IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4490 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2014 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘United States International Communications Reform Act 

4 of 2014’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

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. 


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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. 

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. 

Sec. 302. Requirement for authorization of appropriations. 

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. 


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1 (2) Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of 

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

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

4 ‘‘this right includes freedom to hold opinions without 

5 interference and to seek, receive and impart infor6 mation and ideas through any media and regardless 

7 of frontiers’’. 

8 (3) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified 

9 before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

10 House of Representatives on January 23, 2013, that 

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

12 practically a defunct agency in terms of its capacity 

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

14 we’re abdicating the ideological arena and need to 

15 get back into it.’’. 

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

17 to oversee the United States international broad18 casting in the wake of the Cold War, has, because 

19 of structural and managerial issues, had limited suc20 cess to date in both coordinating the various compo21 nents of the international broadcasting framework 

22 and managing the day-to-day operations of the Fed23 eral components of the international broadcasting 

24 framework. 


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1 (5) The lack of regular attendance by board 

2 members and a periodic inability to form a quorum 

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

4 functionally incapable of running the agency. 

5 (6) The board of governors has only achieved 

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

7 17 years of existence, which highlights the difficul8 ties of confirming and retaining governors under the 

9 current structure. 

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

11 Inspector General and the Government Account12 ability Office have issued reports which outline a se13 verely dysfunctional organizational structure of the 

14 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 

15 (8) The Inspector General of the Department of 

16 State concluded in its January 2013 report that dys17 function of the BBG stems from ‘‘a flawed legisla18 tive structure and acute internal dissension’’. 

19 (9) The Inspector General of the Department of 

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

21 part-time members ‘‘cannot effectively supervise all 

22 United States Government-supported, civilian inter23 national broadcasting’’, and its involvement in day24 to-day operations has impeded normal management 

25 functions. 


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1 (10) The Government Accountability Office re2 port determined that there was significant overlap 

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

4 BBG did not systematically consider the financial 

5 cost of overlap. 

6 (11) According to the Office of the Inspector 

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

8 compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, 

9 lacks appropriate contract oversight, and violates the 

10 Anti-Deficiency Act. The Office of the Inspector 

11 General also determined that the Broadcasting 

12 Board of Governors has not adequately performed 

13 full and open competitions or price determinations, 

14 has entered into hundreds of personal service con15 tracts without statutory authority, and contractors 

16 regularly work without valid contracts in place. 

17 (12) The size and make-up of the BBG work18 force should be closely examined, given the agency’s 

19 broader broadcasting and technical mission, as well 

20 as changing media technologies. 

21 (13) The BBG should be structured to ensure 

22 that more taxpayer dollars are dedicated to the sub23 stantive, broadcasting, and information-related ele24 ments of the agency’s mission. 


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

2 mission of the Voice of America has led to program3 ming that duplicates the efforts of the Office of 

4 Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, RFE/RL, In5 corporated, and the Middle East Broadcasting Net6 works, Incorporated that results in inefficient use of 

7 tax-payer funding. 

8 (15) The annual survey conducted by the 

9 ‘‘Partnership for Public Service’’ consistently ranks 

10 the Broadcasting Board of Governors at or near the 

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

12 best places to work’’ and ‘‘the extent to which em13 ployees feel their skills and talents are used effec14 tively’’. The consistency of these low scores point to 

15 structural, cultural, and functional problems at the 

16 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 

17 (16) The Federal and non-Federal organiza18 tions that comprise the United States international 

19 broadcasting framework have different, yet com20 plementary, missions that necessitate coordination at 

21 all levels of management. 

22 (17) The Broadcasting Board of Governors has 

23 an overabundance of senior civil service positions, 

24 defined here as full-time employees encumbering 


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1 GS–14 and GS–15 positions on the General Sched2 ule pay scale. 

3 (18) United States international broadcasting 

4 should seek to leverage public-private partnerships, 

5 including the licensing of content and the use of 

6 technology owned or operated by non-governmental 

7 sources, where possible to expand outreach capacity. 

8 (19) Shortwave broadcasting has been an im9 portant method of communication that should be 

10 utilized in regions as a component of United States 

11 international broadcasting where a critical need for 

12 the platform exists. 

13 (20) Congressional action is necessary at this 

14 time to improve international broadcasting oper15 ations, strengthen the United States public diplo16 macy efforts, enhance the grantee surrogate broad17 casting effort, restore focus to news, programming, 

18 and content, and maximize the value of Federal and 

19 non-Federal resources that are dedicated to public 

20 diplomacy and international broadcasting. 

21 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

22 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

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

24 comprehensive news and information to societies 

25 that lack freedom of expression and information. 


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

2 flexibility of United States international broad3 casting to allow it to adapt to constantly changing 

4 political and media environments through clarifica5 tion of missions, improved coordination, and organi6 zational restructuring. 

7 (3) To coordinate the complementary efforts of 

8 the Department of State and United States inter9 national broadcasting. 

10 (4) To create a United States international 

11 broadcasting framework that more effectively 

12 leverages the broadcasting tools available and cre13 ates specialization of expertise in mission oriented 

14 programming, while minimizing waste and ineffi15 ciency. 

16 (5) To improve United States international 

17 broadcasting workforce effectiveness, security, and 

18 satisfaction. 

19 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

24 the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

25 Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on 


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1 Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and 

2 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

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

4 non-Federal organization described in section 

5 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 

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

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

8 Act that receives Federal funding from the Broad9 casting Board of Governors, and includes Radio 

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

11 East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated. 

12 (3) FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.—The term 

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

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

15 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax 

16 under section 501(a) of such Code that would re17 ceive Federal funding and be responsible for pro18 moting democratic freedoms and free media oper19 ations for foreign audiences in societies that lack 

20 freedom of expression and information, and con21 sisting of the consolidation of the grantee in accord22 ance with section 211. 

23 (4) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.—The term ‘‘public di24 plomacy’’ means the effort to achieve broad United 

25 States foreign policy goals and objectives, advance 


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1 national interests, and enhance national security by 

2 informing and influencing foreign publics and by ex3 panding and strengthening the relationship between 

4 the people and Government of the United States and 

5 citizens of other countries. 

6 SEC. 5. BROADCASTING STANDARDS. 

7 United States international broadcasting shall incor8 porate the following standards into all of its broadcasting 

9 efforts: 

10 (1) Be consistent with the broad foreign policy 

11 objectives of the United States. 

12 (2) Be consistent with the international tele13 communications policies and treaty obligations of the 

14 United States. 

15 (3) Not duplicate the activities of private 

16 United States broadcasters. 

17 (4) Be conducted in accordance with the high18 est professional standards of broadcast journalism 

19 while remaining consistent with and supportive of 

20 the broad foreign policy objectives of the United 

21 States. 

22 (5) Be based on reliable, research-based infor23 mation, both quantitative and qualitative, about its 

24 potential audience. 


