I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4490 

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

international communications, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2014 

Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 

ROHRABACHER, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. KEATING, and Mr. 

SALMON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To enhance the missions, objectives, and effectiveness of 

United States international communications, and for 

other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘United States International Communications Reform Act 

6 of 2014’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; Table of contents. 


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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; 

temporary exception for Sub-Saharan Africa; exception for 

broadcasting to Cuba. 

Sec. 125. Director of Voice of America. 

Subtitle C—General Provisions 

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

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

International Communications Agency and the Freedom News 

Network during international broadcast surges. 

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

disposal of radio or television broadcast transmission facilities 

or equipment. 

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

Sec. 135. Effective date. 


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TITLE II—THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK 

Sec. 201. Sense of Congress. 

Subtitle A—Consolidation of Existing Grantee Organizations 

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

Sec. 212. Mission of the Freedom News Network. 

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

Subtitle B—Organization of the Freedom News Network 

Sec. 221. Governance of the Freedom News Network. 

Sec. 222. Budget of the Freedom News Network. 

Sec. 223. Assistance from other Government agencies. 

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

State; audits by GAO. 

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

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS. 

2 Congress finds and declares the following: 

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

8 lack a free media. 

9 (2) Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of 

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

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

12 ‘‘this right includes freedom to hold opinions without 

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

15 of frontiers’’. 

16 (3) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified 

17 before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 


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1 House of Representatives on January 23, 2013, that 

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

3 practically a defunct agency in terms of its capacity 

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

5 we’re abdicating the ideological arena and need to 

6 get back into it.’’. 

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

8 to oversee the United States international broad9 casting in the wake of the Cold War, has, because 

10 of structural and managerial issues, had limited suc11 cess to date in both coordinating the various compo12 nents of the international broadcasting framework 

13 and managing the day-to-day operations of the Fed14 eral components of the international broadcasting 

15 framework. 

16 (5) The lack of regular attendance by board 

17 members and a periodic inability to form a quorum 

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

19 functionally incapable of running the agency. 

20 (6) The board of governors has only achieved 

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

22 17 years of existence, which highlights the difficul23 ties of confirming and retaining governors under the 

24 current structure. 


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

2 Inspector General and the Government Account3 ability Office have issued reports which outline a se4 verely dysfunctional organizational structure of the 

5 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 

6 (8) The Inspector General of the Department of 

7 State concluded in its January 2013 report that dys8 function of the BBG stems from ‘‘a flawed legisla9 tive structure and acute internal dissension’’. 

10 (9) The Inspector General of the Department of 

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

12 part-time members ‘‘cannot effectively supervise all 

13 United States Government-supported, civilian inter14 national broadcasting’’, and its involvement in day15 to-day operations has impeded normal management 

16 functions. 

17 (10) The Government Accountability Office re18 port determined that there was significant overlap 

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

20 BBG did not systematically consider the financial 

21 cost of overlap. 

22 (11) According to the Office of the Inspector 

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

24 compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, 

25 lacks appropriate contract oversight, and violates the 


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1 Anti-Deficiency Act. The Office of the Inspector 

2 General also determined that the Broadcasting 

3 Board of Governors has not adequately performed 

4 full and open competitions or price determinations, 

5 has entered into hundreds of personal service con6 tracts without statutory authority, and contractors 

7 regularly work without valid contracts in place. 

8 (12) The size and make-up of the BBG work9 force should be closely examined, given the agency’s 

10 broader broadcasting and technical mission, as well 

11 as changing media technologies. 

12 (13) The BBG should be structured to ensure 

13 that more taxpayer dollars are dedicated to the sub14 stantive, broadcasting, and information-related ele15 ments of the agency’s mission. 

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

17 mission of the Voice of America has led to program18 ming that duplicates the efforts of the Office of 

19 Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, RFE/RL, In20 corporated, and the Middle East Broadcasting Net21 work that results in inefficient use of tax-payer 

22 funding. 

23 (15) The annual survey conducted by the 

24 ‘‘Partnership for Public Service’’ consistently ranks 

25 the Broadcasting Board of Governors at or near the 


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

2 best places to work’’ and ‘‘the extent to which em3 ployees feel their skills and talents are used effec4 tively.’’. The consistency of these low scores point to 

5 structural, cultural, and functional problems at the 

6 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 

7 (16) The Federal and non-Federal organiza8 tions that comprise the United States international 

9 broadcasting framework have different, yet com10 plementary, missions that necessitate coordination at 

11 all levels of management. 

12 (17) The Broadcasting Board of Governors has 

13 an overabundance of senior civil service positions, 

14 defined here as full-time employees encumbering 

15 GS–14 and GS–15 positions on the General Sched16 ule pay scale. 

17 (18) United States international broadcasting 

18 should seek to leverage public-private partnerships, 

19 including the licensing of content and the use of 

20 technology owned or operated by non-governmental 

21 sources, where possible to expand outreach capacity. 

22 (19) Congressional action is necessary at this 

23 time to improve international broadcasting oper24 ations, strengthen the United States public diplo25 macy efforts, enhance the grantee surrogate broadVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:03 Apr 29, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4490.IH H4490

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1 casting effort, restore focus to news, programming, 

2 and content, and maximize the value of Federal and 

3 non-Federal resources that are dedicated to public 

4 diplomacy and international broadcasting. 

5 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

6 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

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

8 comprehensive news and information to societies 

9 that lack freedom of expression and information. 

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

11 flexibility of United States international broad12 casting to allow it to adapt to constantly changing 

13 political and media environments through clarifica14 tion of missions, improved coordination, and organi15 zational restructuring. 

16 (3) To coordinate the complementary efforts of 

17 the Department of State and United States inter18 national broadcasting. 

19 (4) To create a United States international 

20 broadcasting framework that more effectively 

21 leverages the broadcasting tools available and cre22 ates specialization of expertise in mission oriented 

23 programming, while minimizing waste and ineffi24 ciency. 


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1 (5) To improve United States international 

2 broadcasting workforce effectiveness, security, and 

3 satisfaction. 

4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

10 Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on 

11 Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and 

12 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

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

14 non-Federal organization described in section 

15 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 

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

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

18 Act that receives Federal funding from the Broad19 casting Board of Governors, and includes Radio 

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

21 East Broadcasting Network. 

22 (3) FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.—The term 

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

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

25 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax 


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1 under section 501(a) of such Code that would re2 ceive Federal funding and be responsible for pro3 moting democratic freedoms and free media oper4 ations for foreign audiences in societies that lack 

5 freedom of expression and information, and con6 sisting of the consolidation of the grantee in accord7 ance with section 211. 

8 (4) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.—The term ‘‘public di9 plomacy’’ means the effort to achieve broad United 

10 States foreign policy goals and objectives, advance 

11 national interests, and enhance national security by 

12 informing and influencing foreign publics and by ex13 panding and strengthening the relationship between 

14 the people and Government of the United States and 

15 citizens of other countries. 

