broadcasting has been an im2 portant method of communication that should be 

3 utilized in regions as a component of United States 

4 international broadcasting where a critical need for 

5 the platform exists. 

6 (20) Congressional action is necessary at this 

7 time to improve international broadcasting oper8 ations, strengthen the United States public diplo9 macy efforts, enhance the grantee surrogate broad10 casting effort, restore focus to news, programming, 

11 and content, and maximize the value of Federal and 

12 non-Federal resources that are dedicated to public 

13 diplomacy and international broadcasting. 

14 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

15 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

16 (1) To provide objective, accurate, credible, and 

17 comprehensive news and information to societies 

18 that lack freedom of expression and information. 

19 (2) To improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and 

20 flexibility of United States international broad21 casting to allow it to adapt to constantly changing 

22 political and media environments through clarifica23 tion of missions, improved coordination, and organi24 zational restructuring. 


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1 (3) To coordinate the complementary efforts of 

2 the Department of State and United States inter3 national broadcasting. 

4 (4) To create a United States international 

5 broadcasting framework that more effectively 

6 leverages the broadcasting tools available and cre7 ates specialization of expertise in mission oriented 

8 programming, while minimizing waste and ineffi9 ciency. 

10 (5) To improve United States international 

11 broadcasting workforce effectiveness, security, and 

12 satisfaction. 

13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT16 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com17 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

18 the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

19 Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on 

20 Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and 

21 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

22 (2) GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘grantee’’ means the 

23 non-Federal organization described in section 

24 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 

25 exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code 


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1 as of day before the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act that receives Federal funding from the Broad3 casting Board of Governors, and includes Radio 

4 Free Asia, RFE/RL, Incorporated, and the Middle 

5 East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated. 

6 (3) FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.—The term 

7 ‘‘Freedom News Network’’ refers to the non-Federal 

8 organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

9 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax 

10 under section 501(a) of such Code that would re11 ceive Federal funding and be responsible for pro12 moting democratic freedoms and free media oper13 ations for foreign audiences in societies that lack 

14 freedom of expression and information, and con15 sisting of the consolidation of the grantee in accord16 ance with section 211. 

17 (4) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.—The term ‘‘public di18 plomacy’’ means the effort to achieve broad United 

19 States foreign policy goals and objectives, advance 

20 national interests, and enhance national security by 

21 informing and influencing foreign publics and by ex22 panding and strengthening the relationship between 

23 the people and Government of the United States and 

24 citizens of other countries. 


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1 SEC. 5. BROADCASTING STANDARDS. 

2 United States international broadcasting shall incor3 porate the following standards into all of its broadcasting 

4 efforts: 

5 (1) Be consistent with the broad foreign policy 

6 objectives of the United States. 

7 (2) Be consistent with the international tele8 communications policies and treaty obligations of the 

9 United States. 

10 (3) Complement and not duplicate the activities 

11 of private United States broadcasters. 

12 (4) Be conducted in accordance with the high13 est professional standards of broadcast journalism 

14 while remaining consistent with and supportive of 

15 the broad foreign policy objectives of the United 

16 States. 

17 (5) Be based on reliable, research-based infor18 mation, both quantitative and qualitative, about its 

19 potential audience. 

20 (6) Be designed so as to effectively reach a sig21 nificant audience. 

22 (7) Promote freedom of expression, religion, 

23 and respect for human rights and human equality. 

24 SEC. 6. ELIGIBLE BROADCAST AREAS. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Board of the United States 

26 International Communications Agency and the Board of 


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1 the Freedom News Network, in consultation with the Sec2 retary of State, shall ensure that United States inter3 national broadcasting is conducted only to countries and 

4 regions that— 

5 (1) lack democratic rule, or the indicia of demo6 cratic rule, such as demonstrable proof of free and 

7 fair elections; 

8 (2) lack the legal and political environment that 

9 allows media organizations and journalists to oper10 ate free from government-led or permitted harass11 ment, intimidation, retribution, and from economic 

12 impediments to the development, production, and 

13 dissemination of news and related programming and 

14 content; 

15 (3) lack established, domestic, and widely acces16 sible media that provide accurate, objective, and 

17 comprehensive news and related programming and 

18 content; and 

19 (4) by virtue of the criteria described in this 

20 subsection, would benefit the national security and 

21 related interests of the United States, and the safety 

22 and security of United States citizens at home and 

23 abroad. 

24 (b) EXCEPTION.—The United States International 

25 Communications Agency and the Freedom News Network 


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1 may broadcast to countries that fall outside of the criteria 

2 described in subsection (a) if the Chief Executive Officer 

3 of the Agency and the Freedom News Network, in con4 sultation with the Secretary of State, determine it is in 

5 the national security interest of the United States, or in 

6 the interests of preserving the safety and security of 

7 United States citizens at home and abroad, to do so. 

8 TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT, OR9 GANIZATION, AND MANAGE10 MENT OF THE UNITED 

11 STATES INTERNATIONAL 

12 COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY 

13 Subtitle A—Establishment of the 

14 United States International 

15 Communications Agency 

16 SEC. 101. EXISTENCE WITHIN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH. 

17 There is hereby established a single Federal organiza18 tion consisting of the Voice of America and the offices that 

19 constitute the International Broadcasting Bureau and re20 ferred to hereafter as the ‘‘United States International 

21 Communications Agency’’, which shall exist within the ex22 ecutive branch of Government as an independent estab23 lishment described in section 104 of title 5, United States 

24 Code. 


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1 SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOARD OF THE UNITED 

2 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

3 AGENCY. 

4 (a) COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF THE UNITED

5 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of the United 

7 States International Communications Agency (in 

8 this title referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) shall consist of 

9 nine members, as follows: 

10 (A) Eight voting members who shall be ap11 pointed by the President, by and with the ad12 vice and consent of the Senate. 

13 (B) The Secretary of State, who shall also 

14 be a voting member. 

15 (2) CHAIR.—The President shall appoint one 

16 member (other than the Secretary of State) as Chair 

17 of the Board, by and with the advice and consent of 

18 the Senate. 

19 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Exclusive of the 

20 Secretary of State, not more than four members of 

21 the Board shall be of the same political party. 

22 (4) RETENTION OF EXISTING BBG MEMBERS.— 

23 The presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed 

24 members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors 

25 serving as of the date of the enactment of this Act 

26 shall constitute the Board of the United States 


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1 International Communications Agency and hold of2 fice for the remainder of their original terms of of3 fice without reappointment to the Board. 

4 (b) TERMS OF OFFICE.—The term of office of each 

5 member of the Board shall be three years, except that the 

6 Secretary of State shall remain a member of the Board 

7 during the Secretary’s term of service. Of the other eight 

8 voting members, the initial terms of office of two members 

9 shall be one year, and the initial terms of office of three 

10 other members shall be two years, as determined by the 

11 President. The President shall appoint, by and with the 

12 advice and consent of the Senate, Board members to fill 

13 vacancies occurring prior to the expiration of a term, in 

14 which case the members so appointed shall serve for the 

15 remainder of such term. Members may not serve beyond 

16 their terms. When there is no Secretary of State, the Act17 ing Secretary of State shall serve as a member of the 

18 Board until a Secretary is appointed. 

19 (c) SELECTION OF BOARD.—Members of the Board 

20 shall be citizens of the United States who are not regular 

21 full-time employees of the United States Government. 

22 Such members shall be selected by the President from 

23 among citizens distinguished in the fields of public diplo24 macy, mass communications, print, broadcast media, or 

25 foreign affairs. 


