II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3546 

To establish the National Center for Strategic Communication to advise 

the President regarding public diplomacy and international broadcasting 

to promote democracy and human rights, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 23 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Mr. BROWNBACK introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish the National Center for Strategic Communication to advise the President regarding public diplomacy 

and international broadcasting to promote democracy 

and human rights, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strategic Communica5 tions Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term appropriate congressional commit3 tees means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

7 the House of Representatives; 

8 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 

9 the Senate; and 

10 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the 

13 National Center for Strategic Communication estab14 lished under section 5(a). 

15 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

16 the Director of Strategic Communication of the Cen17 ter appointed under section 5(b). 

18 (4) NATIONAL STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

19 STRATEGY.—The term ‘‘national strategic commu20 nications strategy’’ means the comprehensive strat21 egy for strategic communication developed under 

22 section 6. 

23 (5) STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS.—The term 

24 ‘‘strategic communications’’ means engaging foreign 

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1 nications programs that create, preserve, or 

2 strengthen conditions favorable to the advancement 

3 of the national interests of the United States. 

4 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the Sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) radical Islamists deny these moral principles 

7 and use terrorism to achieve their ideological ends; 

8 (2) radical Islamists seek to— 

9 (A) morally delegitimize democracy; and 

10 (B) forcefully impose a universal political 

11 order that denies and suppresses the 

12 unalienable rights of human beings; 

13 (3) although military force may sometimes be 

14 necessary, military force alone cannot defeat the 

15 threat posed by Islamist extremism; 

16 (4) the founding principles of the United 

17 States, including freedom, human rights, and the 

18 rule of law, must be advanced and defended against 

19 those who— 

20 (A) deny the truth of such principles; and 

21 (B) seek to overthrow such principles; 

22 (5) the United States, out of a decent respect 

23 to the opinions of mankind, owes an explanation of 

24 its founding principles and the purposes of demo25 cratic, constitutional, and political order; and 


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1 (6) the United States Government needs an or2 ganization whose mission is to engage foreign audi3 ences in ways that advance the national interests of 

4 the United States, including— 

5 (A) advancing understanding and apprecia6 tion for the founding principles of the United 

7 States; and 

8 (B) defeating the ideas that are inimical to 

9 the founding principles of the United States. 

10 SEC. 4. BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS. 

11 (a) ABOLISHMENT OF BROADCASTING BOARD OF

12 GOVERNORS.—The United States International Broad13 casting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is repealed 

14 on the date that is 6 months after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act. 

16 (b) SPECIAL IMMIGRANT STATUS.—Section 

17 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

18 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) is amended by striking ‘‘for the 

19 International Broadcasting Bureau of the Broadcasting 

20 Board of Governors, or for a grantee of the Broadcasting 

21 Board of Governors,’’ and inserting ‘‘for the National Cen22 ter for Strategic Communication’’. 

23 (c) DISSEMINATION ABROAD OF INFORMATION

24 ABOUT THE UNITED STATES.—Title V of the United 


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1 States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 

2 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1461) is amended— 

3 (1) in the title heading, by striking 

4 ‘‘ABROAD’’; 

5 (2) by striking subsection (a); and 

6 (3) in subsection (b), by redesignating para7 graphs (1), (2), and (3) as subsections (a), (b), and 

8 (c). 

9 (d) UNDER SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.— 

10 Section 1(b)(3) of the State Department Basic Authorities 

11 Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(b)(3)) is repealed on the 

12 date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of 

13 this Act. 

14 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (1) UNITED STATES INFORMATION AND EDU16 CATIONAL EXCHANGE ACT OF 1948.—The United 

17 States Information and Educational Exchange Act 

18 of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) is amended— 

19 (A) in title V (22 U.S.C. 1461 et seq.)— 

20 (i) by striking section 505; and 

21 (ii) in section 506, by striking sub22 section (c); and 

23 (B) in title VIII (22 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.), 

24 by striking section 802(b)(4). 