16 SEC. 5. BROADCASTING STANDARDS. 

17 United States international broadcasting shall incor18 porate the following standards into all of its broadcasting 

19 efforts: 

20 (1) Be consistent with the broad foreign policy 

21 objectives of the United States. 

22 (2) Be consistent with the international tele23 communications policies and treaty obligations of the 

24 United States. 


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1 (3) Not duplicate the activities of private 

2 United States broadcasters. 

3 (4) Be conducted in accordance with the high4 est professional standards of broadcast journalism 

5 while remaining consistent with and supportive of 

6 the broad foreign policy objectives of the United 

7 States. 

8 (5) Be based on reliable, research-based infor9 mation, both quantitative and qualitative, about its 

10 potential audience. 

11 (6) Be designed so as to effectively reach a sig12 nificant audience. 

13 (7) Promote freedom of expression, religion, 

14 and respect for human rights and human equality. 

15 SEC. 6. ELIGIBLE BROADCAST AREAS. 

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

17 International Communications Agency and the Board of 

18 the Freedom News Network shall ensure that United 

19 States international broadcasting is conducted only to 

20 countries and regions that— 

21 (1) lack democratic rule, or the indicia of demo22 cratic rule, such as demonstrable proof of free and 

23 fair elections; 

24 (2) lack the legal and political environment that 

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1 ate free from Government-led or permitted harass2 ment, intimidation, retribution, and from economic 

3 impediments to the development, production, and 

4 dissemination of news and related programming and 

5 content; 

6 (3) lack established, domestic, and widely acces7 sible media that provide accurate, objective, and 

8 comprehensive news and related programming and 

9 content; and 

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

11 subsection, would benefit the national security and 

12 related interests of the United States, and the safety 

13 and security of United States citizens at home and 

14 abroad. 

15 (b) EXCEPTION.—The United States International 

16 Communications Agency and the Freedom News Network 

17 may broadcast to countries that fall outside of the criteria 

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

19 of the Agency and the Freedom News Network, in con20 sultation with the Secretary of State, determine it is in 

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

22 the interests of preserving the safety and security of 

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


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1 TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT, OR2 GANIZATION, AND MANAGE3 MENT OF THE UNITED 

4 STATES INTERNATIONAL 

5 COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY 

6 Subtitle A—Establishment of the 

7 United States International 

8 Communications Agency 

9 SEC. 101. EXISTENCE WITHIN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH. 

10 The United States International Communications 

11 Agency shall exist within the executive branch of Govern12 ment as an independent establishment described in section 

13 104 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

15 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

16 AGENCY. 

17 (a) COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF THE UNITED

18 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY.— 

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

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

21 International Communications Agency shall consist 

22 of nine members, as follows: 

23 (A) Eight voting members who shall be ap24 pointed by the President, by and with the ad25 vice and consent of the Senate. 


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

2 be a voting member. 

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

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

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

6 the Senate. 

7 (3) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Exclusive of the 

8 Secretary of State, not more than four members of 

9 the Board shall be of the same political party. 

10 (4) RETENTION OF EXISTING BBG MEMBERS.— 

11 The presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed 

12 members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors 

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

14 shall constitute the Board of the United States 

15 International Communications Agency and hold of16 fice the remainder of their original terms of office 

17 without reappointment to the Board. 

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

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

20 Secretary of State shall remain a member of the Board 

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

3 which case the members so appointed shall serve for the 

4 remainder of such term. Members may not serve beyond 

5 their terms. When there is no Secretary of State, the Act6 ing Secretary of State shall serve as a member of the 

7 Board until a Secretary is appointed. 

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

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

10 full-time employees of the United States Government. 

11 Such members shall be selected by the President from 

12 among citizens distinguished in the fields of public diplo13 macy, mass communications, print, broadcast media, or 

14 foreign affairs. 

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

16 attending meetings of the Board or while engaged in du17 ties relating to such meetings or in other activities of the 

18 Board pursuant to this section (including travel time) 

19 shall be entitled to receive compensation equal to the daily 

20 equivalent of the compensation prescribed for level IV of 

21 the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 

22 United States Code. While away from their homes or reg23 ular places of business, members of the Board may be al24 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub25 sistence, in accordance with section 5703 of such title for 


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1 persons in the Government service employed intermit2 tently. The Secretary of State shall not be entitled to any 

3 compensation under this chapter. 

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

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

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

7 time a decision of the Board is made. 

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

9 States International Communications Agency shall adhere 

10 to the provisions specified in the Government in the Sun11 shine Act (Public Law 94–409). 

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

13 THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL COM14 MUNICATIONS AGENCY. 

15 The Board of the United States International Com16 munications Agency shall have the following authorities: 

17 (1) To review and evaluate the mission and op18 eration of, and to assess the quality, effectiveness, 

19 and professional integrity of, all programming pro20 duced by the United States International Commu21 nications Agency to ensure alignment with the broad 

22 foreign policy objectives of the United States. 

23 (2) To ensure that broadcasting of the United 

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1 ducted in accordance with the standards specified in 

2 section 5. 

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

4 Chief Executive of the United States International 

5 Communications Agency, at least annually, in con6 sultation with the Secretary of State, the necessity 

7 of adding or deleting of language services of the 

8 Agency. 

9 (4) To submit to the President and Congress 

10 an annual report which summarizes and evaluates 

11 activities of the United States International Commu12 nications Agency described in this title. 

13 SEC. 104. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFI14 CER OF THE UNITED STATES INTER15 NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY. 

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

17 Officer of the United States International Communica18 tions Agency, appointed by the Board of the Agency for 

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

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

21 governing appointments, classification, and compensation. 

22 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chief Executive Officer 

23 shall be selected from among United States citizens with 

24 two or more of the following qualifications: 


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1 (1) A distinguished career in managing a large 

2 organization or Federal agency. 

3 (2) Experience in the field of mass communica4 tions, print, or broadcast media. 

5 (3) Experience in foreign affairs or inter6 national relations. 

7 (4) Experience in directing United States public 

8 diplomacy programs. 

9 (c) TERMINATION AND TRANSFER.—Immediately 

10 upon appointment of the Chief Executive Officer under 

11 subsection (a), the Director of the International Broad12 casting Bureau shall be terminated, and all of the respon13 sibilities and authorities of the Director shall be trans14 ferred to and assumed by the Chief Executive Officer. 

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

16 Chief Executive Officer under subsection (a) may be re17 moved upon a two-thirds majority vote of the members 

18 of the Board of the United States International Commu19 nications Agency then serving. 

20 (e) COMPENSATION OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF21 FICER.—Any Chief Executive Officer of the United States 

22 International Communications Agency hired after the date 

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

24 compensation up to an annual rate of pay equivalent to 


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1 level I of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 

2 title 5, United States Code. 