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1 (6) Be designed so as to effectively reach a sig2 nificant audience. 

3 (7) Promote freedom of expression, religion, 

4 and respect for human rights and human equality. 

5 SEC. 6. ELIGIBLE BROADCAST AREAS. 

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

7 International Communications Agency and the Board of 

8 the Freedom News Network, in consultation with the Sec9 retary of State, shall ensure that United States inter10 national broadcasting is conducted only to countries and 

11 regions that— 

12 (1) lack democratic rule, or the indicia of demo13 cratic rule, such as demonstrable proof of free and 

14 fair elections; 

15 (2) lack the legal and political environment that 

16 allows media organizations and journalists to oper17 ate free from government-led or permitted harass18 ment, intimidation, retribution, and from economic 

19 impediments to the development, production, and 

20 dissemination of news and related programming and 

21 content; 

22 (3) lack established, domestic, and widely acces23 sible media that provide accurate, objective, and 

24 comprehensive news and related programming and 

25 content; and 


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

2 subsection, would benefit the national security and 

3 related interests of the United States, and the safety 

4 and security of United States citizens at home and 

5 abroad. 

6 (b) EXCEPTION.—The United States International 

7 Communications Agency and the Freedom News Network 

8 may broadcast to countries that fall outside of the criteria 

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

10 of the Agency and the Freedom News Network, in con11 sultation with the Secretary of State, determine it is in 

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

13 the interests of preserving the safety and security of 

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

15 TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT, OR16 GANIZATION, AND MANAGE17 MENT OF THE UNITED 

18 STATES INTERNATIONAL 

19 COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY 

20 Subtitle A—Establishment of the 

21 United States International 

22 Communications Agency 

23 SEC. 101. EXISTENCE WITHIN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH. 

24 There is hereby established a single Federal organiza25 tion consisting of the Voice of America and the offices that 


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1 constitute the International Broadcasting Bureau and re2 ferred to hereafter as the ‘‘United States International 

3 Communications Agency’’, which shall exist within the ex4 ecutive branch of Government as an independent estab5 lishment described in section 104 of title 5, United States 

6 Code. 

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

8 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

9 AGENCY. 

10 (a) COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF THE UNITED

11 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board (in this section 

13 referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) of the United States 

14 International Communications Agency shall consist 

15 of nine members, as follows: 

16 (A) Eight voting members who shall be ap17 pointed by the President, by and with the ad18 vice and consent of the Senate. 

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

20 be a voting member. 

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

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

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

24 the Senate. 


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1 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Exclusive of the 

2 Secretary of State, not more than four members of 

3 the Board shall be of the same political party. 

4 (4) RETENTION OF EXISTING BBG MEMBERS.— 

5 The presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed 

6 members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors 

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

8 shall constitute the Board of the United States 

9 International Communications Agency and hold of10 fice the remainder of their original terms of office 

11 without reappointment to the Board. 

12 (b) TERM OF OFFICE.—The term of office of each 

13 member of the Board shall be 3 years, except that the 

14 Secretary of State shall remain a member of the Board 

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

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

17 shall be 1 year, and the initial terms of office of three 

18 other members shall be 2 years, as determined by the 

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

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

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

22 which case the members so appointed shall serve for the 

23 remainder of such term. Members may not serve beyond 

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1 ing Secretary of State shall serve as a member of the 

2 Board until a Secretary is appointed. 

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

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

5 full-time employees of the United States Government. 

6 Such members shall be selected by the President from 

7 among citizens distinguished in the fields of public diplo8 macy, mass communications, print, broadcast media, or 

9 foreign affairs. 

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

11 attending meetings of the Board or while engaged in du12 ties relating to such meetings or in other activities of the 

13 Board pursuant to this section (including travel time) 

14 shall be entitled to receive compensation equal to the daily 

15 equivalent of the compensation prescribed for level IV of 

16 the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 

17 United States Code. While away from their homes or reg18 ular places of business, members of the Board may be al19 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub20 sistence, in accordance with section 5703 of such title for 

21 persons in the Government service employed intermit22 tently. The Secretary of State shall not be entitled to any 

23 compensation under this chapter. 

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

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


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

2 time a decision of the Board is made. 

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

4 States International Communications Agency shall adhere 

5 to the provisions specified in the Government in the Sun6 shine Act (Public Law 94–409). 

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

8 THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL COM9 MUNICATIONS AGENCY. 

10 The Board of the United States International Com11 munications Agency shall have the following authorities: 

12 (1) To review and evaluate the mission and op13 eration of, and to assess the quality, effectiveness, 

14 and professional integrity of, all programming pro15 duced by the United States International Commu16 nications Agency to ensure alignment with the broad 

17 foreign policy objectives of the United States. 

18 (2) To ensure that broadcasting of the United 

19 States International Communications Agency is con20 ducted in accordance with the standards specified in 

21 section 5. 

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

23 Chief Executive of the United States International 

24 Communications Agency, at least annually, in con25 sultation with the Secretary of State, the necessity 


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1 of adding or deleting of language services of the 

2 Agency. 

3 (4) To submit to the President and Congress 

4 an annual report which summarizes and evaluates 

5 activities of the United States International Commu6 nications Agency described in this title. 

7 SEC. 104. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFI8 CER OF THE UNITED STATES INTER9 NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY. 

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

11 Officer of the United States International Communica12 tions Agency, appointed by the Board of the Agency for 

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

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

15 governing appointments, classification, and compensation. 

16 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Executive Officer 

17 shall be selected from among United States citizens with 

18 two or more of the following qualifications: 

19 (1) A distinguished career in managing a large 

20 organization or Federal agency. 

21 (2) Experience in the field of mass communica22 tions, print, or broadcast media. 

23 (3) Experience in foreign affairs or inter24 national relations. 


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1 (4) Experience in directing United States public 

2 diplomacy programs. 

3 (c) TERMINATION AND TRANSFER.—Immediately 

4 upon appointment of the Chief Executive Officer under 

5 subsection (a), the Director of the International Broad6 casting Bureau shall be terminated, and all of the respon7 sibilities and authorities of the Director shall be trans8 ferred to and assumed by the Chief Executive Officer. 

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

10 Chief Executive Officer under subsection (a) may be re11 moved upon a two-thirds majority vote of the members 

12 of the Board of the United States International Commu13 nications Agency then serving. 

14 (e) COMPENSATION OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF15 FICER.—Any Chief Executive Officer of the United States 

16 International Communications Agency hired after the date 

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

18 compensation up to an annual rate of pay equivalent to 

19 level I of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 

20 title 5, United States Code. 