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1 (2) STATE DEPARTMENT BASIC AUTHORITIES

2 ACT OF 1956.—Title I of the State Department Basic 

3 Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) 

4 is amended— 

5 (A) in section 23(a), by striking ‘‘, the 

6 Broadcasting Board of Governors,’’; 

7 (B) in section 25(f), by striking ‘‘the 

8 Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Ad9 ministrator of the Agency for International De10 velopment with respect to the Board and the 

11 Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘the Administrator of 

12 the Agency for International Development with 

13 respect to the Agency’’; 

14 (C) in section 26(b), by striking ‘‘the 

15 Broadcasting Board of Governors, and the Ad16 ministrator of the Agency for International De17 velopment with respect to the Board and the 

18 Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘the Administrator of 

19 the Agency for International Development with 

20 respect to the Agency’’; 

21 (D) in section 32, by striking ‘‘the Broad22 casting Board of Governors and the Adminis23 trator of the Agency for International Develop24 ment with respect to their respective agencies’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘the Administrator of the Agency 


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1 for International Development with respect to 

2 the Agency’’; and 

3 (E) by amending section 60(b)(2) to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘(2) develop— 

6 ‘‘(A) a comprehensive and coherent strat7 egy for the use of public diplomacy resources; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) long-term measurable objectives for 

10 United States public diplomacy.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. NATIONAL CENTER FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICA12 TION. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Na14 tional Center for Strategic Communication. 

15 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

16 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Center shall be head17 ed by the Director of Strategic Communication, ap18 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

19 consent of the Senate. 

20 (2) SIMULTANEOUS SERVICE PROHIBITED.— 

21 The Director may not simultaneously serve in any 

22 other capacity in the Executive Branch. 

23 (3) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Director 

24 shall regularly report to the President of the United 


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1 States with respect to matters described in sub2 section (d). 

3 (c) DEPUTY DIRECTOR.— 

4 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be as5 sisted by a Deputy Director, who shall be appointed 

6 by the President, by and with the advice and consent 

7 of the Senate. 

8 (2) DUTIES.—The Deputy Director shall— 

9 (A) perform such duties and exercise such 

10 powers as the Director may prescribe; and 

11 (B) act for, and exercise the powers of, the 

12 Director when the Director is disabled or the 

13 position of Director is vacant. 

14 (d) MATTERS TO BE REPORTED TO THE PRESI15 DENT.—The matters described in this subsection are— 

16 (1) the budget and programs of the Center; 

17 (2) the conduct of strategic communications im18 plemented by the Center and by other elements of 

19 the United States Government; and 

20 (3) the planning and progress of joint strategic 

21 communications. 

22 (e) PRIMARY MISSIONS.—The primary missions of 

23 the Center are— 

24 (1) to serve as the primary organization in the 

25 United States Government for conducting strategic 


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1 communications, including information, educational, 

2 and cultural activities that are designed— 

3 (A) to influence the opinions of foreign au4 diences in support of American ideals and in 

5 opposition to violent extremism; 

6 (B) to dissuade foreign audiences from 

7 supporting violence; 

8 (C) to provide other peoples with a better 

9 understanding of the policies, values, institu10 tions and culture of the United States; 

11 (D) to support other peoples who share the 

12 values of the United States, including those 

13 who seek to advance freedom and oppose violent 

14 extremism; and 

15 (E) to promote the founding principles of 

16 the United States abroad, especially inalienable 

17 individual rights, freedom, democracy, and the 

18 rule of law; 

19 (2) to develop and oversee the execution of the 

20 national strategic communications strategy; 

21 (3) to encourage private institutions in the 

22 United States to develop their own exchange activi23 ties, and provide assistance for those exchange ac24 tivities which are in the broadest national interest; 


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1 (4) to ensure that international informational, 

2 educational, and cultural activities conducted or 

3 planned by other departments and agencies of the 

4 United States Government are consistent with the 

5 national strategic communications strategy; 

6 (5) to promote United States participation in 

7 international events relevant to the mission of the 

8 Agency; 

9 (6) to direct and coordinate foreign broad10 casting by the United States Government; and 

11 (7) to research and analyze— 

12 (A) global public opinion; 

13 (B) media trends and influences on audi14 ences; 

15 (C) existing and emerging information 

16 technologies; and 

17 (D) the implications of all source intel18 ligence assessments. 