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1 (d) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Board, while 

2 attending meetings of the Board or while engaged in du3 ties relating to such meetings or in other activities of the 

4 Board pursuant to this section (including travel time) 

5 shall be entitled to receive compensation equal to the daily 

6 equivalent of the compensation prescribed for level IV of 

7 the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 

8 United States Code. While away from their homes or reg9 ular places of business, members of the Board may be al10 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub11 sistence, in accordance with section 5703 of such title for 

12 persons in the Government service employed intermit13 tently. The Secretary of State shall not be entitled to any 

14 compensation for service on the Board. 

15 (e) DECISIONS.—Decisions of the Board shall be 

16 made by majority vote, a quorum being present. A quorum 

17 shall consist of a majority of members then serving at the 

18 time a decision of the Board is made. 

19 (f) TRANSPARENCY.—The Board of the United 

20 States International Communications Agency shall adhere 

21 to the provisions specified in the Government in the Sun22 shine Act (Public Law 94–409). 


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1 SEC. 103. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF 

2 THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL COM3 MUNICATIONS AGENCY. 

4 The Board of the United States International Com5 munications Agency shall have the following authorities: 

6 (1) To review and evaluate the mission and op7 eration of, and to assess the quality, effectiveness, 

8 and professional integrity of, all programming pro9 duced by the United States International Commu10 nications Agency to ensure alignment with the broad 

11 foreign policy objectives of the United States. 

12 (2) To ensure that broadcasting of the United 

13 States International Communications Agency is con14 ducted in accordance with the standards specified in 

15 section 5. 

16 (3) To review, evaluate, and recommend to the 

17 Chief Executive of the United States International 

18 Communications Agency, at least annually, in con19 sultation with the Secretary of State, the necessity 

20 of adding or deleting language services of the Agen21 cy. 

22 (4) To submit to the President and Congress 

23 an annual report which summarizes and evaluates 

24 activities of the United States International Commu25 nications Agency described in this title. 


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1 SEC. 104. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFI2 CER OF THE UNITED STATES INTER3 NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a Chief Executive 

5 Officer of the United States International Communica6 tions Agency, appointed by the Board of the Agency for 

7 a five-year term, renewable at the Board’s discretion, and 

8 subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

9 governing appointments, classification, and compensation. 

10 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Executive Officer 

11 shall be selected from among United States citizens with 

12 two or more of the following qualifications: 

13 (1) A distinguished career in managing a large 

14 organization or Federal agency. 

15 (2) Experience in the field of mass communica16 tions, print, or broadcast media. 

17 (3) Experience in foreign affairs or inter18 national relations. 

19 (4) Experience in directing United States public 

20 diplomacy programs. 

21 (c) TERMINATION AND TRANSFER.—Immediately 

22 upon appointment of the Chief Executive Officer under 

23 subsection (a), the Director of the International Broad24 casting Bureau shall be terminated, and all of the respon25 sibilities and authorities of the Director shall be trans26 ferred to and assumed by the Chief Executive Officer. 


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1 (d) REMOVAL OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—The 

2 Chief Executive Officer under subsection (a) may be re3 moved upon a two-thirds majority vote of the members 

4 of the Board of the United States International Commu5 nications Agency then serving. 

6 (e) COMPENSATION OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF7 FICER.—Any Chief Executive Officer of the United States 

8 International Communications Agency hired after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, shall be eligible to receive 

10 compensation up to an annual rate of pay equivalent to 

11 level II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of 

12 title 5, United States Code. 

13 SEC. 105. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE CHIEF EXECU14 TIVE OFFICER OF THE UNITED STATES 

15 INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY. 

16 (a) DUTIES.—The Chief Executive Officer under sec17 tion 104 shall direct operations of the United States Inter18 national Communications Agency and shall have the fol19 lowing non-delegable authorities, subject to the super20 vision of the Board of the United States International 

21 Communications Agency: 

22 (1) To supervise all Federal broadcasting activi23 ties conducted pursuant to title V of the United 

24 States Information and Educational Exchange Act 

25 of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1461 et seq.) and the Voice of 


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1 America as described in subtitle B of title I of this 

2 Act. 

3 (2) To make and ensure compliance with the 

4 terms and conditions of the grant agreement in ac5 cordance with section 110. 

6 (3) To review engineering activities to ensure 

7 that all broadcasting elements receive the highest 

8 quality and cost-effective delivery services. 

9 (4) To undertake such studies as may be nec10 essary to identify areas in which broadcasting activi11 ties under the authority of the United States Inter12 national Communications Agency could be made 

13 more efficient and economical. 

14 (5) To the extent considered necessary to carry 

15 out the functions of the Board, procure supplies, 

16 services, and other personal property, as well as pro17 curement pursuant to section 1535 of title 31, 

18 United States Code (commonly referred to as the 

19 ‘‘Economy Act’’), of such goods and services from 

20 other Federal agencies for the Board as the Board 

21 determines are appropriate. 

22 (6) To appoint such staff personnel for the 

23 Board as the Board may determine to be necessary, 

24 subject to the provisions of title 5, United States 

25 Code, governing appointments in the competitive 


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1 service, and to fix their compensation in accordance 

2 with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 

3 of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification 

4 and General Schedule pay rates. 

5 (7) To obligate and expend, for official recep6 tion and representation expenses, such amounts as 

7 may be made available through appropriations Acts. 

8 (8) To make available in the annual reports re9 quired under section 103 information on funds ex10 pended on administrative and managerial services by 

11 the Board of the United States Communications 

12 Agency, and the steps the Board has taken to re13 duce unnecessary overhead costs for each of the 

14 broadcasting services. 

15 (9) To provide for the use of United States 

16 Government broadcasting capacity to the Freedom 

17 News Network. 

18 (10)(A) To procure temporary and intermittent 

19 personal services to the same extent as is authorized 

20 by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, at 

21 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the rate 

22 provided for positions classified above grade GS–15 

23 of the General Schedule under section 5108 of such 

24 title. 


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1 (B) To allow those individuals providing such 

2 services, while away from their homes or their reg3 ular places of business, travel expenses (including 

4 per diem in lieu of subsistence) as authorized by sec5 tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons 

6 in the Government service employed intermittently, 

7 while so employed. 

8 (11) To utilize the provisions of titles III, IV, 

9 V, VII, VIII, IX, and X of the United States Infor10 mation and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 

11 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), and section 6 of Reorganiza12 tion Plan Number 2 of 1977, as in effect on the day 

13 before the effective date of title XIII of the Foreign 

14 Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1998, to the 

15 extent the Board considers necessary to carry out 

16 the provisions and purposes of this Act. 

17 (12) To utilize the authorities of any other stat18 ute, reorganization plan, Executive order, regulation, 

19 agreement, determination, or other official document 

20 or proceeding that had been available to the Director 

21 of the United States Information Agency, the Inter22 national Broadcasting Bureau, or the Board of the 

23 Broadcasting Board of Governors before the date of 

24 the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (13)(A) To provide for the payment of primary 

2 and secondary school expenses for dependents of 

3 personnel stationed in the Commonwealth of the 

4 Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) at a cost not to 

5 exceed expenses authorized by the Department of 

6 Defense for such schooling for dependents of mem7 bers of the Armed Forces stationed in the Common8 wealth, if the Board determines that schools avail9 able in the Commonwealth are unable to provide 

10 adequately for the education of the dependents of 

11 such personnel. 

12 (B) To provide transportation for dependents of 

13 such personnel between their places of residence and 

14 those schools for which expenses are provided under 

15 subparagraph (A), if the Board determines that such 

16 schools are not accessible by public means of trans17 portation. 