21 SEC. 105. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE CHIEF EXECU22 TIVE OFFICER OF THE UNITED STATES 

23 INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY. 

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1 national Communications Agency and shall have the fol2 lowing non-delegable authorities, subject to the super3 vision of the Board of the United States International 

4 Communications Agency: 

5 (1) To supervise all Federal broadcasting activi6 ties conducted pursuant to title V of the United 

7 States Information and Educational Exchange Act 

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

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

10 Act. 

11 (2) To make and ensure compliance with the 

12 terms and conditions of the grant agreement in ac13 cordance with section 110. 

14 (3) To review engineering activities to ensure 

15 that all broadcasting elements receive the highest 

16 quality and cost-effective delivery services. 

17 (4) To undertake such studies as may be nec18 essary to identify areas in which broadcasting activi19 ties under the authority of the United States Inter20 national Communications Agency could be made 

21 more efficient and economical. 

22 (5) To the extent considered necessary to carry 

23 out the functions of the Board, procure supplies, 

24 services, and other personal property, as well as pro25 curement pursuant to section 1535 of title 31, 


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1 United States Code (commonly referred to as the 

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

3 other Federal agencies for the Board as the Board 

4 determines are appropriate. 

5 (6) To appoint such staff personnel for the 

6 Board as the Board may determine to be necessary, 

7 subject to the provisions of title 5, United States 

8 Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

9 service, and to fix their compensation in accordance 

10 with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 

11 of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification 

12 and General Schedule pay rates. 

13 (7) To obligate and expend, for official recep14 tion and representation expenses, such amounts as 

15 may be made available through appropriations Acts. 

16 (8) To make available in the annual reports re17 quired under section 103 information on funds ex18 pended on administrative and managerial services by 

19 the Board of the United States Communications 

20 Agency, and the steps the Board has taken to re21 duce unnecessary overhead costs for each of the 

22 broadcasting services. 

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

24 Government broadcasting capacity to the Freedom 

25 News Network. 


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

2 personal services to the same extent as is authorized 

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

4 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the rate 

5 provided for positions classified above grade GS–15 

6 of the General Schedule under section 5108 of such 

7 title. 

8 (B) To allow those individuals providing such 

9 services, while away from their homes or their reg10 ular places of business, travel expenses (including 

11 per diem in lieu of subsistence) as authorized by sec12 tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons 

13 in the Government service employed intermittently, 

14 while so employed. 

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

16 V, VII, VIII, IX, and X of the United States Infor17 mation and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 

18 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), and section 6 of Reorganiza19 tion Plan Number 2 of 1977, as in effect on the day 

20 before the effective date of title XIII of the Foreign 

21 Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1998, to the 

22 extent the Board considers necessary to carry out 

23 the provisions and purposes of this Act. 

24 (12) To utilize the authorities of any other stat25 ute, reorganization plan, Executive order, regulation, 


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1 agreement, determination, or other official document 

2 or proceeding that had been available to the Director 

3 of the United States Information Agency, the Inter4 national Broadcasting Bureau, or the Board of the 

5 Broadcasting Board of Governors before the date of 

6 the enactment of this Act. 

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

8 and secondary school expenses for dependents of 

9 personnel stationed in the Commonwealth of the 

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

11 exceed expenses authorized by the Department of 

12 Defense for such schooling for dependents of mem13 bers of the Armed Forces stationed in the Common14 wealth, if the Board determines that schools avail15 able in the Commonwealth are unable to provide 

16 adequately for the education of the dependents of 

17 such personnel. 

18 (B) To provide transportation for dependents of 

19 such personnel between their places of residence and 

20 those schools for which expenses are provided under 

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

22 schools are not accessible by public means of trans23 portation. 

24 (b) CONSULTATIONS.—The Chief Executive Officer 

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1 cy shall regularly consult with the Chief Executive Officer 

2 of the Freedom News Network and the Secretary of State 

3 as described in sections 108 and 109. 

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

5 To assist the Board of the United States Inter6 national Communications Agency in carrying out its func7 tions, the Secretary of State shall provide to the Board 

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

9 guidance on United States foreign policy and public diplo10 macy priorities, as the Secretary determines appropriate. 

11 SEC. 107. ROLE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the De13 partment of State shall exercise the same authorities with 

14 respect to the United States International Communica15 tions Agency and the Freedom News Network as the In16 spector General exercises with respect to the Department. 

17 (b) JOURNALIST INTEGRITY.—The Inspector General 

18 of the Department of State shall respect the journalistic 

19 integrity of all the broadcasters covered by this Act and 

20 may not evaluate the philosophical or political perspectives 

21 reflected in the content of the broadcasts of such broad22 casters. 


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1 SEC. 108. ENHANCED COORDINATION BETWEEN UNITED 

2 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

3 AGENCY AND THE FREEDOM NEWS NET4 WORK; PROGRAM CONTENT SHARING; 

5 GRANTEE INDEPENDENCE. 

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

7 Executive Officer of the United States International Com8 munications Agency shall meet at least on a quarterly 

9 basis with the chair and Chief Executive Officer, as identi10 fied in section 221, of the Freedom News Network to dis11 cuss mutual issues of concern, including the following: 

12 (1) The strategic direction of their respective 

13 organizations, including target audiences. 

14 (2) Languages of information transmission. 

15 (3) Prioritization of funding allocations. 

16 (4) Areas for greater collaboration. 

17 (5) Elimination of programming overlap. 

18 (6) Efficiencies that can be realized through 

19 best practices and lessons learned. 

20 (7) Sharing of program content. 

21 (b) INFORMATION SHARING.—The Chief Executive 

22 Officer of the United States International Broadcasting 

23 Agency and the Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom 

24 News Network shall share all strategic planning docu25 ments, including the following: 

26 (1) Results monitoring and evaluation. 


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1 (2) Annual planning documents. 

2 (3) Audience surveys conducted. 

3 (4) Budget formulation documents. 

4 (c) PROGRAM CONTENT SHARING.—The United 

5 States International Communications Agency and the 

6 Freedom News Network shall make all original content 

7 available to each other through a shared platform in ac8 cordance with section 112(a)(3). 

9 (d) INDEPENDENCE OF FREEDOM NEWS NET10 WORK.—The United States International Communications 

11 Agency, while conducting management of the grant de12 scribed in section 110, shall avoid even the appearance of 

13 involvement in daily operations, decisions, and manage14 ment of the Freedom News Network, and ensure that the 

15 distinctions between the United States International Com16 munications Agency and Freedom News Network remain 

17 in accordance with this Act. 

18 SEC. 109. ENHANCED COORDINATION AMONG THE UNITED 

19 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

20 AGENCY, THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK, 

21 AND THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE; FREEDOM 

22 NEWS NETWORK INDEPENDENCE. 

23 (a) COORDINATION MEETINGS.—The Chief Execu24 tive Officer of the United States International Commu25 nications Agency and the Chief Executive Officer of the 


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

2 basis, with the Secretary of State to— 

3 (1) review and evaluate broadcast activities; 

4 (2) eliminate overlap of programming; and 

5 (3) determine long-term strategies for inter6 national broadcasting to ensure such strategies are 

7 in accordance with the broad foreign policy interests 

8 of the United States. 