19 (f) GENERAL AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to the direc20 tion of the President, the Director may design and imple21 ment programs and activities intended to achieve the mis22 sions described in subsection (e) through— 

23 (1) the dissemination of truthful information 

24 across all forms of information media; 


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1 (2) information centers and instructors located 

2 outside of the United States; 

3 (3) cooperative efforts with private, nonprofit, 

4 and nongovernmental organizations; 

5 (4) joint initiatives with other agencies of the 

6 United States Government, as appropriate; and 

7 (5) exchange programs. 

8 (g) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIREC9 TOR.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 

11 (A) serve as the principal advisor to the 

12 President on strategic communications; 

13 (B) provide guidance for strategic commu14 nications conducted across the United States 

15 Government, and for the effective integration of 

16 strategic communications across agency bound17 aries within and outside the United States; 

18 (C) advise the President on the extent to 

19 which the strategic communications rec20 ommendations and budget proposals of the de21 partments, agencies, and elements of the 

22 United States Government— 

23 (i) conform to the priorities estab24 lished by the President; and 


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1 (ii) are consistent with the national 

2 strategic communications strategy; 

3 (D) coordinate the strategic communica4 tions efforts of all Federal agencies, as appro5 priate; 

6 (E) oversee United States’ foreign broad7 casts, including Voice of America and surrogate 

8 broadcast programs; 

9 (F) ensure the design and implementation 

10 of appropriate program evaluation methodolo11 gies; 

12 (G) ensure that United States Agency for 

13 International Development programs are ac14 companied by appropriate strategic communica15 tions efforts; 

16 (H) have primary responsibility to assist 

17 and advise the President in the formation and 

18 implementation of United States strategic com19 munication policies and activities, including 

20 international educational and cultural exchange 

21 programs, information, and international broad22 casting; and 

23 (I) ensure the use of all relevant forms of 

24 Internet-based communication in support of the 


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1 missions described in subsection (e) and the 

2 strategy described in section 6. 

3 (2) PROHIBITION.—The Director may not ini4 tiate, terminate, or manage any program or activity 

5 of any other component of the United States Gov6 ernment without the consent of the head of the rel7 evant department or agency. 

8 (h) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR THE STRATEGIC COM9 MUNICATIONS CORPS.— 

10 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall ap11 point an Assistant Director for the Strategic Com12 munications Corps, by and with the advise and con13 sent of the Senate. 

14 (2) POWERS; DUTIES.—The Assistant Director 

15 for the Strategic Communications Corps shall— 

16 (A) assist the Director in overseeing and 

17 coordinating— 

18 (i) the implementation of the national 

19 strategic communication strategy on a re20 gional and country-by-country basis; and 

21 (ii) the activities of all of the employ22 ees of the Center who are stationed over23 seas; 

24 (B) recommend ways to improve the na25 tional strategic communications strategy based 


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1 on information received from the strategic com2 munication officers; and 

3 (C) exercise such powers and perform such 

4 other duties prescribed by the Director. 

5 (3) STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICERS.— 

6 The Assistant Director for the Strategic Commu7 nications Corps, in consultation with the Director, 

8 shall appoint strategic communications officers, who 

9 shall— 

10 (A) execute the missions of the Center, as 

11 directed by the Assistant Director for the Stra12 tegic Communications Corps; 

13 (B) be stationed at United States embas14 sies and consulates selected by the Assistant 

15 Director, in consultation with the Secretary of 

16 State, based on their importance in imple17 menting the national strategic communications 

18 strategy and serve as members of the country 

19 team; 

20 (C) work under the direction of the Assist21 ant Director; 

22 (D) ensure the effective implementation of 

23 the national strategic communications strategy 

24 in the country or area in which they serve, by— 


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1 (i) ensuring communication occurs in 

2 a manner relevant to, and consistent with, 

3 local social and cultural conditions; and 

4 (ii) working with local individuals and 

5 groups, as appropriate, to achieve the goals 

6 and mission of the Center; and 

7 (E) recommend ways to improve the na8 tional strategic communications strategy. 