18 (b) CONSULTATIONS.—The Chief Executive Officer 

19 of the United States International Communications Agen20 cy shall regularly consult with the Chief Executive Officer 

21 of the Freedom News Network and the Secretary of State 

22 as described in sections 108 and 109. 

23 SEC. 106. ROLE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 

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1 tions, the Secretary of State shall provide to the Board 

2 information in accordance with section 109(b), as well as 

3 guidance on United States foreign policy and public diplo4 macy priorities, as the Secretary determines appropriate. 

5 SEC. 107. ROLE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the De7 partment of State shall exercise the same authorities with 

8 respect to the United States International Communica9 tions Agency and the Freedom News Network as the In10 spector General exercises with respect to the Department. 

11 (b) JOURNALIST INTEGRITY.—The Inspector General 

12 of the Department of State shall respect the journalistic 

13 integrity of all the broadcasters covered by this Act and 

14 may not evaluate the philosophical or political perspectives 

15 reflected in the content of the broadcasts of such broad16 casters. 

17 SEC. 108. ENHANCED COORDINATION BETWEEN UNITED 

18 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

19 AGENCY AND THE FREEDOM NEWS NET20 WORK; PROGRAM CONTENT SHARING; 

21 GRANTEE INDEPENDENCE. 

22 (a) MEETINGS.—The chair of the Board and Chief 

23 Executive Officer of the United States International Com24 munications Agency shall meet at least on a quarterly 

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1 fied in section 221, of the Freedom News Network to dis2 cuss mutual issues of concern, including the following: 

3 (1) The strategic direction of their respective 

4 organizations, including target audiences. 

5 (2) Languages of information transmission. 

6 (3) Prioritization of funding allocations. 

7 (4) Areas for greater collaboration. 

8 (5) Elimination of programming overlap. 

9 (6) Efficiencies that can be realized through 

10 best practices and lessons learned. 

11 (7) Sharing of program content. 

12 (b) INFORMATION SHARING.—The Chief Executive 

13 Officer of the United States International Broadcasting 

14 Agency and the Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom 

15 News Network shall share all strategic planning docu16 ments, including the following: 

17 (1) Results monitoring and evaluation. 

18 (2) Annual planning documents. 

19 (3) Audience surveys conducted. 

20 (4) Budget formulation documents. 

21 (c) PROGRAM CONTENT SHARING.—The United 

22 States International Communications Agency and the 

23 Freedom News Network shall make all original content 

24 available to each other through a shared platform in ac25 cordance with section 112(a)(3). 


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1 (d) INDEPENDENCE OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NET2 WORK.—The United States International Communications 

3 Agency, while conducting management of the grant de4 scribed in section 110, shall avoid even the appearance of 

5 involvement in daily operations, decisions, or management 

6 of the Freedom News Network, and ensure that the dis7 tinctions between the United States International Commu8 nications Agency and the Freedom News Network remain 

9 in accordance with this Act. 

10 SEC. 109. ENHANCED COORDINATION AMONG THE UNITED 

11 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

12 AGENCY, THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK, 

13 AND THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE; FREEDOM 

14 NEWS NETWORK INDEPENDENCE. 

15 (a) COORDINATION MEETINGS.—The Chief Execu16 tive Officer of the United States International Commu17 nications Agency and the Chief Executive Officer of the 

18 Freedom News Network shall meet, at least on a quarterly 

19 basis, with the Secretary of State to— 

20 (1) review and evaluate broadcast activities; 

21 (2) eliminate overlap of programming; and 

22 (3) determine long-term strategies for inter23 national broadcasting to ensure such strategies are 

24 in accordance with the broad foreign policy interests 

25 of the United States. 


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1 (b) STRATEGIC PLANNING DOCUMENTS.—The Chief 

2 Executive Officer of the United States International Com3 munications Agency, the Chief Executive Officer of the 

4 Freedom News Network, and the Secretary of State shall 

5 share all relevant unclassified strategic planning docu6 ments produced by the Agency, the Freedom News Net7 work, and the Department of State. 

8 (c) FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK INDEPENDENCE.— 

9 The Department of State, while coordinating with the 

10 Freedom News Network in accordance with subsection (a), 

11 shall avoid even the appearance of involvement in the daily 

12 operations, decisions, or management of the Freedom 

13 News Network, and ensure that the distinctions between 

14 the Department of State and Freedom News Network re15 main in accordance with this Act. 

16 SEC. 110. GRANTS TO THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive Officer of the 

18 United States International Communications Agency shall 

19 make grants to RFE/RL, Incorporated, Radio Free Asia, 

20 or the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated 

21 only after the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency and 

22 the Chief Executive Officer of Freedom News Network 

23 certify to the appropriate congressional committees that 

24 the headquarters of the Freedom News Network and its 

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1 tion which ensures economy, operational effectiveness, and 

2 accountability, and the following conditions have been sat3 isfied: 

4 (1) RFE/RL, Incorporated, Radio Free Asia, 

5 and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incor6 porated have submitted to the Chief Executive Offi7 cer of the United States International Communica8 tions Agency a plan for consolidation and reconstitu9 tion as described in section 211 under the new cor10 porate name ‘‘Freedom News Network’’ with a sin11 gle organizational structure and management frame12 work, as described in section 221. 

13 (2) The necessary steps towards the consolida14 tion described in paragraph (1) have been com15 pleted, including the selection of a Board, Chair, and 

16 Chief Executive Officer for the Freedom News Net17 work, the establishment of bylaws to govern the 

18 Freedom News Network, and the filing of articles of 

19 incorporation. 

20 (3) A plan for content sharing has been devel21 oped in accordance with section 112(a)(3). 

22 (4) A strategic plan for programming imple23 mentation has been developed as specified in section 

24 222(c), including the following elements: 


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1 (A) The strategic goals and objectives of 

2 the Freedom News Network for the upcoming 

3 fiscal year. 

4 (B) The alignment of the Freedom News 

5 Network’s resources with the strategic goals 

6 and objectives referred to in subparagraph (A). 

7 (C) Clear benchmarks that establish the 

8 progress made towards achieving the strategic 

9 goals and objectives referred to in subparagraph 

10 (A). 

11 (D) A plan to monitor and evaluate the 

12 success of the Freedom News Network’s broad13 casting efforts. 

14 (E) A reflective analysis on the activities 

15 on the past fiscal year. 

16 (F) Any changes to facility leases, con17 tracts, or ownership that would result in the re18 location of staff or personnel. 

19 (G) Any changes to broadcast languages, 

20 including the transfer of language services to 

21 the Freedom News Network from the United 

22 States International Communications Agency, 

23 or to an organization other than the Freedom 

24 New Network. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Board of the United 

3 States International Communications Agency shall submit 

4 to Congress a report on the status of any grants made 

5 to the Freedom News Network. 

6 (c) ALTERNATIVE GRANTEE.—If the Chief Executive 

7 Officer of the United States International Communica8 tions Agency, after consultation with the Board of the 

9 Agency and the appropriate congressional committees, de10 termines at any time that the Freedom News Network is 

11 not carrying out the mission described in section 212 and 

12 adhering to the standards and principles described in sec13 tion 213 in an effective and economical manner for which 

14 a grant has been awarded, the Chief Executive Officer of 

15 the Agency, upon approval of the Board, may award to 

16 another entity the grant at issue to carry out such func17 tions after soliciting and considering applications from eli18 gible entities in such manner and accompanied by such 

19 information as the Board may require. 

20 (d) NOT A FEDERAL ENTITY.—Nothing in this Act 

21 may be construed to make the Freedom News Network 

22 a Federal agency or instrumentality. 