9 (b) STRATEGIC PLANNING DOCUMENTS.—The Chief 

10 Executive Officer of the United States International Com11 munications Agency, the Chief Executive Officer of the 

12 Freedom News Network, and the Secretary of State shall 

13 share all relevant unclassified strategic planning docu14 ments produced by the Agency, the Freedom News Net15 work, and the Department of State. 

16 (c) FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK INDEPENDENCE.— 

17 The Department of State, while coordinating with the 

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

19 shall avoid even the appearance of involvement in the daily 

20 operations, decisions, and management of the Freedom 

21 News Network. 

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

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

24 United States International Communications Agency shall 

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


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1 or the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated 

2 only after the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency and 

3 the Chief Executive Officer of Freedom News Network 

4 certify to the appropriate congressional committees that 

5 the headquarters of the Freedom News Network and its 

6 senior administrative and managerial staff are in a loca7 tion which ensures economy, operational effectiveness, and 

8 accountability, and the following conditions have been sat9 isfied: 

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

11 and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incor12 porated have submitted to the Chief Executive Offi13 cer of the United States International Communica14 tions Agency a plan for consolidation and reconstitu15 tion as described in section 211 under the new cor16 porate name ‘‘Freedom News Network’’ with a sin17 gle organizational structure and management frame18 work, as described in section 221. 

19 (2) The necessary steps towards the consolida20 tion described in paragraph (1) have been com21 pleted, including the selection of a Board, Chair, and 

22 Chief Executive Officer for the Freedom News Net23 work, the establishment of bylaws to govern the 

24 Freedom News Network, and the filing of articles of 

25 incorporation. 


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1 (3) A plan for content sharing has been devel2 oped in accordance with section 112(a)(3). 

3 (4) A strategic plan for programming imple4 mentation has been developed in accordance with 

5 section 222(c). 

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

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

8 States International Communications Agency shall submit 

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

10 to the Freedom News Network. 

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

12 Officer of the United States International Communica13 tions Agency, after consultation with the Board of the 

14 Agency and the appropriate congressional committees, de15 termines at any time that the Freedom News Network is 

16 not carrying out the mission described in section 212 and 

17 adhering to the standards and principles described in sec18 tion 213 in an effective and economical manner for which 

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

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

21 another entity the grant at issue to carry out such func22 tions after soliciting and considering applications from eli23 gible entities in such manner and accompanied by such 

24 information as the Board may require. 


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

2 may be construed to make the Freedom News Network 

3 a Federal agency or instrumentality. 

4 (e) AUTHORITY.—Grants authorized under this sec5 tion for the United States International Communications 

6 Agency shall be available to make annual grants to the 

7 Freedom News Network for the purpose of carrying out 

8 the mission described in section 212 and adhering to the 

9 standards and principles described in section 213. 

10 (f) GRANT AGREEMENT.—Grants authorized under 

11 this section to the Freedom News Network by the Chief 

12 Executive Officer of the United States International Com13 munications Agency shall only be made in accordance with 

14 a grant agreement. Such grant agreement shall include 

15 the following provisions: 

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

17 accordance with carrying out the mission described 

18 in section 212 and adhering to the standards and 

19 principles described in section 213. 

20 (2) The Freedom News Network shall comply 

21 with the requirements of this section. 

22 (3) Failure to comply with the requirements of 

23 this section may result in suspension or termination 

24 of a grant without further obligation by the United 


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1 States International Communications Agency or the 

2 United States. 

3 (4) Use of broadcasting technology owned and 

4 operated by the United States International Commu5 nications Agency shall be made available through an 

6 International Cooperative Administrative Support 

7 Service (ICASS) agreement or memorandum of un8 derstanding. 

9 (5) The Freedom News Network shall, upon re10 quest, provide to the Chief Executive Officer of the 

11 United States International Communications Agency 

12 documentation which details the expenditure of any 

13 grant funds. 

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

15 Freedom News Network to comply with any require16 ments other than the requirements specified in this 

17 Act. 

18 (7) A grant may not be used to allocate re19 sources within the Freedom News Network in a 

20 manner that is inconsistent with the Freedom News 

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

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

23 Grants authorized under this section may not be used for 

24 the following purposes: 


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

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

3 enter into any contract providing for the payment of 

4 salary or compensation, in excess of the rates estab5 lished for comparable positions under title 5, United 

6 States Code, or the foreign relations laws of the 

7 United States, except that no employee may be paid 

8 a salary or other compensation in excess of the rate 

9 of pay payable for level II of the Executive Schedule 

10 under section 5315 of such title. 

11 (B) Salary and other compensation limitations 

12 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect 

13 to any employee covered by a union agreement re14 quiring a salary or other compensation in excess of 

15 such limitations before the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act. 

17 (C) Notwithstanding the limitations specified in 

18 subparagraph (A), grants authorized under this sec19 tion may be used by the Freedom News Network to 

20 pay up to six employees employed in the Wash21 ington, D.C. area, salary or other compensation not 

22 to exceed the rate of pay payable for level I of the 

23 Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, 

24 United States Code, except that such shall not apply 


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1 to the Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom News 

2 Network in accordance with section 221(d). 

3 (2) For any activity intended to influence the 

4 passage or defeat of legislation being considered by 

5 Congress. 

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

7 severance payments for voluntary separation for em8 ployees hired after December 1, 1990, except as may 

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

10 country where such an employee is stationed. 

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

12 the Freedom News Network, or the relative of any 

13 such employee. 

14 SEC. 111. OTHER PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION LIMITA15 TIONS. 

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

17 personnel restrictions described in subsection (c), the 

18 Chief Executive Officer of the United States International 

19 Communications Agency shall have the discretion to deter20 mine the distribution of all personnel within the Agency, 

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

22 (b) LIMITATION ON COMPENSATION.— 

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

24 States International Communications Agency, other 

25 than the Chief Executive Officer or Director of the 


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1 Voice of America, shall be eligible to receive com2 pensation at a rate in excess of step 10 of GS–15 

3 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 

4 5, United States Code. 

5 (2) EXCEPTION.—The limitation described in 

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

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

8 affect the rights of employees covered under the 

9 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. 

10 (c) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN NEW EMPLOY11 MENT.— 

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

13 enactment of this Act and ending on the date that 

14 is 5 years after such date, the United States Inter15 national Communications Agency may not fill any 

16 currently unfilled full-time or part-time position 

17 compensated at an annual rate of basic pay for 

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

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

20 including any currently filled position in which the 

21 incumbent resigns, retires, or otherwise leaves such 

22 position during the such 5-year period. 