9 (i) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR INFORMATION OPER10 ATIONS.— 

11 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall ap12 point an Assistant Director for Information Oper13 ations, by and with the advise and consent of the 

14 Senate. 

15 (2) POWERS; DUTIES.—Subject to the author16 ity, direction, and control of the Director, the Assist17 ant Director for Information Operations shall— 

18 (A) supervise all broadcasting activities 

19 conducted pursuant to this Act, the Radio 

20 Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et 

21 seq.), the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act 

22 (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.), and Worldnet Tele23 vision; 

24 (B) review and evaluate the mission and 

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1 ness, and professional integrity of, all the activi2 ties described in subparagraph (A) within the 

3 context of the broad foreign policy objectives of 

4 the United States; 

5 (C) ensure that United States inter6 national broadcasting is conducted in accord7 ance with the standards and principles con8 tained in sections 8 and 9; 

9 (D) review, evaluate, and determine, at 

10 least annually, after consultation with the Di11 rector, the addition or deletion of language 

12 services; 

13 (E) make and supervise grants for broad14 casting and related activities; 

15 (F) allocate funds appropriated for inter16 national broadcasting activities among the var17 ious elements of the International Broadcasting 

18 Bureau and grantees, subject to applicable re19 programming notification requirements for the 

20 reallocation of funds; 

21 (G) review engineering activities to ensure 

22 that all broadcasting elements receive the high23 est quality and cost-effective delivery services; 

24 (H) undertake such studies as may be nec25 essary to identify areas in which broadcasting 


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1 activities under the authority of the Center 

2 could be made more efficient and economical; 

3 (I) submit to an annual report to Congress 

4 and the President that— 

5 (i) summarizes and evaluates activi6 ties under this Act, the Radio Broad7 casting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et 

8 seq.), and the Television Broadcasting to 

9 Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.); and 

10 (ii) places special emphasis on the 

11 evaluation conducted under subparagraph 

12 (B); and 

13 (iii) includes information on funds ex14 pended on administrative and managerial 

15 services by the International Broadcasting 

16 Bureau and by grantees and the steps the 

17 Center has taken to reduce unnecessary 

18 overhead costs for each of the broadcasting 

19 services; 

20 (J) provide for the use of United States 

21 Government transmitter capacity for relay of 

22 Radio Free Asia, to the extent the Assistant Di23 rector determines appropriate; 

24 (K) procure such goods and services from 

25 other departments or agencies for the Center 


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1 and the International Broadcasting Bureau as 

2 the Assistant Director determines are appro3 priate; 

4 (L) administer the international informa5 tion programs transferred from the Department 

6 of State under section 7; 

7 (M) ensure the transparency of the content 

8 of United States foreign broadcasts; and 

9 (N) exercise such powers and perform such 

10 other duties prescribed by the Director. 

11 (j) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR GLOBAL NET12 WORKS.— 

13 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall ap14 point an Assistant Director for Global Networks, by 

15 and with the advise and consent of the Senate. 

16 (2) POWERS; DUTIES.—Subject to the author17 ity, direction, and control of the Director, the Assist18 ant Director for Global Networks shall— 

19 (A) award grants to private and nonprofit 

20 organizations to perform information operations 

21 consistent with the missions of the Center and 

22 the national strategic communications strategy; 

23 (B) Administer the educational and cul24 tural exchange programs transferred from the 

25 Department of State under section 7; and 


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1 (C) perform such duties and exercise such 

2 powers as the Director may prescribe. 

3 (k) STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS BOARD.— 

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established 

5 within the Center a Strategic Communications 

6 Board, which shall be led by the Deputy Director, 

7 who shall— 

8 (A) report regularly to the Director on 

9 progress in implementing the national strategic 

10 communication strategy; 

11 (B) make recommendations on necessary 

12 adjustments to the strategy; and 

13 (C) inform the Director of the start or 

14 progress of information operations conducted by 

15 the department, office, or agency the liaison 

16 represents. 