23 (e) AUTHORITY.—Grants authorized under this sec24 tion for the United States International Communications 

25 Agency shall be available to make annual grants to the 


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1 Freedom News Network for the purpose of carrying out 

2 the mission described in section 212 and adhering to the 

3 standards and principles described in section 213. 

4 (f) GRANT AGREEMENT.—Grants authorized under 

5 this section to the Freedom News Network by the Chief 

6 Executive Officer of the United States International Com7 munications Agency shall only be made in accordance with 

8 a grant agreement. Such grant agreement shall include 

9 the following provisions: 

10 (1) A grant shall be used only for activities in 

11 accordance with carrying out the mission described 

12 in section 212 and adhering to the standards and 

13 principles described in section 213. 

14 (2) The Freedom News Network shall comply 

15 with the requirements of this section. 

16 (3) Failure to comply with the requirements of 

17 this section may result in suspension or termination 

18 of a grant without further obligation by the United 

19 States International Communications Agency or the 

20 United States. 

21 (4) Use of broadcasting technology owned and 

22 operated by the United States International Commu23 nications Agency shall be made available through an 

24 International Cooperative Administrative Support 


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1 Service (ICASS) agreement or memorandum of un2 derstanding. 

3 (5) The Freedom News Network shall, upon re4 quest, provide to the Chief Executive Officer of the 

5 United States International Communications Agency 

6 documentation which details the expenditure of any 

7 grant funds. 

8 (6) A grant may not be used to require the 

9 Freedom News Network to comply with any require10 ments other than the requirements specified in this 

11 Act. 

12 (7) A grant may not be used to allocate re13 sources within the Freedom News Network in a 

14 manner that is inconsistent with the Freedom News 

15 Network strategic plan described in section 222(c). 

16 (g) PROHIBITIONS ON THE USE OF GRANTS.— 

17 Grants authorized under this section may not be used for 

18 the following purposes: 

19 (1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) 

20 or (C), to pay any salary or other compensation, or 

21 enter into any contract providing for the payment of 

22 salary or compensation, in excess of the rates estab23 lished for comparable positions under title 5, United 

24 States Code, or the foreign relations laws of the 

25 United States, except that no employee may be paid 


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1 a salary or other compensation in excess of the rate 

2 of pay payable for level III of the Executive Sched3 ule under section 5314 of such title. 

4 (B) Salary and other compensation limitations 

5 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect 

6 to any employee covered by a union agreement re7 quiring a salary or other compensation in excess of 

8 such limitations before the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act. 

10 (C) Notwithstanding the limitations specified in 

11 subparagraph (A), grants authorized under this sec12 tion may be used by the Freedom News Network to 

13 pay up to six employees employed in the Wash14 ington, DC, area, salary or other compensation not 

15 to exceed the rate of pay payable for level II of the 

16 Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, 

17 United States Code, except that such shall not apply 

18 to the Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom News 

19 Network in accordance with section 221(e). 

20 (2) For any activity intended to influence the 

21 passage or defeat of legislation being considered by 

22 Congress. 

23 (3) To enter into a contract or obligation to pay 

24 severance payments for voluntary separation for em25 ployees hired after December 1, 1990, except as may 


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1 be required by United States law or the laws of the 

2 country where such an employee is stationed. 

3 (4) For first class travel for any employee of 

4 the Freedom News Network, or the relative of any 

5 such employee. 

6 SEC. 111. OTHER PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION LIMITA7 TIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the organizational and 

9 personnel restrictions described in subsection (c), the 

10 Chief Executive Officer of the United States International 

11 Communications Agency shall have the discretion to deter12 mine the distribution of all personnel within the Agency, 

13 subject to the approval of the Board of the Agency. 

14 (b) LIMITATION ON COMPENSATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—No employee of the United 

16 States International Communications Agency, other 

17 than the Chief Executive Officer or Director of the 

18 Voice of America, shall be eligible to receive com19 pensation at a rate in excess of step 10 of an annual 

20 rate of basic pay for grade GS–15 of the General 

21 Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United 

22 States Code. 

23 (2) EXCEPTION.—The limitation described in 

24 paragraph (1) does not apply in the case of members 

25 of the Board in accordance with section 102(d) or 


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1 affect the rights of employees covered under the 

2 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. 

3 (c) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN NEW EMPLOY4 MENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the 

6 enactment of this Act and ending on the date that 

7 is five years after such date, the United States 

8 International Communications Agency may not fill 

9 any currently unfilled full-time or part-time position 

10 compensated at an annual rate of basic pay for 

11 grade GS–14 or GS–15 of the General Schedule 

12 under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code, 

13 including any currently filled position in which the 

14 incumbent resigns, retires, or otherwise leaves such 

15 position during the such five-year period. 

16 (2) WAIVER.—The Chief Executive Officer of 

17 the United States International Communications 

18 Agency may waive the prohibition specified in para19 graph (1) if the position is determined essential to 

20 the functioning of the Agency and documented as 

21 such in the report required under section 112(a), or 

22 necessary for the acquisition of skills or knowledge 

23 not sufficiently represented in the current workforce 

24 of the Agency. The Chief Executive Officer of the 

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1 sional committees before issuing a waiver under this 

2 paragraph. 

3 (d) CONTINUATION OF FEDERAL STATUS.—Nothing 

4 in this Act may be interpreted to change the Federal sta5 tus or rights of employees of the Voice of America or the 

6 International Broadcasting Bureau by the consolidation 

7 and establishment of the United States International 

8 Communications Agency. 

9 SEC. 112. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNITED 

10 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

11 AGENCY. 

12 (a) REORGANIZATION REPORT.—Not later than 180 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief 

14 Executive Officer of the United States International Com15 munications Agency shall submit to the appropriate Con16 gressional committees a report that includes the following: 

17 (1) A plan to assess and provide recommenda18 tions on the appropriate size and necessity of all 

19 current offices and positions (also referred to as a 

20 ‘‘staffing pattern’’) within the Agency, including full21 time employee positions rated at the Senior Execu22 tive Service (SES) level or at an annual rate of basic 

23 pay for grades GS–14 or GS–15 of the General 

24 Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United 

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1 nizational structure that delineates lines of authority 

2 and reporting between junior staff, management, 

3 and leadership. 

4 (2) A plan to consolidate the Voice of America 

5 and the International Broadcasting Bureau into a 

6 single Federal entity identified as the ‘‘United 

7 States International Communications Agency’’, and 

8 how the structure and alignment of resources sup9 port the fulfillment of the Agency’s mission and 

10 standards and principles as described in sections 5 

11 and 122. 

12 (3) A plan for developing a platform to share 

13 all programming content between the United States 

14 International Communications Agency and the Free15 dom News Network, including making available for 

16 distribution all programming content licensed or pro17 duced by the Agency and the Freedom News Net18 work, and expanding the functionality of the plat19 forms already in existence, such as the web content 

20 management system ‘‘Pangea’’. 

21 (4) A joint plan written with the Chief Execu22 tive Officer of the Freedom News Network to coordi23 nate the transition of language services between the 

24 United States International Communications Agency 


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1 and the Freedom News Network in accordance with 

2 sections 6, 109, and 222(c). 

3 (b) CONTRACTING REPORT.—The Chief Executive 

4 Officer of the United States International Communica5 tions Agency shall annually submit to the appropriate con6 gressional committees a report on the Agency’s compliance 

7 with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (the ‘‘FAR’’) and 

8 the Anti-Deficiency Act, including a review of contracts 

9 awarded on a non-competitive basis, compliance with the 

10 FAR requirement for publicizing contract actions, the use 

11 of any personal service contracts without explicit statutory 

12 authority, and processes for contract oversight in compli13 ance with the FAR. 