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

24 the United States International Communications 

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1 graph (1) if the position is determined essential to 

2 the functioning of the Agency and documented as 

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

4 necessary for the acquisition of skills or knowledge 

5 not sufficiently represented in the current workforce 

6 of the Agency. The Chief Executive Officer of the 

7 Agency shall consult with the appropriate congres8 sional committees before issuing a waiver under this 

9 paragraph. 

10 (d) CONTINUATION OF FEDERAL STATUS.—Nothing 

11 in this Act may be interpreted to change the Federal sta12 tus or rights of employees of the Voice of America or the 

13 International Broadcasting Bureau by the consolidation 

14 and establishment of the United States International 

15 Communications Agency. 

16 SEC. 112. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNITED 

17 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

18 AGENCY. 

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

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

21 Executive Officer of the United States International Com22 munications Agency shall submit to the appropriate Con23 gressional committees a report that includes the following: 

24 (1) A plan to assess and provide recommenda25 tions on the appropriate size and necessity of all 


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1 current offices and positions (also referred to as a 

2 ‘‘staffing pattern’’) within the Agency, including full3 time employee positions rated at the Senior Execu4 tive Service (SES) level or at GS–14 or GS–15 on 

5 the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, 

6 United States Code. Such plan shall include a de7 tailed organizational structure that delineates lines 

8 of authority and reporting between junior staff, 

9 management, and leadership. 

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

11 and the International Broadcasting Bureau into a 

12 single Federal entity identified as the ‘‘United 

13 States International Communications Agency’’, and 

14 how the structure and alignment of resources sup15 port the fulfillment of the Agency’s mission and 

16 standards and principles as described in sections 5 

17 and 122. 

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

19 all programming content between the United States 

20 International Communications Agency and the Free21 dom News Network, including making available for 

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1 forms already in existence, such as the web content 

2 management system ‘‘Pangea’’. 

3 (4) A joint plan written with the Chief Execu4 tive Officer of the Freedom News Network to coordi5 nate the transition of language services between the 

6 United States International Communications Agency 

7 and the Freedom News Network in accordance with 

8 sections 6, 123, 124, 212, and 214. 

9 (b) CONTRACTING REPORT.—The Chief Executive 

10 Officer of the United States International Communica11 tions Agency shall annually submit to the appropriate con12 gressional committees a report on the Agency’s compliance 

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

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

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

16 FAR requirement for publicizing contract actions, the use 

17 of any personal service contracts without explicit statutory 

18 authority, and processes for contract oversight in compli19 ance with the FAR. 

20 (c) LISTENERSHIP REPORT.—The Chief Executive 

21 Officer of the United States International Communica22 tions Agency shall annually submit to the appropriate con23 gressional committees a report that details the trans24 mission capacities, market penetration, and audience 

25 listenership of all mediums of international communication 


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1 deployed by the United States International Communica2 tions Agency, including a plan for how target audiences 

3 can be reached if the first medium of delivery is unavail4 able. 

5 (d) GAO REPORT.—Every 5 years after the date of 

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

7 United States shall submit to the appropriate congres8 sional committees a report that reviews the effectiveness 

9 of content sharing between the United States Inter10 national Communications Agency and the Freedom News 

11 Network and makes recommendations on how content 

12 sharing can be improved. 

13 (e) LANGUAGE REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Executive 

15 Officer of the United States International Communica16 tions Agency and the Chief Executive Officer of the Free17 dom News Network shall submit to the appropriate con18 gressional committees a joint report detailing— 

19 (1) information outlining the criteria and anal20 ysis used to determine broadcast recipient countries 

21 and regions; and 

22 (2) an initial list of broadcast countries and re23 gions. 


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1 Subtitle B—The Voice of America 

2 SEC. 121. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that— 

4 (1) the Voice of America has been an indispen5 sable element of United States foreign policy and 

6 public diplomacy efforts since 1942, and should re7 main the flagship brand of the United States Inter8 national Communications Agency; 

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

10 source of accurate, objective, and comprehensive 

11 news and related programming and content for the 

12 millions of people around the world who cannot ob13 tain such news and related programming and con14 tent from indigenous media outlets; 

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

16 than seven decades has created valuable brand iden17 tity and international recognition that justifies the 

18 maintenance of the Voice of America; 

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

20 mission remains essential to broader United States 

21 Government efforts to communicate with foreign 

22 populations; and 

23 (5) despite its tremendous historical success, 

24 the Voice of America would benefit substantially 

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1 casting agencies and resources, which would provide 

2 the Voice of America with greater mission focus and 

3 flexibility in the deployment of news, programming, 

4 and content. 

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

6 The Voice of America shall adhere to the following 

7 principles in the course of fulfilling its duties and respon8 sibilities: 

9 (1) Serving as a consistently reliable and au10 thoritative source of news on the United States, its 

11 policies, its people, and the international develop12 ments that affect the United States. 

13 (2) Providing accurate, objective, and com14 prehensive information, with the understanding that 

15 these three values provide credibility among global 

16 news audiences. 

17 (3) Presenting the official policies of the United 

18 States, and related discussions and opinions about 

19 those policies, clearly and effectively. 

20 (4) Representing the whole of the United 

21 States, and shall accordingly work to produce pro22 gramming and content that presents a balanced and 

23 comprehensive projection of the diversity of thought 

24 and institutions of the United States. 


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

2 AMERICA. 

3 The Voice of America shall have the following duties 

4 and responsibilities: 

5 (1) Producing accurate, objective, and com6 prehensive news and related programming that is 

7 consistent with and promotes the broad foreign poli8 cies of the United States. 

9 (2) Producing news and related programming 

10 and content that accurately represents the diversity 

11 of thoughts and institutions of the United States as 

12 a whole. 

13 (3) Presenting the law and policies of the 

14 United States clearly and effectively. 

15 (4) Promoting the civil and responsible ex16 change of information and differences of opinion re17 garding policies, issues, and current events. 

18 (5) Making all of its produced news and related 

19 programming and content available to the Freedom 

20 News Network for use and distribution. 

21 (6) Producing or otherwise allowing editorials, 

22 commentary, and programming, in consultation with 

23 the Department of State, that present the official 

24 views of the United States Government and its offi25 cials. 


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1 (7) Maximizing foreign national information ac2 cess through both the use of existing broadcasting 

3 tools and resources and the development and dis4 semination of circumvention technology. 

5 (8) Providing training and technical support for 

6 independent indigenous media and journalist enter7 prises in order to facilitate or enhance independent 

8 media environments and outlets abroad. 

9 (9) Reaching identified foreign audiences in 

10 local languages and dialects when possible, particu11 larly when such audiences form a distinct ethnic, 

12 cultural, or religious group within a country critical 

13 to United States national security interests. 