17 (2) DESIGNATION.—Department heads shall 

18 designate officials of appropriate rank to serve as 

19 members of the Strategic Communications Board 

20 from— 

21 (A) the Department of State; 

22 (B) the Office of the Secretary of Defense; 

23 (C) the Joint Chiefs of Staff 

24 (D) the Department of Commerce; 

25 (E) the Department of the Treasury; 


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1 (F) the Office of the Director of National 

2 Intelligence; and 

3 (G) the United States Agency for Inter4 national Development. 

5 (3) MODIFICATION.—The President, after noti6 fying the appropriate congressional committees, may 

7 modify the composition of the Strategic Communica8 tions Board. 

9 (l) INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING BUREAU.— 

10 (1) CONTINUATION.—Notwithstanding section 

11 4(a), the International Broadcasting Bureau, estab12 lished by section 6206 of the United States Inter13 national Broadcasting Act of 1994 (Public Law 

14 103–326), shall continue to carry out all nonmilitary 

15 international broadcasting activities supported by 

16 the United States Government. 

17 (2) DIRECTOR.—The Director of the Bureau 

18 shall— 

19 (A) be appointed by the President, by and 

20 with the advice and consent of the Senate; 

21 (B) report to the Assistant Director for In22 formation Operations appointed under sub23 section (i); 


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1 (C) be entitled to receive compensation at 

2 the rate prescribed by law for level IV of the 

3 Executive Schedule; and 

4 (D) organize and chair a coordinating com5 mittee to examine and make recommendations 

6 to the Center on long-term strategies for the fu7 ture of international broadcasting, including— 

8 (i) the use of new technologies; 

9 (ii) further consolidation of broadcast 

10 services; and 

11 (iii) consolidation of existing public af12 fairs and legislative relations functions in 

13 the various international broadcasting enti14 ties. 

15 (3) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—The coordi16 nating committee shall include representatives of 

17 Radio Free Asia, RFE/RL, Incorporated, and, as 

18 appropriate, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, the 

19 Voice of America, and Worldnet. 

20 (m) DETAILEES.—The Secretary of State, the Sec21 retary of Defense, and the Director of National Intel22 ligence, in consultation with the Director, shall ensure that 

23 at least 1 individual from each department or office is al24 ways detailed to the offices of the assistant directors ap25 pointed pursuant to subsections (h), (i) and (j). 


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1 SEC. 6. COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY. 

2 (a) STRATEGY.—The Director, in consultation with 

3 the Strategic Communications Board established under 

4 section 5(k), shall develop a comprehensive interagency 

5 strategy for strategic communication. 

6 (b) CONTENTS.—The national strategic communica7 tions strategy shall contain— 

8 (1) overall goals and objectives; 

9 (2) actions to be performed; and 

10 (3) benchmarks and timetables for the achieve11 ment of such goals and objectives. 

12 (c) COMPONENTS.—The national strategic commu13 nications strategy shall include the following components: 

14 (1) Prioritizing the mission of supporting spe15 cific foreign policy and national security objectives, 

16 such as counterterrorism and efforts to combat ex17 tremist ideology, in parallel and in complement with, 

18 as appropriate, the missions of the Center described 

19 in section 5(e). 

20 (2) Improving coordination across departments 

21 and agencies of the Federal Government on— 

22 (A) strategic planning; 

23 (B) research activities, including research 

24 into the attitudes and behaviors of foreign audi25 ences and assessments of past strategic commu26 nications efforts; and 


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1 (C) the acquisition or development of edi2 torial content, including content for Internet 

3 Web sites and print publications. 

4 (3) Developing a more rigorous, research-based, 

5 targeted approach to strategic communications ef6 forts differentiated for specific target audiences in 

7 various countries and regions. 

8 (4) Developing rigorous monitoring and evalua9 tion mechanisms. 

10 (5) Making greater use of participation from 

11 private sector entities, academic institutions, not-for12 profit organizations, and other nongovernmental or13 ganizations in supporting strategic communications 

14 efforts. 

15 (6) Using all available forms of information 

16 technology. 