3 SEC. 105. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE CHIEF EXECU4 TIVE OFFICER OF THE UNITED STATES 

5 INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY. 

6 (a) DUTIES.—The Chief Executive Officer under sec7 tion 104 shall direct operations of the United States Inter8 national Communications Agency and shall have the fol9 lowing non-delegable authorities, subject to the super10 vision of the Board of the United States International 

11 Communications Agency: 

12 (1) To supervise all Federal broadcasting activi13 ties conducted pursuant to title V of the United 

14 States Information and Educational Exchange Act 

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

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

17 Act. 

18 (2) To make and ensure compliance with the 

19 terms and conditions of the grant agreement in ac20 cordance with section 110. 

21 (3) To review engineering activities to ensure 

22 that all broadcasting elements receive the highest 

23 quality and cost-effective delivery services. 

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1 ties under the authority of the United States Inter2 national Communications Agency could be made 

3 more efficient and economical. 

4 (5) To the extent considered necessary to carry 

5 out the functions of the Board, procure supplies, 

6 services, and other personal property, as well as pro7 curement pursuant to section 1535 of title 31, 

8 United States Code (commonly referred to as the 

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

10 other Federal agencies for the Board as the Board 

11 determines are appropriate. 

12 (6) To appoint such staff personnel for the 

13 Board as the Board may determine to be necessary, 

14 subject to the provisions of title 5, United States 

15 Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

16 service, and to fix their compensation in accordance 

17 with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 

18 of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification 

19 and General Schedule pay rates. 

20 (7) To obligate and expend, for official recep21 tion and representation expenses, such amounts as 

22 may be made available through appropriations Acts. 

23 (8) To make available in the annual reports re24 quired under section 103 information on funds ex25 pended on administrative and managerial services by 


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1 the Board of the United States Communications 

2 Agency, and the steps the Board has taken to re3 duce unnecessary overhead costs for each of the 

4 broadcasting services. 

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

6 Government broadcasting capacity to the Freedom 

7 News Network. 

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

9 personal services to the same extent as is authorized 

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

11 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the rate 

12 provided for positions classified above grade GS–15 

13 of the General Schedule under section 5108 of such 

14 title. 

15 (B) To allow those individuals providing 

16 such services, while away from their homes or 

17 their regular places of business, travel expenses 

18 (including per diem in lieu of subsistence) as 

19 authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United 

20 States Code, for persons in the Government 

21 service employed intermittently, while so em22 ployed. 

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

24 V, VII, VIII, IX, and X of the United States Infor25 mation and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 


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1 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), and section 6 of Reorganiza2 tion Plan Number 2 of 1977, as in effect on the day 

3 before the effective date of title XIII of the Foreign 

4 Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1998, to the 

5 extent the Board considers necessary to carry out 

6 the provisions and purposes of this Act. 

7 (12) To utilize the authorities of any other stat8 ute, reorganization plan, executive order, regulation, 

9 agreement, determination, or other official document 

10 or proceeding that had been available to the Director 

11 of the United States Information Agency, the Inter12 national Broadcasting Bureau, or the Board of the 

13 Broadcasting Board of Governors before the date of 

14 the enactment of this Act. 

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

16 and secondary school expenses for dependents of 

17 personnel stationed in the Commonwealth of the 

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

19 exceed expenses authorized by the Department of 

20 Defense for such schooling for dependents of mem21 bers of the Armed Forces stationed in the Common22 wealth, if the Board determines that schools avail23 able in the Commonwealth are unable to provide 

24 adequately for the education of the dependents of 

25 such personnel. 


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1 (B) To provide transportation for depend2 ents of such personnel between their places of 

3 residence and those schools for which expenses 

4 are provided under subparagraph (A), if the 

5 Board determines that such schools are not ac6 cessible by public means of transportation. 

7 (b) CONSULTATIONS.—The Chief Executive Officer 

8 of the United States International Communications Agen9 cy shall regularly consult with the Chief Executive Officer 

10 of the Freedom News Network and the Secretary of State 

11 as described in sections 108 and 109. 

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

13 To assist the Board of the United States Inter14 national Communications Agency in carrying out its func15 tions, the Secretary of State shall provide to the Board 

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

17 guidance on United States foreign policy and public diplo18 macy priorities, as the Secretary determines appropriate. 

19 SEC. 107. ROLE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the De21 partment of State and the Foreign Service shall exercise 

22 the same authorities with respect to the United States 

23 International Communications Agency and the Freedom 

24 News Network as the Inspector General exercises under 


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1 the Inspector General Act of 1978 with respect to the De2 partment and the Foreign Service. 

3 (b) JOURNALIST INTEGRITY.—The Inspector General 

4 of the Department of State shall respect the journalistic 

5 integrity of all the broadcasters covered by this Act and 

6 may not evaluate the philosophical or political perspectives 

7 reflected in the content of the broadcasts of such broad8 casters. 

9 SEC. 108. ENHANCED COORDINATION BETWEEN UNITED 

10 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

11 AGENCY AND THE FREEDOM NEWS NET12 WORK; PROGRAM CONTENT SHARING; 

13 GRANTEE INDEPENDENCE. 

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

15 Executive Officer of the United States International Com16 munications Agency shall meet at least on a quarterly 

17 basis with the chair and Chief Executive Officer, as identi18 fied in section 221, of the Freedom News Network to dis19 cuss mutual issues of concern, including the following: 

20 (1) The strategic direction of their respective 

21 organizations, including target audiences. 

22 (2) Languages of information transmission. 

23 (3) Prioritization of funding allocations. 

24 (4) Areas for greater collaboration. 

25 (5) Elimination of programming overlap. 


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1 (6) Efficiencies that can be realized through 

2 best practices and lessons learned. 

3 (7) Sharing of program content. 

4 (b) INFORMATION SHARING.—The Chief Executive 

5 Officer of the United States International Broadcasting 

6 Agency and the Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom 

7 News Network shall share all strategic planning docu8 ments, including the following: 

9 (1) Results monitoring and evaluation. 

10 (2) Annual planning documents. 

11 (3) Audience surveys conducted. 

12 (4) Budget formulation documents. 

13 (c) INDEPENDENCE OF FREEDOM NEWS NET14 WORK.—The United States International Communications 

15 Agency, while conducting management of the grant de16 scribed in section 110, shall avoid even the appearance of 

17 involvement in daily operations, decisions, and manage18 ment of the Freedom News Network, and ensure that the 

19 distinctions between the United States International Com20 munications Agency and Freedom News Network remain 

21 in accordance with this Act. 