14 (10) Being capable of providing a broadcasting 

15 surge capacity under circumstances where overseas 

16 disasters, crises, or other events require increased or 

17 heightened international public diplomacy engage18 ment. 

19 SEC. 124. LIMITATION ON VOICE OF AMERICA NEWS, PRO20 GRAMMING, AND CONTENT; EXCEPTION FOR 

21 BROADCASTING TO CUBA. 

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

23 (b), the Voice of America shall be limited to providing re24 porting in accordance with the principles specified in sec25 tion 122. Nothing in this section may preclude the Voice 


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1 of America from broadcasting programming content pro2 duced by the Freedom News Network. 

3 (b) EXCEPTION FOR BROADCASTING TO CUBA.— 

4 Radio Marti and Television Marti, which constitute the 

5 Office of Cuba Broadcasting, shall continue programming 

6 and content production consistent with the mission and 

7 activities as described in the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba 

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

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

10 within the Voice of America of the United States Inter11 national Communications Agency, established in section 

12 101. 

13 SEC. 125. DIRECTOR OF VOICE OF AMERICA. 

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

15 the Voice of America, who shall be responsible for exe16 cuting the duties and responsibilities of the Voice of Amer17 ica described in subsection (b). 

18 (b) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director 

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

20 of the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Inter21 national Communications Agency carry out the following 

22 duties and responsibilities: 

23 (1) Determine the organizational structure of, 

24 and personnel allocation or relocation within, the 

25 Voice of America, subject to section 105. 


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1 (2) Make recommendations to the Chief Execu2 tive Officer of the United States International Com3 munications Agency regarding the production, devel4 opment, and termination of Voice of America news 

5 programming and content. 

6 (3) Make recommendations to the Chief Execu7 tive Officer of the United States International Com8 munications Agency about the establishment, termi9 nation, prioritization, and adjustments of language 

10 services utilized by the Voice of America to reach its 

11 international audience. 

12 (4) Allocate funding and material resources 

13 under the jurisdiction of the Voice of America for 

14 the furtherance of the other duties and responsibil15 ities established under this subsection. 

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

17 America, including programming content. 

18 (c) APPOINTMENT AND QUALIFICATIONS OF DIREC19 TOR.— 

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

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

22 shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief Executive Of23 ficer of the United States International Communica24 tions Agency. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to be ap2 pointed Director of the Voice of America, a person 

3 shall have at least two of the following qualifications: 

4 (A) Prior, extensive experience managing 

5 or operating a private-sector media or journalist 

6 enterprise. 

7 (B) Prior, extensive experience managing 

8 or operating a large organization. 

9 (C) Prior, extensive experience engaged in 

10 mass media or journalist program development, 

11 including the development of circumvention 

12 technologies. 

13 (D) Prior, extensive experience engaged in 

14 international journalism or other related activi15 ties, including the training of international jour16 nalists and the promotion of democratic institu17 tional reforms abroad. 

18 (3) COMPENSATION.—Any Director who is 

19 hired after the date of the enactment of this Act 

20 shall be entitled to receive compensation at a rate 

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

22 the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 

23 5, United States Code. 


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1 Subtitle C—General Provisions 

2 SEC. 131. FEDERAL AGENCY COORDINATION IN SUPPORT 

3 OF UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY. 

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

5 International Communications Agency and the Freedom 

6 News Network shall conduct periodic, unclassified con7 sultations with the Department of State, the United 

8 States Agency for International Development, the Depart9 ment of Defense, and the Office of the Director of Na10 tional Intelligence, for the purpose of assessing the fol11 lowing: 

12 (1) Progress toward democratization, the devel13 opment of free and independent media outlets, and 

14 the free flow of information in countries that receive 

15 programming and content from the United States 

16 International Communications Agency and the Free17 dom News Network. 

18 (2) Foreign languages that have increased or 

19 decreased in strategic importance, and the factors 

20 supporting such assessments. 

21 (3) Any other international developments, in22 cluding developments with regional or country-spe23 cific significance, that might be of value in assisting 

24 the United States International Communications 


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1 Agency and the Freedom News Network in the de2 velopment of their programming and content. 

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

4 International Communications Agency shall use the un5 classified consultations required under subsection (a) as 

6 guidance for its distribution and calibration of Federal re7 sources in support of United States public diplomacy. 

8 SEC. 132. FEDERAL AGENCY ASSISTANCE AND COORDINA9 TION WITH THE UNITED STATES INTER10 NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY AND 

11 THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK DURING 

12 INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST SURGES. 

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

14 the Chair of the Board of the United States International 

15 Communications Agency, Federal agency heads shall as16 sist and coordinate with the Agency to facilitate a tem17 porary broadcasting surge or enhance transmission capac18 ity for such a temporary broadcasting surge for the Agen19 cy, the Freedom News Network, or both. 

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

21 Federal agency heads shall assist or coordinate with the 

22 United States International Communications Agency by— 

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

24 of— 


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1 (A) United States Government-owned 

2 transmission capacity, including the use of 

3 transmission facilities, equipment, resources, 

4 and personnel; and 

5 (B) other non-transmission-related United 

6 States Government-owned facilities, equipment, 

7 resources, and personnel; 

8 (2) communicating and coordinating with for9 eign host governments on behalf of, or in conjunc10 tion with, the Agency or the Freedom News Net11 work; 

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

13 in-country security services for the safety and pro14 tection of Agency or Freedom News Network per15 sonnel; and 

16 (4) providing or facilitating access to any other 

17 United States Government-owned resources. 

18 (c) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of law, neither Federal agency heads nor their agen20 cies shall receive any reimbursement or compensatory ap21 propriations for complying with implementing this section. 


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1 SEC. 133. FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK RIGHT OF FIRST RE2 FUSAL IN INSTANCES OF FEDERAL DISPOSAL 

3 OF RADIO OR TELEVISION BROADCAST 

4 TRANSMISSION FACILITIES OR EQUIPMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi6 sion of law, it shall be the policy of the United States 

7 International Communications Agency to, in the event it 

8 intends to dispose of any radio or television broadcast 

9 transmission facilities or equipment, provide the Freedom 

10 News Network with the right of first refusal with respect 

11 to the acquisition of such facilities and equipment. 

12 (b) TRANSFER AND DISPOSAL.—Pursuant to sub13 section (a)— 

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

15 willing to accept the facilities and equipment re16 ferred to in such subsection, the United States 

17 International Communications Agency shall transfer 

18 to the Freedom News Network such facilities and 

19 equipment at no cost to the Freedom News Net20 work; or 

21 (2) in the event the Freedom News Network 

22 opts to not accept such facilities and equipment, the 

23 United States International Communications Agency 

24 may sell such facilities and equipment at market 

25 price, and retain any revenue from such sales. 