17 (d) REPORTS.— 

18 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after being confirmed by the Senate, the Director 

20 shall submit a report to the appropriate congres21 sional committees that describes the strategy devel22 oped under this section. 

23 (2) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not less than 

24 once every 2 years after the submission of the initial 

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1 sultation with the liaison officials described in sec2 tion 5(k), shall submit a report to the appropriate 

3 congressional committees that describes— 

4 (A) the status of the implementation of the 

5 national strategic communications strategy; 

6 (B) progress made by the Center toward 

7 achievement of the benchmarks; and 

8 (C) any changes to the strategy since the 

9 submission of the previous report. 

10 SEC. 7. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS AND PERSONNEL. 

11 (a) FUNCTIONS TRANSFERRED.—All the functions of 

12 the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Af13 fairs, in effect on the day before the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, are transferred to the Director, except for the 

15 functions of the Bureau of Public Affairs and any office 

16 or component of such agency, under any statute, reorga17 nization plan, Executive Order, or other provision of law. 

18 (b) PERSONNEL TRANSFERRED.—Notwithstanding 

19 any other provision of law, all personnel and positions re20 porting to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and 

21 Public Affairs (except the personnel and positions in the 

22 Bureau of Public Affairs) shall be transferred to the Cen23 ter, not later than the date on which such Under Secretary 

24 position is repealed— 

25 (1) at the same grade or class; 


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1 (2) at the same rate of basic pay or basic salary 

2 rate; and 

3 (3) with the same tenure held immediately pre4 ceding such transfer. 

5 (c) FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any Foreign Service Officer 

7 transferred under subsection (b) shall retain status 

8 within the Foreign Service upon any return to em9 ployment at the Department of State. 

10 (2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sec11 tion may be construed to require that any position 

12 at the Center be filled by a Foreign Service Officer. 

13 (d) ASSIGNMENT AUTHORITY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

15 paragraphs (2) through (4), and notwithstanding 

16 any other provision of law, the Director, during the 

17 6-month period beginning on the date of the transfer 

18 of personnel under subsection (b), is authorized to 

19 assign such personnel to any position or set of duties 

20 in the Center regardless of the position held or du21 ties performed by such personnel before such trans22 fer. 

23 (2) PAY GRADE.—An assignment under para24 graph (1) shall not reduce the grade, class, or rate 


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1 of basic pay or basic salary or change the tenure of 

2 any personnel subject to such assignment. 

3 (3) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—The Di4 rector shall consult with the relevant exclusive rep5 resentatives (as defined in section 1002 of the For6 eign Service Act and in section 7103 of title 5, 

7 United States Code) with regard to the exercise of 

8 the authority under this subsection. 

9 (4) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this subsection 

10 may be construed to authorize the Director to assign 

11 any individual to any position that by law requires 

12 appointment by the President, by and with the ad13 vice and consent of the Senate. 

14 SEC. 8. BROADCASTING STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES. 

15 (a) BROADCASTING STANDARDS.—United States 

16 international broadcasting shall— 

17 (1) be consistent with the broad foreign policy 

18 objectives of the United States; 

19 (2) not duplicate the activities of private United 

20 States broadcasters; 

21 (3) be conducted in accordance with the highest 

22 professional standards of broadcast journalism; 

23 (4) be based on reliable information about its 

24 audience; and 


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1 (5) promote respect for the founding principles 

2 of the United States, including freedom, human 

3 rights, and the rule of law. 

4 (b) BROADCASTING PRINCIPLES.—United States 

5 international broadcasting shall include— 

6 (1) news which is consistently reliable, authori7 tative, accurate, and comprehensive; 

8 (2) clear and effective presentation of the poli9 cies of the United States Government and respon10 sible discussion and opinion on those policies, includ11 ing editorials, broadcast by the Voice of America, 

12 which present the views of the United States Gov13 ernment; 

14 (3) the capability to provide a surge capacity to 

15 support United States foreign policy objectives dur16 ing crises abroad; 

17 (4) programming to meet needs which remain 

18 unserved by the totality of media voices available to 

19 the people of certain nations; 

20 (5) information about developments in each sig21 nificant region of the world; 

22 (6) a variety of opinions and voices from within 

23 particular nations and regions prevented by censor24 ship or repression from speaking to their fellow 

25 countrymen; 


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1 (7) reliable research capacity to meet the cri2 teria under this section; 

3 (8) adequate transmitter and relay capacity to 

4 support the activities described in this section; and 

5 (9) training and technical support for inde6 pendent indigenous media through government agen7 cies or private United States entities. 