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1 SEC. 109. ENHANCED COORDINATION AMONG THE UNITED 

2 STATES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS 

3 AGENCY, THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK, 

4 AND THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE; FREEDOM 

5 NEWS NETWORK INDEPENDENCE. 

6 (a) COORDINATION MEETINGS.—The Chief Execu7 tive Officer of the United States International Commu8 nications Agency and the Chief Executive Officer of the 

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

10 basis, with the Secretary of State to— 

11 (1) review and evaluate broadcast activities; 

12 (2) eliminate overlap of programming; and 

13 (3) determine long-term strategies for inter14 national broadcasting to ensure such strategies are 

15 in accordance with the broad foreign policy interests 

16 of the United States. 

17 (b) STRATEGIC PLANNING DOCUMENTS.—The Chief 

18 Executive Officer of the United States International Com19 munications Agency, the Chief Executive Officer of the 

20 Freedom News Network, and the Secretary of State shall 

21 share all relevant unclassified strategic planning docu22 ments produced by the Agency, the Freedom News Net23 work, and the Department of State. 

24 (c) FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK INDEPENDENCE.— 

25 The Department of State, while coordinating with the 

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


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1 shall avoid even the appearance of involvement in the daily 

2 operations, decisions, and management of the Freedom 

3 News Network. 

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

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

6 United States International Communications Agency shall 

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

8 or the Middle East Broadcasting Network only after the 

9 Chief Executive Officer of the Agency and the Chief Exec10 utive Officer of Freedom News Network certify to the ap11 propriate congressional committees that the headquarters 

12 of the Freedom News Network and its senior administra13 tive and managerial staff are in a location which ensures 

14 economy, operational effectiveness, and accountability, 

15 and the following conditions has been satisfied: 

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

17 and the Middle East Broadcasting Network have 

18 submitted to the Chief Executive Officer of the 

19 United States International Communications Agency 

20 a plan for consolidation and reconstitution as de21 scribed in section 211 under the new corporate name 

22 ‘‘Freedom News Network’’ with a single organiza23 tional structure and management framework, as de24 scribed in section 221. 


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1 (2) The necessary steps towards the consolida2 tion described in paragraph (1) have been com3 pleted, including the selection of a Board, Chair, and 

4 Chief Executive Officer for the Freedom News Net5 work, the establishment of bylaws to govern the 

6 Freedom News Network, and the filing of articles of 

7 incorporation. 

8 (3) A plan for content sharing has been devel9 oped in accordance with section 112(f). 

10 (4) A strategic plan for programming imple11 mentation has been developed in accordance with 

12 section 221(g). 

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

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

15 States International Communications Agency shall submit 

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

17 to the Freedom News Network. 

18 (c) LIMITATION ON GRANT AMOUNTS.—The total 

19 amount of grants made for the operating costs of the 

20 Freedom News Network may not exceed $270,000,000 in 

21 fiscal year 2015. 

22 (d) ALTERNATIVE GRANTEE.—If the Chief Executive 

23 Officer of the United States International Communica24 tions Agency, after consultation with the Board of the 

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1 termines at any time that the Freedom News Network is 

2 not carrying out the mission described in section 212 and 

3 adhering to the standards and principles described in sec4 tion 213 in an effective and economical manner for which 

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

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

7 another entity the grant at issue to carry out such func8 tions after soliciting and considering applications from eli9 gible entities in such manner and accompanied by such 

10 information as the Board may require. 

11 (e) NOT A FEDERAL ENTITY.—Nothing in this Act 

12 may be construed to make the Freedom News Network 

13 a Federal agency or instrumentality. 

14 (f) AUTHORITY.—Grants authorized under this sec15 tion for the United States International Communications 

16 Agency shall be available to make annual grants to the 

17 Freedom News Network for the purpose of carrying out 

18 the mission described in section 212 and adhering to the 

19 standards and principles described in section 213. 

20 (g) GRANT AGREEMENT.—Grants authorized under 

21 this section to the Freedom News Network by the Chief 

22 Executive Officer of the United States International Com23 munications Agency shall only be made in accordance with 

24 a grant agreement. Such grant agreement shall include 

25 the following provisions: 


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1 (1) A grant be used only for activities in ac2 cordance with carrying out the mission described in 

3 section 212 and adhering to the standards and prin4 ciples described in section 213. 

5 (2) The Freedom News Network shall comply 

6 with the requirements of this section. 

7 (3) Failure to comply with the requirements of 

8 this section may result in suspension or termination 

9 of a grant without further obligation by the United 

10 States International Communications Agency or the 

11 United States. 

12 (4) Use of broadcasting technology owned and 

13 operated by the United States International Commu14 nications Agency be made available through an 

15 International Cooperative Administrative Support 

16 Service (ICASS) agreement or memorandum of un17 derstanding. 

18 (5) The Freedom News Network shall, upon re19 quest, provide to the Chief Executive Officer of the 

20 United States International Communications Agency 

21 documentation which details the expenditure of any 

22 grant funds. 

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

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1 ments other than the requirements specified in this 

2 Act. 

3 (7) A grant may not be used to allocate re4 sources within the Freedom News Network in a 

5 manner that is inconsistent with the Freedom News 

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

7 (h) PROHIBITIONS ON THE USE OF GRANTS.— 

8 Grants authorized under this section may not be used for 

9 the following purposes: 

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

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

12 enter into any contract providing for the payment of 

13 salary or compensation, in excess of the rates estab14 lished for comparable positions under title 5, United 

15 States Code, or the foreign relations laws of the 

16 United States, except that no employee may be paid 

17 a salary or other compensation in excess of the rate 

18 of pay payable for level II of the Executive Schedule 

19 under section 5315 of such title. 

20 (B) Salary and other compensation limitations 

21 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect 

22 to any employee covered by a union agreement re23 quiring a salary or other compensation in excess of 

24 such limitations before the date of the enactment of 

25 this Act. 


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1 (C) Notwithstanding the limitations specified in 

2 subparagraph (A), grants authorized under this sec3 tion may be used by the Freedom News Network to 

4 pay up to six employees employed in the Wash5 ington, DC, area, salary or other compensation not 

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

7 Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, 

8 United States Code, except that such shall not apply 

9 to the Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom News 

10 Network in accordance with section 221(d). 

11 (2) For any activity intended to influence the 

12 passage or defeat of legislation being considered by 

13 Congress. 

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

15 severance payments for voluntary separation for em16 ployees hired after December 1, 1990, except as may 

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

18 country where such an employee is stationed. 

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

20 the Freedom News Network, or the relative of any 

21 such employee. 

22 SEC. 111. OTHER PERSONNEL AND COMPENSATION LIMITA23 TIONS. 

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

25 personnel restrictions described in subsection (c), the 


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1 Chief Executive Officer of the United States International 

2 Communications Agency shall have the discretion to deter3 mine the distribution of all personnel within the Agency, 

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

5 (b) LIMITATION ON COMPENSATION.— 

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

7 States International Communications Agency, other 

8 than the Chief Executive Officer or Director of the 

9 Voice of America, shall be eligible to receive com10 pensation at a rate in excess of step 10 of GS–15 

11 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 

12 5, United States Code. 