14 (c) LISTENERSHIP REPORT.—The Chief Executive 

15 Officer of the United States International Communica16 tions Agency shall annually submit to the appropriate con17 gressional committees a report that details the trans18 mission capacities, market penetration, and audience 

19 listenership of all mediums of international communication 

20 deployed by the United States International Communica21 tions Agency, including a plan for how target audiences 

22 can be reached if the first medium of delivery is unavail23 able. 

24 (d) GAO REPORT.—Every five years after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 


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1 the United States shall submit to the appropriate congres2 sional committees a report that reviews the effectiveness 

3 of content sharing between the United States Inter4 national Communications Agency and the Freedom News 

5 Network and makes recommendations on how content 

6 sharing can be improved. 

7 (e) LANGUAGE REPORT.—Not later than one year 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Ex9 ecutive Officer of the United States International Commu10 nications Agency and the Chief Executive Officer of the 

11 Freedom News Network shall submit to the appropriate 

12 congressional committees a joint report detailing— 

13 (1) information outlining the criteria and anal14 ysis used to determine broadcast recipient countries 

15 and regions; and 

16 (2) an initial list of broadcast countries and re17 gions. 

18 Subtitle B—The Voice of America 

19 SEC. 121. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that— 

21 (1) the Voice of America has been an indispen22 sable element of United States foreign policy and 

23 public diplomacy efforts since 1942, and should re24 main the flagship brand of the United States Inter25 national Communications Agency; 


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1 (2) the Voice of America has been a reliable 

2 source of accurate, objective, and comprehensive 

3 news and related programming and content for the 

4 millions of people around the world who cannot ob5 tain such news and related programming and con6 tent from indigenous media outlets; 

7 (3) the Voice of America’s success over more 

8 than seven decades has created valuable brand iden9 tity and international recognition that justifies the 

10 maintenance of the Voice of America; 

11 (4) the Voice of America’s public diplomacy 

12 mission remains essential to broader United States 

13 Government efforts to communicate with foreign 

14 populations; and 

15 (5) despite its tremendous historical success, 

16 the Voice of America would benefit substantially 

17 from a recalibration of Federal international broad18 casting agencies and resources, which would provide 

19 the Voice of America with greater mission focus and 

20 flexibility in the deployment of news, programming, 

21 and content. 

22 SEC. 122. PRINCIPLES OF THE VOICE OF AMERICA. 

23 The Voice of America shall adhere to the following 

24 principles in the course of fulfilling its duties and respon25 sibilities: 


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1 (1) Serving as a consistently reliable and au2 thoritative source of news on the United States, its 

3 policies, its people, and the international develop4 ments that affect the United States. 

5 (2) Providing accurate, objective, and com6 prehensive information, with the understanding that 

7 these three values provide credibility among global 

8 news audiences. 

9 (3) Presenting the official policies of the United 

10 States, and related discussions and opinions about 

11 those policies, clearly and effectively. 

12 (4) Representing the whole of the United 

13 States, and shall accordingly work to produce pro14 gramming and content that presents a balanced and 

15 comprehensive projection of the diversity of thought 

16 and institutions of the United States. 

17 SEC. 123. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE VOICE OF 

18 AMERICA. 

19 The Voice of America shall have the following duties 

20 and responsibilities: 

21 (1) Producing accurate, objective, and com22 prehensive news. 

23 (2) Producing content and related programming 

24 that accurately represents the diversity of thoughts 

25 and institutions of the United States as a whole and 


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1 is consistent with and presents the broad foreign 

2 policies of the United States. 

3 (3) Producing content and related programming 

4 that provides a comprehensive understanding of the 

5 impact of United States foreign assistance programs 

6 and United States international philanthropy, com7 plementing other media outlets. 

8 (4) Presenting the law and policies of the 

9 United States clearly and effectively. 

10 (5) Promoting the civil and responsible ex11 change of information and differences of opinion re12 garding policies, issues, and current events. 

13 (6) Making all of its produced news and related 

14 programming and content available to the Freedom 

15 News Network for use and distribution. 

16 (7) Producing or otherwise allowing editorials, 

17 commentary, and programming, in consultation with 

18 the Department of State, that present the official 

19 views of the United States Government and its offi20 cials. 

21 (8) Maximizing foreign national information ac22 cess through both the use of existing broadcasting 

23 tools and resources and the development and dis24 semination of circumvention technology. 


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1 (9) Providing training and technical support for 

2 independent indigenous media and journalist enter3 prises in order to facilitate or enhance independent 

4 media environments and outlets abroad. 

5 (10) Reaching identified foreign audiences in 

6 local languages and dialects when possible, particu7 larly when such audiences form a distinct ethnic, 

8 cultural, or religious group within a country critical 

9 to United States national security interests. 

10 (11) Being capable of providing a broadcasting 

11 surge capacity under circumstances where overseas 

12 disasters, crises, or other events require increased or 

13 heightened international public diplomacy engage14 ment. 

15 SEC. 124. LIMITATION ON VOICE OF AMERICA NEWS, PRO16 GRAMMING, AND CONTENT; EXCEPTION FOR 

17 BROADCASTING TO CUBA. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

19 (b), the Voice of America shall be limited to providing re20 porting in accordance with the principles specified in sec21 tion 122. Nothing in this section may preclude the Voice 

22 of America from broadcasting programming content pro23 duced by the Freedom News Network. 

24 (b) EXCEPTION FOR BROADCASTING TO CUBA.— 

25 Radio Marti and Television Marti, which constitute the 


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1 Office of Cuba Broadcasting, shall continue programming 

2 and content production consistent with the mission and 

3 activities as described in the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba 

4 Act (Public Law 98–111) and the Television Broadcasting 

5 to Cuba Act (Public Law 101–246), and continue existing 

6 within the Voice of America of the United States Inter7 national Communications Agency, established in section 

8 101. 

9 SEC. 125. DIRECTOR OF VOICE OF AMERICA. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be a Director of 

11 the Voice of America, who shall be responsible for exe12 cuting the duties and responsibilities of the Voice of Amer13 ica described in subsection (b). 

14 (b) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director 

15 of the Voice of America shall, subject to the final approval 

16 of the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Inter17 national Communications Agency carry out the following 

18 duties and responsibilities: 

19 (1) Determine the organizational structure of, 

20 and personnel allocation or relocation within, the 

21 Voice of America, subject to section 105. 

22 (2) Make recommendations to the Chief Execu23 tive Officer of the United States International Com24 munications Agency regarding the production, develVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:52 May 16, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2323.IH H2323

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1 opment, and termination of Voice of America news 

2 programming and content. 

3 (3) Make recommendations to the Chief Execu4 tive Officer of the United States International Com5 munications Agency about the establishment, termi6 nation, prioritization, and adjustments of language 

7 services utilized by the Voice of America to reach its 

8 international audience. 

9 (4) Allocate funding and material resources 

10 under the jurisdiction of the Voice of America for 

11 the furtherance of the other duties and responsibil12 ities established under this subsection. 

13 (5) Oversee the daily operations of the Voice of 

14 America, including programming content. 

15 (c) APPOINTMENT AND QUALIFICATIONS OF DIREC16 TOR.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The position of Director of 

18 the Voice of America shall be filled by a person who 

19 shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief Executive Of20 ficer of the United States International Communica21 tions Agency. 

22 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to be ap23 pointed Director of the Voice of America, a person 

24 shall have at least two of the following qualifications: 


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1 (A) Prior, extensive experience managing 

2 or operating a private-sector media or journalist 

3 enterprise. 