8 SEC. 9. VOICE OF AMERICA. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The long-range interests of the 

10 United States are served by communicating directly with 

11 the people of the world by radio. Voice of America can 

12 only be effective by winning the attention and respect of 

13 its listeners. 

14 (b) GOVERNING PRINCIPLES.—To accomplish the ob15 jectives described in subsection (a), Voice of America shall 

16 present the policies of the United States clearly and effec17 tively, including presentations of responsible discussions 

18 and opinion regarding these policies. 

19 SEC. 10. REORGANIZATION REPORT. 

20 (a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN AND REPORT.—Not later 

21 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

22 the President shall submit a reorganization plan and re23 port to the appropriate congressional committees regard24 ing— 


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1 (1) the termination of the authorities of the 

2 Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy; 

3 (2) the termination of the Broadcasting Board 

4 of Governors; 

5 (3) the transfer of public diplomacy functions 

6 and personnel from the Department of State to the 

7 Center; and 

8 (4) any recommendations to transfer other stra9 tegic communications functions to the Center from 

10 any part of the United States Government. 

11 (b) PLAN ELEMENTS.—The plan submitted to the 

12 appropriate congressional committees under this section 

13 shall— 

14 (1) identify the functions of each agency that 

15 will be transferred to the Center under the plan; 

16 (2) specify the steps to be taken by the Director 

17 that will be required under the plan in order to per18 mit the Center to carry out the functions transferred 

19 to it under the plan; 

20 (3) specify the funds that will be transferred to 

21 the Center as a result of the transfer of functions 

22 to the Center; 

23 (4) specify the proposed allocations within the 

24 Center of unexpended funds transferred in connecVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:25 Sep 24, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3546.IS S3546

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1 tion with the transfer of functions under the plan; 

2 and 

3 (5) specify the proposed disposition of the prop4 erty, facilities, contracts, records, and other assets 

5 and liabilities in connection with the transfer of the 

6 functions to the Center. 

7 (c) MODIFICATION OF PLAN.—The President may, 

8 on the basis of consultations with the appropriate congres9 sional committees, modify or revise any part of the reorga10 nization plan submitted under this section. 

11 (d) REPORT.—The report accompanying the reorga12 nization plan submitted under this section shall contain 

13 a description of the implementation of the plan, includ14 ing— 

15 (1) a detailed description of— 

16 (A) the actions necessary or planned to 

17 complete the reorganization; 

18 (B) the anticipated nature and substance 

19 of any orders, directives, and other administra20 tive and operational actions which are expected 

21 to be required for completing or implementing 

22 the reorganization; and 

23 (C) any preliminary actions which have 

24 been taken in the implementation process; 


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1 (2) the number of personnel and positions of 

2 each covered agency (including civil service per3 sonnel, Foreign Service personnel, and detailees) 

4 that are expected to be— 

5 (A) transferred to the Center; 

6 (B) separated from service with such agen7 cy; or 

8 (C) eliminated under the plan; 

9 (3) a projected schedule for the transfers, sepa10 rations, and terminations referred to in paragraph 

11 (2); 

12 (4) the number of personnel and positions of 

13 the Department of State (including civil service per14 sonnel, Foreign Service personnel, and detailees) 

15 that are expected to be transferred within the De16 partment, separated from service with the Depart17 ment, or eliminated under the plan, and a projected 

18 schedule for such transfers, separations, and termi19 nations; 

20 (5) a projected schedule for completion of the 

21 implementation process; and 

22 (6) recommendations, if any, for legislation that 

23 may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 

24 Act relating to personnel and incidental transfers. 

Æ 


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