13 (2) EXCEPTION.—The limitation described in 

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

15 of the Board in accordance with section 102(d). 

16 (c) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN NEW EMPLOY17 MENT.— 

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

19 enactment of this Act and ending on the date that 

20 is five years after such date, the United States 

21 International Communications Agency may not fill 

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

23 compensated at an annual rate of basic pay for 

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

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


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1 including any currently filled position in which the 

2 incumbent resigns, retires, or otherwise leaves such 

3 position during the such five-year period. 

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

5 the United States International Communications 

6 Agency may waive the prohibition specified in para7 graph (1) if the position is determined essential to 

8 the functioning of the Agency and documented as 

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

10 necessary for the acquisition of skills or knowledge 

11 not sufficiently represented in the current workforce 

12 of the Agency. The Chief Executive Officer of the 

13 Agency shall consult with the appropriate congres14 sional committees before issuing a waiver under this 

15 paragraph. 

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) Details of how the structure and alignment 

11 of resources supports the fulfillment of the Agency’s 

12 mission and standards and principles as described in 

13 sections 5 and 122. 

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

15 all programming content between the United States 

16 International Communications Agency and the Free17 dom News Network, including making available for 

18 distribution all programming content licensed or pro19 duced by the Agency and the Freedom News Net20 work, and expanding the functionality of the plat21 forms already in existence, such as the web content 

22 management system ‘‘Pangea’’. 

23 (b) CONTRACTING REPORT.—The Chief Executive 

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1 gressional committees a report on the Agency’s compliance 

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

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

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

5 FAR requirement for publicizing contract actions, the use 

6 of any personal service contracts without explicit statutory 

7 authority, and processes for contract oversight in compli8 ance with the FAR. 

9 (c) LISTENERSHIP 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 that details the trans13 mission capacities, market penetration, and audience 

14 listenership of all mediums of international communication 

15 deployed by the United States International Communica16 tions Agency, including a plan for how target audiences 

17 can be reached if the first medium of delivery is unavail18 able. 

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

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

21 the United States shall submit to the appropriate congres22 sional committees a report that reviews the effectiveness 

23 of content sharing between the United States Inter24 national Communications Agency and the Freedom News 


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1 Network and makes recommendations on how content 

2 sharing can be improved. 

3 Subtitle B—The Voice of America 

4 SEC. 121. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) the Voice of America has been an indispen7 sable element of United States foreign policy and 

8 public diplomacy efforts since 1942, and should re9 main the flagship brand of the United States Inter10 national Communications Agency; 

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

12 source of accurate, objective, and comprehensive 

13 news and related programming and content for the 

14 millions of people around the world who cannot ob15 tain such news and related programming and con16 tent from indigenous media outlets; 

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

18 than seven decades has created valuable brand iden19 tity and international recognition that justifies the 

20 maintenance of the Voice of America; 

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

22 mission remains essential to broader United States 

23 Government efforts to communicate with foreign 

24 populations; and 


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1 (5) despite its tremendous historical success, 

2 the Voice of America would benefit substantially 

3 from a recalibration of Federal international broad4 casting agencies and resources, which would provide 

5 the Voice of America with greater mission focus and 

6 flexibility in the deployment of news, programming, 

7 and content. 

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

9 The Voice of America shall adhere to the following 

10 principles in the course of fulfilling its duties and respon11 sibilities: 

12 (1) Serving as a consistently reliable and au13 thoritative source of news on the United States, its 

14 policies, its people, and the international develop15 ments that affect the United States. 

16 (2) Providing accurate, objective, and com17 prehensive information, with the understanding that 

18 these three values provide credibility among global 

19 news audiences. 

20 (3) Presenting the official policies of the United 

21 States, and related discussions and opinions about 

22 those policies, clearly and effectively. 

23 (4) Representing the whole of the United 

24 States, and shall accordingly work to produce pro25 gramming and content that presents a balanced and 


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1 comprehensive projection of the diversity of thought 

2 and institutions of the United States. 

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

4 AMERICA. 

5 The Voice of America shall have the following duties 

6 and responsibilities: 

7 (1) Producing accurate, objective, and com8 prehensive news and related programming that is 

9 consistent with and promotes the broad foreign poli10 cies of the United States. 

11 (2) Producing news and related programming 

12 and content that accurately represents the diversity 

13 of thoughts and institutions of the United States as 

14 a whole. 

15 (3) Presenting the law and policies of the 

16 United States clearly and effectively. 

17 (4) Promoting the civil and responsible ex18 change of information and differences of opinion re19 garding policies, issues, and current events. 

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

21 programming and content available to the Freedom 

22 News Network for use and distribution. 

23 (6) Producing or otherwise allowing editorials, 

24 commentary, and programming, in consultation with 

25 the Department of State, that present the official 


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1 views of the United States Government and its offi2 cials. 

3 (7) Maximizing foreign national information ac4 cess through both the use of existing broadcasting 

5 tools and resources and the development and dis6 semination of circumvention technology. 

7 (8) Providing training and technical support for 

8 independent indigenous media and journalist enter9 prises in order to facilitate or enhance independent 

10 media environments and outlets abroad. 

11 (9) Reaching identified foreign audiences in 

12 local languages and dialects when possible. 

13 (10) Being capable of providing a broadcasting 

14 surge capacity under circumstances where overseas 

15 disasters, crises, or other events require increased or 

16 heightened international public diplomacy engage17 ment. 

18 SEC. 124. LIMITATION ON VOICE OF AMERICA NEWS, PRO19 GRAMMING, AND CONTENT; TEMPORARY EX20 CEPTION FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA; EXCEP21 TION FOR BROADCASTING TO CUBA. 

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

23 (b) and (c), the Voice of America shall be limited to pro24 viding reporting in accordance with its public diplomacy 

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1 formation, and producing related original programming 

2 and content, including coverage of United States foreign 

3 policy, international organizations, and international eco4 nomic developments. 

5 (b) TEMPORARY EXCEPTION FOR SUB-SAHARAN AF6 RICA.—The Voice of America may provide original report7 ing on regional and local developments in sub-Saharan Af8 rica in accordance with the mission of the Freedom News 

9 Network specified in section 212 until such time as the 

10 Freedom News Network begins broadcasts to sub-Saharan 

11 Africa at which time the Voice of America shall revert 

12 back to the principles specified in section 122. 

13 (c) EXCEPTION FOR BROADCASTING TO CUBA.— 

14 Radio Marti and Television Marti, which constitute the 

15 Office of Cuba Broadcasting, shall continue programming 

16 and content production consistent with the mission and 

17 activities as described in the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba 

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

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

20 within the Voice of America of the United States Inter21 national Communications Agency. 