4 (B) Prior, extensive experience managing 

5 or operating a large organization. 

6 (C) Prior, extensive experience engaged in 

7 mass media or journalist program development, 

8 including the development of circumvention 

9 technologies. 

10 (D) Prior, extensive experience engaged in 

11 international journalism or other related activi12 ties, including the training of international jour13 nalists and the promotion of democratic institu14 tional reforms abroad. 

15 (3) COMPENSATION.—Any Director who is 

16 hired after the date of the enactment of this Act 

17 shall be entitled to receive compensation at a rate 

18 equal to the annual rate of basic pay for level III of 

19 the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 

20 5, United States Code. 

21 Subtitle C—General Provisions 

22 SEC. 131. FEDERAL AGENCY COORDINATION IN SUPPORT 

23 OF UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Board of the United States 

25 International Communications Agency and the Freedom 


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1 News Network shall conduct periodic, unclassified con2 sultations with the Department of State, the United 

3 States Agency for International Development, the Depart4 ment of Defense, and the Office of the Director of Na5 tional Intelligence, for the purpose of assessing the fol6 lowing: 

7 (1) Progress toward democratization, the devel8 opment of free and independent media outlets, and 

9 the free flow of information in countries that receive 

10 programming and content from the United States 

11 International Communications Agency and the Free12 dom News Network. 

13 (2) Foreign languages that have increased or 

14 decreased in strategic importance, and the factors 

15 supporting such assessments. 

16 (3) Any other international developments, in17 cluding developments with regional or country-spe18 cific significance, that might be of value in assisting 

19 the United States International Communications 

20 Agency and the Freedom News Network in the de21 velopment of their programming and content. 

22 (b) GUIDANCE.—The Board of the United States 

23 International Communications Agency shall use the un24 classified consultations required under subsection (a) as 


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1 guidance for its distribution and calibration of Federal re2 sources in support of United States public diplomacy. 

3 SEC. 132. FEDERAL AGENCY ASSISTANCE AND COORDINA4 TION WITH THE UNITED STATES INTER5 NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY AND 

6 THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK DURING 

7 INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST SURGES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to a formal request from 

9 the Chair of the Board of the United States International 

10 Communications Agency, Federal agency heads shall as11 sist and coordinate with the Agency to facilitate a tem12 porary broadcasting surge or enhance transmission capac13 ity for such a temporary broadcasting surge for the Agen14 cy, the Freedom News Network, or both. 

15 (b) ACTIONS.—In accordance with subsection (a), 

16 Federal agency heads shall assist or coordinate with the 

17 United States International Communications Agency by— 

18 (1) supplying or facilitating access to, or use 

19 of— 

20 (A) United States Government-owned 

21 transmission capacity, including the use of 

22 transmission facilities, equipment, resources, 

23 and personnel; and 


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1 (B) other non-transmission-related United 

2 States Government-owned facilities, equipment, 

3 resources, and personnel; 

4 (2) communicating and coordinating with for5 eign host governments on behalf of, or in conjunc6 tion with, the Agency or the Freedom News Net7 work; 

8 (3) providing, or assisting in the obtaining of, 

9 in-country security services for the safety and pro10 tection of Agency or Freedom News Network per11 sonnel; and 

12 (4) providing or facilitating access to any other 

13 United States Government-owned resources. 

14 (c) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other provi15 sion of law, neither Federal agency heads nor their agen16 cies shall receive any reimbursement or compensatory ap17 propriations for complying with implementing this section. 

18 SEC. 133. FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK RIGHT OF FIRST RE19 FUSAL IN INSTANCES OF FEDERAL DISPOSAL 

20 OF RADIO OR TELEVISION BROADCAST 

21 TRANSMISSION FACILITIES OR EQUIPMENT. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi23 sion of law, it shall be the policy of the United States 

24 International Communications Agency to, in the event it 

25 intends to dispose of any radio or television broadcast 


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1 transmission facilities or equipment, provide the Freedom 

2 News Network with the right of first refusal with respect 

3 to the acquisition of such facilities and equipment. 

4 (b) TRANSFER AND DISPOSAL.—Pursuant to sub5 section (a)— 

6 (1) in the event the Freedom News Network is 

7 willing to accept the facilities and equipment re8 ferred to in such subsection, the United States 

9 International Communications Agency shall transfer 

10 to the Freedom News Network such facilities and 

11 equipment at no cost to the Freedom News Net12 work; or 

13 (2) in the event the Freedom News Network 

14 opts to not accept such facilities and equipment, the 

15 United States International Communications Agency 

16 may sell such facilities and equipment at market 

17 price, and retain any revenue from such sales. 

18 (c) RULES REGARDING CERTAIN FUNDS.—Pursuant 

19 to subsection (b)(2), any revenues that the United States 

20 International Communications Agency shall derive from 

21 such sales shall be used entirely for the purposes or re22 search, development, and deployment of innovative broad23 casting or circumvention technology. 


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1 SEC. 134. REPEAL OF THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL 

2 BROADCASTING ACT OF 1994. 

3 The United States International Broadcasting Act of 

4 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.; title III of Public Law 103– 

5 236) is repealed (and the items relating to title III in the 

6 table of contents of such Public Law are struck). 

7 SEC. 135. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 This title shall take effect on the date that is 180 

9 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 TITLE II—THE FREEDOM NEWS 

11 NETWORK 

12 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that RFE/RL, Incor14 porated, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broad15 casting Networks, Incorporated share a common mission 

16 with distinct geographic foci, and should therefore be 

17 merged into a single organization, with distinct marketing 

18 brands to provide the news and related programming and 

19 content in countries where free media are not established. 

20 Subtitle A—Consolidation of 

21 Existing Grantee Organizations 

22 SEC. 211. FORMATION OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK 

23 FROM EXISTING GRANTEES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—When the conditions specified in 

25 section 110 are satisfied, the Freedom News Network, 

26 comprised of the consolidation of RFE/RL Incorporated, 


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1 Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Net2 works, Incorporated, shall exist to carry out all inter3 national broadcasting activities supported by the United 

4 States Government, in accordance with sections 212 and 

5 213. 

6 (b) MAINTENANCE OF THE EXISTING INDIVIDUAL

7 GRANTEE BRANDS.—RFE/RL, Incorporated, Radio Free 

8 Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incor9 porated shall remain brand names under which news and 

10 related programming and content may be disseminated by 

11 the Freedom News Network. Additional brands may be 

12 created as necessary. 

13 SEC. 212. MISSION OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK. 

14 The Freedom News Network established under sec15 tion 211 shall— 

16 (1) provide uncensored local and regional news 

17 and analysis to people in societies where a robust, 

18 indigenous, independent, and free media does not 

19 exist; 

20 (2) strengthen civil societies by promoting 

21 democratic values and promoting equality and the 

22 rights of the individual, including for marginalized 

23 groups, such as women and minorities; 

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1 pendence, and develop partnerships with local media 

2 outlets, as appropriate; and 

3 (4) promote access to uncensored sources of in4 formation, especially via the internet, and use all ef5 fective and efficient mediums of communication to 

6 reach target audiences. 

7 SEC. 213. STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES OF THE FREEDOM 

8 NEWS NETWORK. 

9 The broadcasting of the Freedom News Network 

10 shall— 

11 (1) be consistent with the broad foreign policy 

12 objectives of the United States; 

13 (2) be consistent with the international tele14 communications policies and treaty obligations of the 

15 United States; 

16 (3) be conducted in accordance with the highest 

17 professional standards of broadcast journalism; 

18 (4) be based on reliable information about its 

19 potential audience; 

20 (5) be designed so as to effectively reach a sig21 nificant audience; and 

22 (6) prioritize programming to populations in 

23 countries without independent indigenous media out24 lets. 