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1 (c) RULES REGARDING CERTAIN FUNDS.—Pursuant 

2 to subsections (b) and (c), any revenues that the United 

3 States International Communications Agency shall derive 

4 from such sales shall be used entirely for the purposes or 

5 research, development, and deployment of innovative 

6 broadcasting or circumvention technology. 

7 SEC. 134. REPEAL OF THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL 

8 BROADCASTING ACT OF 1994. 

9 The United States International Broadcasting Act of 

10 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.; title III of Public Law 103– 

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

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

13 SEC. 135. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

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

16 TITLE II—THE FREEDOM NEWS 

17 NETWORK 

18 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that RFE/RL, Incor20 porated, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broad21 casting Networks, Incorporated share a common mission 

22 with distinct geographic foci, and should therefore be 

23 merged into a single organization, with distinct marketing 

24 brands to provide the news and related programming and 

25 content in countries where free media are not established. 


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1 Subtitle A—Consolidation of 

2 Existing Grantee Organizations 

3 SEC. 211. FORMATION OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK 

4 FROM EXISTING GRANTEES. 

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

6 section 110 are satisfied, the Freedom News Network, 

7 comprised of the consolidation of RFE/RL Incorporated, 

8 Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Net9 works, Incorporated, shall exist to carry out all inter10 national broadcasting activities supported by the United 

11 States Government, in accordance with sections 212 and 

12 213. 

13 (b) MAINTENANCE OF THE EXISTING INDIVIDUAL

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

15 Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incor16 porated shall remain brand names under which news and 

17 related programming and content may be disseminated by 

18 the Freedom News Network. Additional brands may be 

19 created as necessary. 

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

21 The Freedom News Network established under sec22 tion 211 shall— 

23 (1) provide uncensored local and regional news 

24 and analysis to people in societies where a robust, 


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1 indigenous, independent, and free media does not 

2 exist; 

3 (2) strengthen civil societies by promoting 

4 democratic values and promoting equality and the 

5 rights of the individual, including for marginalized 

6 groups, such as women and minorities; 

7 (3) help countries improve their indigenous ca8 pacity to enhance media professionalism and inde9 pendence, and develop partnerships with local media 

10 outlets, as appropriate; and 

11 (4) promote access to uncensored sources of in12 formation, especially via the internet, and use all ef13 fective and efficient mediums of communication to 

14 reach target audiences. 

15 SEC. 213. STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES OF THE FREEDOM 

16 NEWS NETWORK. 

17 The broadcasting of the Freedom News Network 

18 shall— 

19 (1) be consistent with the broad foreign policy 

20 objectives of the United States; 

21 (2) be consistent with the international tele22 communications policies and treaty obligations of the 

23 United States; 

24 (3) be conducted in accordance with the highest 

25 professional standards of broadcast journalism; 


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1 (4) be based on reliable information about its 

2 potential audience; 

3 (5) be designed so as to effectively reach a sig4 nificant audience; and 

5 (6) prioritize programming to populations in 

6 countries without independent indigenous media out7 lets. 

8 Subtitle B—Organization of the 

9 Freedom News Network 

10 SEC. 221. GOVERNANCE OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NET11 WORK. 

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

13 A board shall oversee the Freedom News Network and 

14 consist of nine individuals with a demonstrated back15 ground in media or the promotion of democracy and expe16 rience in measuring media impact. 

17 (b) COMPOSITION OF FIRST BOARD OF THE FREE18 DOM NEWS NETWORK.—Not later than 90 days after the 

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

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

21 Broadcasting Networks shall— 

22 (1) identify, in consultation with the appro23 priate congressional committees, candidates for the 

24 first board of the Freedom News Network; 


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1 (2) direct the appointment of board members; 

2 and 

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

4 Freedom News Network. 

5 (c) CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATION REGARDING

6 THE FIRST BOARD OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NET7 WORK.—The individuals appointed pursuant to subsection 

8 (b) shall serve as members of the first board of the Free9 dom News Network unless a joint resolution of disapproval 

10 is enacted. 

11 (d) OPERATIONS OF THE FIRST BOARD OF THE

12 FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.— 

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

14 News Network shall have nine members charged 

15 with the sole responsibility to operate the Freedom 

16 News Network within the legal jurisdiction of its 

17 state of incorporation. The board of the Freedom 

18 New Network shall exercise due diligence, and exe19 cute its fiduciary duties to the corporation without 

20 conflict of interests and consistent with section 212. 

21 At no time may the United States International 

22 Communications Agency add requirements to a 

23 grant agreement with the Freedom News Network 

24 that could be construed as inappropriate supervision, 

25 oversight, or management under chapter 63 of title 


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1 31, United States Code. Nothing in this title may be 

2 construed to make the Freedom News Network an 

3 agency, establishment, or instrumentality of the 

4 United States Government, or to make the members 

5 of the board of Freedom News Network, or the offi6 cers or employees of Freedom News Network, offi7 cers of employees of the United States Government. 

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

9 News Network shall write the bylaws of the organi10 zation. 

11 (3) OVERSIGHT.—The Freedom News Network 

12 shall be subject to the appropriate oversight proce13 dures of Congress. 

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

15 first board of the Freedom News Network may not 

16 serve more than a 3-year term, and shall be replaced 

17 in accordance with the bylaws referred to in para18 graph (2) and the succession process described in 

19 paragraph (5). 

20 (5) SUCCESSION OF BOARD MEMBERS.—The 

21 board members of the first board of the Freedom 

22 News Network and all subsequent boards shall fill 

23 vacancies on the board due to death, resignation, re24 moval, or term expiration through an election proc25 ess described in the bylaws referred to in paragraph 


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1 (2) and in accordance with the principle of a ‘‘self2 replenishing’’ body. 

3 (6) SELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS.—The 

4 board members of the Freedom News Network may 

5 not be current employees or officers of RFE/RL In6 corporated, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East 

7 Broadcasting Networks, or the United States Inter8 national Communications Agency. 

9 (e) COMPENSATION OF BOARD AND OFFICERS OF

10 THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.—Members of the board 

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

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

13 members, except that such members may be reimbursed 

14 for reasonable expenses, such as board-related travel, in15 curred with approval of the board upon presentation of 

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

17 than the Chief Executive Officer, shall be eligible to re18 ceive compensation at a rate in excess of the annual rate 

19 of basic pay for level II on the Executive Schedule under 

20 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

21 (f) ABOLISHMENT OF EXISTING BOARDS.—The 

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

23 Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incor24 porated in existence on the day before the date of the en25 actment of this Act shall be abolished on the date of the 


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1 first official meeting of the first board of the Freedom 

2 News Network. 

3 (g) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—The Chief Execu4 tive Officer of the Freedom News Network shall serve at 

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

6 and be responsible for the day-to-day management and op7 erations of the Freedom News Network, including the se8 lection of individuals for management positions, ensuring 

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

10 circulars, providing strategic vision for the execution of its 

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

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

13 of its incorporation. 