22 SEC. 125. DIRECTOR OF VOICE OF AMERICA. 

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

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1 cuting the duties and responsibilities of the Voice of Amer2 ica described in subsection (b). 

3 (b) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director 

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

5 of the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Inter6 national Communications Agency carry out the following 

7 duties and responsibilities: 

8 (1) Determine the organizational structure of, 

9 and personnel allocation or relocation within, the 

10 Voice of America, subject to section 105. 

11 (2) Make recommendations to the Chief Execu12 tive Officer of the United States International Com13 munications Agency regarding the production, devel14 opment, and termination of Voice of America news 

15 programming and content. 

16 (3) Make recommendations to the Chief Execu17 tive Officer of the United States International Com18 munications Agency about the establishment, termi19 nation, prioritization, and adjustments of language 

20 services utilized by the Voice of America to reach its 

21 international audience. 

22 (4) Allocate funding and material resources 

23 under the jurisdiction of the Voice of America for 

24 the furtherance of the other duties and responsibil25 ities established under this subsection. 


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

2 America, including programming content. 

3 (c) APPOINTMENT AND QUALIFICATIONS OF DIREC4 TOR.— 

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

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

7 shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief Executive Of8 ficer of the United States International Communica9 tions Agency. 

10 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to be ap11 pointed Director of the Voice of America, a person 

12 shall have at least two of the following qualifications: 

13 (A) Prior, extensive experience managing 

14 or operating a private-sector media or journalist 

15 enterprise. 

16 (B) Prior, extensive experience managing 

17 or operating a large organization. 

18 (C) Prior, extensive experience engaged in 

19 mass media or journalist program development, 

20 including the development of circumvention 

21 technologies. 

22 (D) Prior, extensive experience engaged in 

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1 nalists and the promotion of democratic institu2 tional reforms abroad. 

3 (3) COMPENSATION.—Any Director who is 

4 hired after the date of the enactment of this Act 

5 shall be entitled to receive compensation at a rate 

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

7 the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 

8 5, United States Code. 

9 Subtitle C—General Provisions 

10 SEC. 131. FEDERAL AGENCY COORDINATION IN SUPPORT 

11 OF UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY. 

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

13 International Communications Agency and the Freedom 

14 News Network shall conduct periodic, unclassified con15 sultations with the Department of State, the United 

16 States Agency for International Development, the Depart17 ment of Defense, and the Office of the Director of Na18 tional Intelligence, for the purpose of assessing the fol19 lowing: 

20 (1) Progress toward democratization, the devel21 opment of free and independent media outlets, and 

22 the free flow of information in countries that receive 

23 programming and content from the United States 

24 International Communications Agency and the Free25 dom News Network. 


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1 (2) Foreign languages that have increased or 

2 decreased in strategic importance, and the factors 

3 supporting such assessments. 

4 (3) Any other international developments, in5 cluding developments with regional or country-spe6 cific significance, that might be of value in assisting 

7 the United States International Communications 

8 Agency and the Freedom News Network in the de9 velopment of their programming and content. 

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

11 International Communications Agency shall use the un12 classified consultations required under subsection (a) as 

13 guidance for its distribution and calibration of Federal re14 sources in support of United States public diplomacy. 

15 SEC. 132. FEDERAL AGENCY ASSISTANCE AND COORDINA16 TION WITH THE UNITED STATES INTER17 NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY AND 

18 THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK DURING 

19 INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST SURGES. 

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

21 the Chair of the Board of the United States International 

22 Communications Agency, Federal agency heads shall as23 sist and coordinate with the Agency to facilitate a tem24 porary broadcasting surge or enhance transmission capacVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:03 Apr 29, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4490.IH H4490

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1 ity for such a temporary broadcasting surge for the Agen2 cy, the Freedom News Network, or both. 

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

4 Federal agency heads shall assist or coordinate with the 

5 United States International Communications Agency by— 

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

7 of— 

8 (A) United States Government-owned 

9 transmission capacity, including the use of 

10 transmission facilities, equipment, resources, 

11 and personnel; and 

12 (B) other non-transmission-related United 

13 States Government-owned facilities, equipment, 

14 resources, and personnel; 

15 (2) communicating and coordinating with for16 eign host governments on behalf of, or in conjunc17 tion with, the Agency or the Freedom News Net18 work; 

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

20 in-country security services for the safety and pro21 tection of Agency or Freedom News Network per22 sonnel; and 

23 (4) providing or facilitating access to any other 

24 United States Government-owned resources. 


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1 (c) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other provi2 sion of law, neither Federal agency heads nor their agen3 cies shall receive any reimbursement or compensatory ap4 propriations for complying with implementing this section. 

5 SEC. 133. FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK RIGHT OF FIRST RE6 FUSAL IN INSTANCES OF FEDERAL DISPOSAL 

7 OF RADIO OR TELEVISION BROADCAST 

8 TRANSMISSION FACILITIES OR EQUIPMENT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi10 sion of law, it shall be the policy of the United States 

11 International Communications Agency to, in the event it 

12 intends to dispose of any radio or television broadcast 

13 transmission facilities or equipment, provide the Freedom 

14 News Network with the right of first refusal with respect 

15 to the acquisition of such facilities and equipment. 

16 (b) TRANSFER AND DISPOSAL.—Pursuant to sub17 section (a)— 

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

19 willing to accept the facilities and equipment re20 ferred to in such subsection, the United States 

21 International Communications Agency shall transfer 

22 to the Freedom News Network such facilities and 

23 equipment at no cost to the Freedom News Net24 work; or 


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1 (2) in the event the Freedom News Network 

2 opts to not accept such facilities and equipment, the 

3 United States International Communications Agency 

4 may sell such facilities and equipment at market 

5 price, and retain any revenue from such sales. 

6 (c) RULES REGARDING CERTAIN FUNDS.—Pursuant 

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

8 States International Communications Agency shall derive 

9 from such sales— 

10 (1) shall not negatively impact subsequent ap11 propriations to the Agency; and 

12 (2) shall be used entirely for the purposes or re13 search, development, and deployment of innovative 

14 broadcasting or circumvention technology. 

15 SEC. 134. REPEAL OF THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL 

16 BROADCASTING ACT OF 1994. 

17 The United States International Broadcasting Act of 

18 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.; title III of Public Law 103– 

19 236) is repealed. 

20 SEC. 135. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

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


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1 TITLE II—THE FREEDOM NEWS 

2 NETWORK 

3 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that RFE/RL, Incor5 porated, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broad6 casting Network share a common mission with distinct ge7 ographic foci, and should therefore be merged into a single 

8 organization, with distinct marketing brands to provide 

9 the news and related programming and content in coun10 tries where free media are not established. 