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1 Subtitle B—Organization of the 

2 Freedom News Network 

3 SEC. 221. GOVERNANCE OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NET4 WORK. 

5 (a) BOARD OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.— 

6 A board shall oversee the Freedom News Network and 

7 consist of nine individuals with a demonstrated back8 ground in media or the promotion of democracy and expe9 rience in measuring media impact. 

10 (b) COMPOSITION OF FIRST BOARD OF THE FREE11 DOM NEWS NETWORK.—Not later than 90 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Presidents of RFE/ 

13 RL Incorporated, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East 

14 Broadcasting Networks shall— 

15 (1) identify, in consultation with the appro16 priate congressional committees, candidates for the 

17 first board of the Freedom News Network; 

18 (2) direct the appointment of board members; 

19 and 

20 (3) select the first chair of the board of the 

21 Freedom News Network. 

22 (c) CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATION REGARDING

23 THE FIRST BOARD OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NET24 WORK.—The individuals appointed pursuant to subsection 

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1 dom News Network unless a joint resolution of disapproval 

2 is enacted. 

3 (d) OPERATIONS OF THE FIRST BOARD OF THE

4 FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The board of the Freedom 

6 News Network shall have nine members charged 

7 with the sole responsibility to operate the Freedom 

8 News Network within the legal jurisdiction of its 

9 state of incorporation. The board of the Freedom 

10 New Network shall exercise due diligence, and exe11 cute its fiduciary duties to the corporation without 

12 conflicts of interest and consistent with section 212. 

13 At no time may the United States International 

14 Communications Agency add requirements to a 

15 grant agreement with the Freedom News Network 

16 that could be construed as inappropriate supervision, 

17 oversight, or management in accordance with section 

18 108(d). Nothing in this title may be construed to 

19 make the Freedom News Network an agency, estab20 lishment, or instrumentality of the United States 

21 Government, or to make the members of the board 

22 of Freedom News Network, or the officers or em23 ployees of Freedom News Network, officers of em24 ployees of the United States Government. 


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1 (2) BYLAWS.—The first board of the Freedom 

2 News Network shall write the bylaws of the organi3 zation. 

4 (3) OVERSIGHT.—The Freedom News Network 

5 shall be subject to the appropriate oversight proce6 dures of Congress. 

7 (4) TERM LIMITS.—The board members of the 

8 first board of the Freedom News Network may not 

9 serve more than a three-year term, and shall be re10 placed in accordance with the bylaws referred to in 

11 paragraph (2) and the succession process described 

12 in paragraph (5). 

13 (5) SUCCESSION OF BOARD MEMBERS.—The 

14 board members of the first board of the Freedom 

15 News Network and all subsequent boards shall fill 

16 vacancies on the board due to death, resignation, re17 moval, or term expiration through an election proc18 ess described in the bylaws referred to in paragraph 

19 (2) and in accordance with the principle of a ‘‘self20 replenishing’’ body. 

21 (6) SELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS.—The 

22 board members of the Freedom News Network may 

23 not be current employees or officers of RFE/RL In24 corporated, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East 


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1 Broadcasting Networks, or the United States Inter2 national Communications Agency. 

3 (e) COMPENSATION OF BOARD AND OFFICERS OF

4 THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.—Members of the board 

5 of the Freedom News Network may not receive any fee, 

6 salary, or remuneration of any kind for their service as 

7 members, except that such members may be reimbursed 

8 for reasonable expenses, such as board-related travel, in9 curred with approval of the board upon presentation of 

10 vouchers. No officers of the Freedom News Network, other 

11 than the Chief Executive Officer, shall be eligible to re12 ceive compensation at a rate in excess of the annual rate 

13 of basic pay for level I on the Executive Schedule under 

14 section 5312 of title 5, United States Code. 

15 (f) ABOLISHMENT OF EXISTING BOARDS.—The 

16 boards of directors of RFE/RL, Incorporated, Radio Free 

17 Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incor18 porated in existence on the day before the date of the en19 actment of this Act shall be abolished on the date of the 

20 first official meeting of the first board of the Freedom 

21 News Network. 

22 (g) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—The Chief Execu23 tive Officer of the Freedom News Network shall serve at 

24 the pleasure of the board of the Freedom News Network, 

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1 erations of the Freedom News Network, including the se2 lection of individuals for management positions, ensuring 

3 compliance with all applicable rules, regulations, laws, and 

4 circulars, providing strategic vision for the execution of its 

5 mission as specified in section 212, and carrying out such 

6 other responsibilities as set forth in the laws of the State 

7 of its incorporation. 

8 (h) PLAN FOR CONSOLIDATION OF EXISTING INDI9 VIDUAL GRANTEES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of the first official meeting of the first 

12 board of the Freedom News Network, the chair of 

13 the board of the Freedom News Network shall sub14 mit a report to, and consult with, the appropriate 

15 congressional committees on the plan to consolidate 

16 RFE/RL, Incorporated, Radio Free Asia, and the 

17 Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated 

18 into a single non-Federal grantee organization. 

19 (2) COMPONENTS.—The consolidation plan re20 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall include the following 

21 components: 

22 (A) The location and distribution of em23 ployees, including administrative, managerial, 

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1 work that will be located within and outside the 

2 metropolitan area of Washington, DC. 

3 (B) An organizational chart identifying the 

4 managerial and supervisory lines of authority 

5 among all employees of the Freedom News Net6 work, including the members of the board and 

7 chair. 

8 (3) TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

9 than three years after the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act, the chair of the board of the Freedom 

11 News Network shall fully implement the consolida12 tion plan referred to in paragraph (1) after consulta13 tion with the appropriate congressional committees. 

14 (4) REPORT.—Not later than five years after 

15 the date on which initial funding is provided for the 

16 purpose of operating the Freedom News Network, 

17 the chair of the board of the Freedom News Net18 work shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

19 committees a report that details the following: 

20 (A) Whether the Freedom News Network 

21 is technically sound and cost-effective. 

22 (B) Whether the Freedom News Network 

23 consistently meets the standards for quality and 

24 impact established by this title. 


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1 (C) Whether the Freedom News Network 

2 is receiving a sufficient audience to warrant its 

3 continued operation. 

4 (D) The extent to which the Freedom 

5 News Network’s programming and content is 

6 already being received by the target audience 

7 from other credible indigenous or external 

8 sources. 

9 (E) The extent to which the broad foreign 

10 policy and national security interests of the 

11 United States are being served by maintaining 

12 operations of the Freedom News Network. 

13 SEC. 222. BUDGET OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The annual budget of the Free15 dom News Network shall consist of the following: 

16 (1) A grant described in section 110, consisting 

17 of the total grants to RFE/RL, Incorporated, Radio 

18 Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Net19 works, Incorporated before the date of the enact20 ment of this Act. 

21 (2) Any grants or transfers from other Federal 

22 agencies. 

23 (3) Other funds described in subsection (b). 

24 (b) OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING.—The Freedom 

25 News Network may, to the extent authorized by its board 


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1 and in accordance with applicable laws and the mission 

2 of the Freedom News Network under section 212 and eli3 gible broadcast areas under section 6, collect and utilize 

4 non-Federal funds, except that the Freedom News Net5 work may not accept funds from the following: 

6 (1) Any foreign governments or foreign govern7 ment officials. 

8 (2) Any agents, representatives, or surrogates 

9 of any foreign government or foreign government of10 ficial. 