14 (h) PLAN FOR CONSOLIDATION OF EXISTING INDI15 VIDUAL GRANTEES.— 

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

17 after the date of the first official meeting of the first 

18 board of the Freedom News Network, the chair of 

19 the board of the Freedom News Network shall sub20 mit a report to, and consult with, the appropriate 

21 congressional committees on the plan to consolidate 

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

23 Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated 

24 into a single non-Federal grantee organization. 


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1 (2) COMPONENTS.—The consolidation plan re2 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall include the following 

3 components: 

4 (A) The location and distribution of em5 ployees, including administrative, managerial, 

6 and technical staff, of the Freedom News Net7 work that will be located within and outside the 

8 metropolitan area of Washington, D.C. 

9 (B) An organizational chart identifying the 

10 managerial and supervisory lines of authority 

11 among all employees of the Freedom News Net12 work, including the members of the board and 

13 chair. 

14 (3) TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

15 than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act, the chair of the board of the Freedom News 

17 Network shall fully implement the consolidation plan 

18 referred to in paragraph (1) after consultation with 

19 the appropriate congressional committees. 

20 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 

21 date on which initial funding is provided for the pur22 pose of operating the Freedom News Network, the 

23 chair of the board of the Freedom News Network 

24 shall submit to the appropriate congressional com25 mittees a report that details the following: 


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1 (A) Whether the Freedom News Network 

2 is technically sound and cost-effective. 

3 (B) Whether the Freedom News Network 

4 consistently meets the standards for quality and 

5 impact established by this title. 

6 (C) Whether the Freedom News Network 

7 is receiving a sufficient audience to warrant its 

8 continued operation. 

9 (D) The extent to which the Freedom 

10 News Network’s programming and content is 

11 already being received by the target audience 

12 from other credible indigenous or external 

13 sources. 

14 (E) The extent to which the broad foreign 

15 policy and national security interests of the 

16 United States are being served by maintaining 

17 operations of the Freedom News Network. 

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

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The annual budget of the Free20 dom News Network shall consist of the following: 

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

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

23 Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Net24 works, Incorporated before the date of the enact25 ment of this Act. 


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1 (2) Any grants or transfers from other Federal 

2 agencies. 

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

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

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

6 and in accordance with applicable laws and the mission 

7 of the Freedom News Network under section 212 and eli8 gible broadcast areas under section 6, collect and utilize 

9 non-Federal funds, except that the Freedom News Net10 work may not accept funds from the following: 

11 (1) Any foreign governments or foreign govern12 ment officials. 

13 (2) Any agents, representatives, or surrogates 

14 of any foreign government or foreign government of15 ficial. 

16 (3) Any foreign-owned corporations or any sub17 sidiaries of any foreign-owned corporation, regard18 less of whether such subsidiary is United States19 owned. 

20 (4) Any foreign national or individual who is 

21 not either a citizen or a legal permanent resident of 

22 the United States. 

23 (c) ANNUAL STRATEGIC PLAN OF THE FREEDOM

24 NEWS NETWORK.—The Freedom News Network shall 

25 submit to the appropriate congressional committees and 


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1 the United States International Communications Agency 

2 an annual strategic plan to satisfy the requirements speci3 fied in section 110. Each such strategic plan shall outline 

4 the following: 

5 (1) The strategic goals and objectives of the 

6 Freedom News Network for the upcoming fiscal 

7 year. 

8 (2) The alignment of the Freedom News Net9 work’s resources with the strategic goals and objec10 tives referred to in paragraph (1). 

11 (3) Clear benchmarks that establish the 

12 progress made towards achieving the strategic goals 

13 and objectives referred to in paragraph (1). 

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

15 of the Freedom News Network’s broadcasting ef16 forts. 

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

18 past fiscal year. 

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

20 ownership that would result in the relocation of staff 

21 or personnel. 

22 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that administrative and managerial costs for oper24 ation of the Freedom News Network should be kept to 

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


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1 not exceed the costs that would have been incurred if 

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

3 East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated had been oper4 ated as independent grantees or as a Federal entity within 

5 the Voice of America. 

6 SEC. 223. ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER GOVERNMENT AGEN7 CIES. 

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

9 Freedom News Network in carrying out the provisions of 

10 this title, any agency or instrumentality of the United 

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

12 interests therein) to the Freedom News Network as nec13 essary. 

14 (b) FACILITIES AND BROADCASTING INFRASTRUC15 TURE.—The United States International Communications 

16 Agency and the Freedom News Network shall negotiate 

17 an International Cooperative Administrative Support 

18 Service (ICASS) agreement or memorandum of under19 standing permitting the continued use of technological in20 frastructure for broadcasting and information dissemina21 tion, except that the Freedom News Network may choose 

22 to procure such services through negotiated contracts with 

23 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, 1 percent of the funds made avail7 able by the United States International Communications 

8 Agency shall be transferred to the Inspector General of 

9 the Department of State to cover the expenses of carrying 

10 out the activities of the Inspector General under this sec11 tion. 

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), by striking ‘‘Di7 rector of the United States Information Agen8 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Executive Officer of 

9 the United States International Communica10 tions Agency’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘Broadcasting Board of Governors’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘United States International Communica14 tions Agency’’; 

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

16 1474), by striking ‘‘Director of the United States 

17 Information Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Executive 

18 Officer of the United States International Commu19 nications Agency’’; 

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

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

22 by striking ‘‘United States Information Agen23 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘United States International 

24 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. 


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1 SEC. 302. REQUIREMENT FOR AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO2 PRIATIONS. 

3 (a) LIMITATION ON OBLIGATION AND EXPENDITURE

4 OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

5 for the fiscal year 2015 and for each subsequent fiscal 

6 year, any funds appropriated for the purposes of broad7 casting subject to supervision of the Board of the United 

8 States International Communications Agency shall not be 

9 available for obligation or expenditure— 

10 (1) unless such funds are appropriated pursu11 ant to an authorization of appropriations; or 

12 (2) in excess of the authorized level of appro13 priations. 

14 (b) SUBSEQUENT AUTHORIZATION.—The limitation 

15 under subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to the 

16 extent that an authorization of appropriations is enacted 

17 after such funds are appropriated. 

18 (c) APPLICATION.—The provisions of this section— 

19 (1) may not be superseded, except by a provi20 sion of law which specifically repeals, modifies, or 

21 supersedes the provisions of this section; and 

22 (2) shall not apply to, or affect in any manner, 

23 permanent appropriations, trust funds, and other 


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1 similar accounts which are authorized by law and 

2 administered under or pursuant to this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 28, 2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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