11 Subtitle A—Consolidation of 

12 Existing Grantee Organizations 

13 SEC. 211. FORMATION OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK 

14 FROM EXISTING GRANTEES. 

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

16 section 110 are satisfied, the Freedom News Network, 

17 comprised of the consolidation of RFE/RL Incorporated, 

18 Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Net19 work, shall exist to carry out all international broadcasting 

20 activities supported by the United States Government, in 

21 accordance with sections 212 and 213. 

22 (b) MAINTENANCE OF THE EXISTING INDIVIDUAL

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

24 Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Network shall re25 main brand names under which news and related proVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:03 Apr 29, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4490.IH H4490

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1 gramming and content may be disseminated by the Free2 dom News Network. Additional brands may be created as 

3 necessary. 

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

5 The Freedom News Network established under sec6 tion 211 shall— 

7 (1) provide uncensored local and regional news 

8 and analysis to people in societies where a robust, 

9 indigenous, independent, and free media does not 

10 exist; 

11 (2) strengthen civil societies by projecting 

12 democratic values and promoting equality and the 

13 rights of the individual; 

14 (3) help countries improve their indigenous ca15 pacity to enhance media professionalism and inde16 pendence, and develop partnerships with local media 

17 outlets, as appropriate; and 

18 (4) promote access to uncensored sources of in19 formation, especially via the internet, and use all ef20 fective and efficient mediums of communication to 

21 reach target audiences. 

22 SEC. 213. STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES OF THE FREEDOM 

23 NEWS NETWORK. 

24 The broadcasting of the Freedom News Network 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) be consistent with the broad foreign policy 

2 objectives of the United States; 

3 (2) be consistent with the international tele4 communications policies and treaty obligations of the 

5 United States; 

6 (3) be conducted in accordance with the highest 

7 professional standards of broadcast journalism; 

8 (4) be based on reliable information about its 

9 potential audience; 

10 (5) be designed so as to effectively reach a sig11 nificant audience; and 

12 (6) prioritize programming to populations in 

13 countries without independent indigenous media out14 lets. 

15 Subtitle B—Organization of the 

16 Freedom News Network 

17 SEC. 221. GOVERNANCE OF THE FREEDOM NEWS NET18 WORK. 

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

20 A board shall oversee the Freedom News Network and 

21 consist of nine individuals with a demonstrated back22 ground in media or the promotion of democracy and expe23 rience in measuring media impact. 

24 (b) COMPOSITION OF FIRST BOARD OF THE FREE25 DOM NEWS NETWORK.—Not later than 90 days after the 


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1 date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairs and Ranking 

2 Members of the appropriate congressional committees 

3 shall identify and appoint candidates for the first board 

4 of the Freedom News Network, direct the appointment of 

5 board members, and select the first chair of the board of 

6 the Freedom News Network as follows: 

7 (1) Two individuals shall be appointed by the 

8 Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

9 House of Representatives. 

10 (2) Two individuals shall be appointed by the 

11 Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Af12 fairs of the House of Representatives. 

13 (3) Two individuals shall be appointed by the 

14 Chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

15 Senate. 

16 (4) Two individuals shall be appointed by the 

17 Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Rela18 tions of the Senate. 

19 (5) One individual shall be appointed by con20 sensus of the Chairs and Ranking Members of the 

21 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep22 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela23 tions of the Senate. 

24 (c) OPERATIONS OF THE FIRST BOARD OF THE

25 FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The board members of the 

2 first board of the Freedom News Network shall de3 termine the bylaws, select the Chief Executive Offi4 cer of the Freedom News Network, and file articles 

5 of incorporation under the corporate name ‘‘Free6 dom News Network’’. The first board of the Free7 dom News Network may change the organization’s 

8 name in accordance with such bylaws. 

9 (2) TERM LIMITS.—The board members of the 

10 first board of the Freedom News Network may not 

11 serve more than a three-year term, and shall be re12 placed in accordance with the bylaws referred to in 

13 paragraph (1) and the succession process described 

14 in paragraph (3). 

15 (3) SUCCESSION OF BOARD MEMBERS.—The 

16 board members of the first board of the Freedom 

17 News Network and all subsequent boards shall fill 

18 vacancies on the board due to death, resignation, re19 moval, or term expiration through an election proc20 ess described in the bylaws referred to in paragraph 

21 (1) and in accordance with the principle of a ‘‘self22 replenishing’’ body. 

23 (d) COMPENSATION OF BOARD AND OFFICERS OF

24 THE FREEDOM NEWS NETWORK.—Members of the board 

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


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

2 members, except that such members may be reimbursed 

3 for reasonable expenses, such as board-related travel, in4 curred with approval of the board upon presentation of 

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

6 than the Chief Executive Officer, shall be eligible to re7 ceive compensation at a rate in excess of the annual rate 

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

9 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (e) ABOLISHMENT OF EXISTING BOARDS.—The 

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

12 Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Network in exist13 ence on the day before the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act shall be abolished on the date of the first official meet15 ing of the first board of the Freedom News Network. 

16 (f) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—The Chief Execu17 tive Officer of the Freedom News Network shall serve at 

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

19 and be responsible for the day-to-day management and op20 erations of the Freedom News Network, including the se21 lection of individuals for management positions. The board 

22 of the Freedom News Network may add to the duties and 

23 responsibilities of the Chief Executive Officer as the board 

24 determines appropriate, and such additional duties and reVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:03 Apr 29, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4490.IH H4490

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1 sponsibilities shall be codified in the bylaws of the Free2 dom News Network. 

3 (g) PLAN FOR CONSOLIDATION OF EXISTING INDI4 VIDUAL GRANTEES.— 

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

6 after the date of the first official meeting of the first 

7 board of the Freedom News Network, the chair of 

8 the board of the Freedom News Network shall sub9 mit a report to, and consult with, the appropriate 

10 congressional committees on the plan to consolidate 

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

12 Middle East Broadcasting Network into a single 

13 non-Federal grantee organization. 

14 (2) COMPONENTS.—The consolidation plan re15 ferred to in paragraph (1) shall include the following 

16 components: 

17 (A) The location and distribution of em18 ployees, including administrative, managerial, 

19 and technical staff, of the Freedom News Net20 work that will be located within and outside the 

21 metropolitan area of Washington, DC. 

22 (B) An organizational chart identifying the 

23 managerial and supervisory lines of authority 

24 among all employees of the Freedom News Net25 work. 


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1 (3) TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

2 than three years after the date of the enactment of 

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

4 News Network shall fully implement the consolida5 tion plan referred to in paragraph (1) after consulta6 tion with the appropriate congressional committees. 

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

8 the date on which initial funding is provided for the 

9 purpose of operating the Freedom News Network, 

10 the chair of the board of the Freedom News Net11 work shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

12 committees a report that details the following: 

13 (A) Whether the Freedom News Network 

14 is technically sound and cost-effective. 

15 (B) Whether the Freedom News Network 

16 consistently meets the standards for quality and 

17 impact established by this title. 