11 (3) Any foreign-owned corporations or any sub12 sidiaries of any foreign-owned corporation, regard13 less of whether such subsidiary is United States14 owned. 

15 (4) Any foreign national or individual who is 

16 not either a citizen or a legal permanent resident of 

17 the United States. 

18 (c) ANNUAL STRATEGIC PLAN OF THE FREEDOM

19 NEWS NETWORK.—The Freedom News Network shall 

20 submit to the appropriate congressional committees and 

21 the United States International Communications Agency 

22 an annual strategic plan to satisfy the requirements speci23 fied in section 110. Each such strategic plan shall outline 

24 the following: 


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1 (1) The strategic goals and objectives of the 

2 Freedom News Network for the upcoming fiscal 

3 year. 

4 (2) The alignment of the Freedom News Net5 work’s resources with the strategic goals and objec6 tives referred to in paragraph (1). 

7 (3) Clear benchmarks that establish the 

8 progress made towards achieving the strategic goals 

9 and objectives referred to in paragraph (1). 

10 (4) A plan to monitor and evaluate the success 

11 of the Freedom News Network’s broadcasting ef12 forts. 

13 (5) A reflective analysis on the activities on the 

14 past fiscal year. 

15 (6) Any changes to facility leases, contracts, or 

16 ownership that would result in the relocation of staff 

17 or personnel. 

18 (7) Any changes to broadcast languages, includ19 ing the transfer of language services to the Freedom 

20 News Network from the United States International 

21 Communications Agency, or to an organization other 

22 than the Freedom New Network. 

23 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con24 gress that administrative and managerial costs for oper25 ation of the Freedom News Network should be kept to 


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1 a minimum and, to the maximum extent feasible, should 

2 not exceed the costs that would have been incurred if 

3 RFE/RL, Incorporated, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle 

4 East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated had been oper5 ated as independent grantees or as a Federal entity within 

6 the Voice of America. 

7 SEC. 223. ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER GOVERNMENT AGEN8 CIES. 

9 (a) SURPLUS PROPERTIES.—In order to assist the 

10 Freedom News Network in carrying out the provisions of 

11 this title, any agency or instrumentality of the United 

12 States may sell, loan, lease, or grant property (including 

13 interests therein) to the Freedom News Network as nec14 essary. 

15 (b) FACILITIES AND BROADCASTING INFRASTRUC16 TURE.—The United States International Communications 

17 Agency and the Freedom News Network shall negotiate 

18 an International Cooperative Administrative Support 

19 Service (ICASS) agreement or memorandum of under20 standing permitting the continued use of technological in21 frastructure for broadcasting and information dissemina22 tion, except that the Freedom News Network may choose 

23 to procure such services through negotiated contracts with 

24 private-sector providers. 


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1 SEC. 224. REPORTS BY THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR 

2 GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE; 

3 AUDITS BY GAO. 

4 (a) IG REPORTS.—The Inspector General of the De5 partment of State shall, as appropriate, submit to the ap6 propriate congressional committees reports on manage7 ment practices of the Freedom News Network, including 

8 financial reports on unobligated balances. 

9 (b) GAO AUDITS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Financial transactions of the 

11 Freedom News Network, as such relate to functions 

12 carried out under this Act, may be audited by the 

13 Government Accountability Office in accordance with 

14 such principles and procedures and under such rules 

15 and regulations as may be prescribed by the Comp16 troller General of the United States. Any such audit 

17 shall be conducted at the place or places where ac18 counts of the Freedom News Network are normally 

19 kept. 

20 (2) ACCESS.—Representatives of the Govern21 ment Accountability Office shall have access to all 

22 books, accounts, records, reports, files, papers, and 

23 property belonging to or in use by the Freedom 

24 News Network pertaining to the financial trans25 actions referred to in paragraph (1) and necessary 

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1 graph. All such books, accounts, records, reports, 

2 files, papers, and property of the Freedom News 

3 Network shall remain in the possession and custody 

4 of the Freedom News Network. 

5 (c) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any 

6 other provision of law, one percent of the funds made 

7 available by the United States International Communica8 tions Agency shall be transferred to the Inspector General 

9 of the Department of State to cover the expenses of car10 rying out the activities of the Inspector General under this 

11 section. 

12 SEC. 225. AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES INFORMA13 TION AND EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE ACT OF 

14 1948. 

15 The United States Information and Educational Ex16 change Act of 1948 is amended— 

17 (1) in title V (22 U.S.C. 1461 et seq.), by strik18 ing ‘‘Broadcasting Board of Governors’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘United States International Communications 

20 Agency’’ each place it appears; 

21 (2) by amending paragraph (1) of section 

22 501(b) (22 U.S.C. 1461(b)) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 

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1 bursement of the reasonable costs incurred in ful2 filling such a request, make available, in the United 

3 States, motion pictures, films, video, audio, and 

4 other materials disseminated abroad pursuant to 

5 this Act. Any reimbursement pursuant to this para6 graph shall be credited to the applicable appropria7 tion account of the Department of State or the 

8 United States International Communications Agen9 cy, as appropriate. The Secretary and the United 

10 States International Communications Agency shall 

11 issue necessary regulations.’’; 

12 (3) by repealing sections 504 and 505 (22 

13 U.S.C. 1464 and 1464a); 

14 (4) by redesignating section 506 (22 U.S.C. 

15 1464b) as section 504; 

16 (5) in section 504, as so redesignated, in sub17 section (c), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

18 by striking ‘‘Board’’ each place it appears and in19 serting ‘‘Agency’’; 

20 (6) in clause (iii) of section 604(d)(1)(A) (22 

21 U.S.C. 1469(d)(1)(A)), by striking ‘‘Broadcasting 

22 Board of Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘United States 

23 International Communications Agency’’; 

24 (7) in paragraph (3) of section 801 (22 U.S.C. 

25 1471), by striking ‘‘Director of the United States 


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1 Information Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Executive 

2 Officer of the United States International Commu3 nications Agency’’; 

4 (8) in subsection (b) of section 802 (22 U.S.C. 

5 1472)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), in the matter 

7 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘Director of 

8 the United States Information Agency’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Chief Executive Officer of the United 

10 States International Communications Agency’’; 

11 and 

12 (B) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking 

13 ‘‘Broadcasting Board of Governors’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘United States International Communica15 tions Agency’’; 

16 (9) in paragraph (1) of section 804 (22 U.S.C. 

17 1474), by striking ‘‘Director of the United States 

18 Information Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Executive 

19 Officer of the United States International Commu20 nications Agency’’; 

21 (10) in section 810(b) (22 U.S.C. 1475e(b))— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

23 by striking ‘‘United States Information Agen24 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘United States International 

25 Communications Agency’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘Inter2 national Broadcasting Bureau’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘United States International Communications 

4 Agency’’; and 

5 (11) in subsection (a) of section 1011 (22 

6 U.S.C. 1442), by striking ‘‘Director of the United 

7 States Information Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief 

8 Executive Officer of the United States International 

9 Communications Agency’’. 

10 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

11 PROVISIONS 

12 SEC. 301. PRESERVATION OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL 

13 SECURITY OBJECTIVES. 

14 The Chief Executive Officer of the United States 

15 International Communications Agency and the Chief Ex16 ecutive Officer of the Freedom News Network shall each 

17 establish procedures to vet and monitor employees of each 

18 such agency for affiliations to terrorist organizations, for19 eign governments, or agents of foreign governments to 

20 protect against espionage, sabotage, foreign propaganda 

21 messaging, and other subversive activities that undermine 

22 United States national security objectives. 

Æ 


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