18 (C) Whether the Freedom News Network 

19 is receiving a sufficient audience to warrant its 

20 continued operation. 

21 (D) The extent to which the Freedom 

22 News Network’s programming and content is 

23 already being received by the target audience 

24 from other credible indigenous or external 

25 sources. 


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1 (E) The extent to which the foreign policy 

2 and national security interests of the United 

3 States are being served by maintaining oper4 ations of the Freedom News Network. 

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

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The annual budget of the Free7 dom News Network shall consist of the following: 

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

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

10 Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Net11 work before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 (2) Any grants or transfers from other Federal 

13 agencies. 

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

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

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

17 and in accordance with applicable laws and the mission 

18 of the Freedom News Network under section 212 and eli19 gible broadcast areas under section 6, collect and utilize 

20 non-Federal funds, except that the Freedom News Net21 work may not accept funds from the following: 

22 (1) Any foreign governments or foreign govern23 ment officials. 


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1 (2) Any agents, representatives, or surrogates 

2 of any foreign government or foreign government of3 ficial. 

4 (3) Any foreign-owned corporations or any sub5 sidiaries of any foreign-owned corporation, regard6 less of whether such subsidiary is foreign-owned. 

7 (4) Any foreign national or individual who is 

8 not either a citizen or a legal permanent resident of 

9 the United States. 

10 (c) ANNUAL STRATEGIC PLAN OF THE FREEDOM

11 NEWS NETWORK.—The Freedom News Network shall 

12 submit to the appropriate congressional committees and 

13 the United States International Communications Agency 

14 an annual strategic plan to satisfy the requirements speci15 fied in section 110. Each such strategic plan shall outline 

16 the following: 

17 (1) The strategic goals and objectives of the 

18 Freedom News Network for the upcoming fiscal 

19 year. 

20 (2) The alignment of the Freedom News Net21 work’s resources with the strategic goals and objec22 tives referred to in subparagraph (A). 

23 (3) Clear benchmarks that establish the 

24 progress made towards achieving the strategic goals 

25 and objectives referred to in subparagraph (A). 


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

2 of the Freedom News Network’s broadcasting ef3 forts. 

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

5 past fiscal year. 

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

7 ownership that would result in the relocation of staff 

8 or personnel. 

9 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that administrative and managerial costs for oper11 ation of the Freedom News Network should be kept to 

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

13 not exceed the costs that would have been incurred if 

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

15 East Broadcasting Network had been operated as inde16 pendent grantees or as a Federal entity within the Voice 

17 of America. 

18 SEC. 223. ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER GOVERNMENT AGEN19 CIES. 

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

21 Freedom News Network in carrying out the provisions of 

22 this title, any agency or instrumentality of the United 

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

24 interests therein) to the Freedom News Network as nec25 essary. 


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1 (b) FACILITIES AND BROADCASTING INFRASTRUC2 TURE.—The United States International Communications 

3 Agency and the Freedom News Network shall negotiate 

4 an International Cooperative Administrative Support 

5 Service (ICASS) agreement or memorandum of under6 standing permitting the continued use of technological in7 frastructure for broadcasting and information dissemina8 tion, except that the Freedom News Network may choose 

9 to procure such services through negotiated contracts with 

10 private-sector providers. 

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

12 GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE; 

13 AUDITS BY GAO. 

14 (a) IG REPORTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 

16 30 of each year, the Inspector General of the De17 partment of State and the Foreign Service shall sub18 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a 

19 report on management practices of the Freedom 

20 News Network, including a financial report on unob21 ligated balances. 

22 (2) CONTINUATION OF AUTHORITY.—Notwith23 standing any other provision of law, the Inspector 

24 General of the Department of State and the Foreign 

25 Service is authorized to exercise the authorities of 


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1 the Inspector General Act of 1978 with respect to 

2 the Freedom News Network. 

3 (b) GAO AUDITS.— 

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

5 Freedom News Network, as such relate to functions 

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

7 Government Accountability Office in accordance with 

8 such principles and procedures and under such rules 

9 and regulations as may be prescribed by the Comp10 troller General of the United States. Any such audit 

11 shall be conducted at the place or places where ac12 counts of the Freedom News Network are normally 

13 kept. 

14 (2) ACCESS.—Representatives of the Govern15 ment Accountability Office shall have access to all 

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

17 property belonging to or in use by the Freedom 

18 News Network pertaining to the financial trans19 actions referred to in paragraph (1) and necessary 

20 to facilitate an audit in accordance with such para21 graph. All such books, accounts, records, reports, 

22 files, papers, and property of the Freedom News 

23 Network shall remain in the possession and custody 

24 of the Freedom News Network. 


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1 SEC. 225. AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES INFORMA2 TION AND EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE ACT OF 

3 1948. 

4 The United States Information and Educational Ex5 change Act of 1948 is amended— 

6 (1) in title V (22 U.S.C. 1461 et seq.), by strik7 ing ‘‘Broadcasting Board of Governors’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘United States International Communications 

9 Agency’’ each place it appears; 

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

11 501(b) (22 U.S.C. 1461(b)) to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Sec13 retary and the United States International Communica14 tions Agency may, upon request and reimbursement of the 

15 reasonable costs incurred in fulfilling such a request, make 

16 available, in the United States, motion pictures, films, 

17 video, audio, and other materials disseminated abroad 

18 pursuant to this Act. Any reimbursement pursuant to this 

19 paragraph shall be credited to the applicable appropriation 

20 account of the Department of State or the United States 

21 International Communications Agency, as appropriate. 

22 The Secretary and the United States International Com23 munications Agency shall issue necessary regulations.’’; 

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

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


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

2 1464b) as section 504; 

3 (5) in section 504, as so redesignated, in sub4 section (c), in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘Broadcasting Board of 

6 Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘United States Inter7 national Communications Agency’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘Board’’ each place it ap9 pears and inserting ‘‘Agency’’; 

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

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

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

13 International Communications Agency’’; 

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

15 1471), by striking ‘‘Director of the United States 

16 Information Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Executive 

17 Officer of the United States International Commu18 nications Agency’’; 

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

20 1472)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘Di22 rector of the United States Information Agen23 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Executive Officer of 

24 the United States International Communica25 tions Agency’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘Broadcasting Board of Governors’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘United States International Communica4 tions Agency’’; 

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

6 1474), by striking ‘‘Director of the United States 

7 Information Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Executive 

8 Officer of the United States International Commu9 nications Agency’’; 

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

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

12 by striking ‘‘United States Information Agen13 cy’’ and inserting ‘‘United States International 

14 Communications Agency’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘Inter16 national Broadcasting Bureau’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘United States International Communications 

18 Agency’’; and 

19 (11) in subsection (a) of section 1001 (22 

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

21 States Information Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief 

22 Executive Officer of the United States International 

23 Communications Agency’’. 

Æ 


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