I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4886 

To permanently authorize Radio Free Asia, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 18, 2010 

Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mr. BERMAN, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and Mr. SCHIFF) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To permanently authorize Radio Free Asia, 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. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Radio Free Asia (in this Act referred to as 

6 ‘‘RFA’’)— 

7 (A) was authorized under section 309 of 

8 the United States International Broadcasting 

9 Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6208); 


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1 (B) was incorporated as a private, non2 profit corporation in March 1996 in the hope 

3 that its operations would soon be obviated by 

4 the global advancement of democracy; and 

5 (C) is headquartered in Washington, DC, 

6 with additional offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, 

7 Phnom Penh, Seoul, Ankara, Taipei, and 

8 Dharamsala. 

9 (2) RFA acts as a ‘‘surrogate’’ news service, in 

10 which its broadcasts serve as substitutes for indige11 nous free media in regions lacking free media out12 lets. 

13 (3) The mission of RFA is ‘‘to provide accurate 

14 and timely news and information to Asian countries 

15 whose governments prohibit access to a free press’’ 

16 in order to enable informed decisionmaking by the 

17 people within Asia. 

18 (4) The ‘‘surrogate’’ broadcasting model was 

19 used effectively in Eastern Europe, helping to in20 spire democrats and create space for civil society. 

21 (5) RFA provides daily broadcasts of news, 

22 commentary, analysis, and cultural programming to 

23 Asian countries in several of the region’s languages. 


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1 (6) The governments of the countries targeted 

2 for these broadcasts have actively sought to block 

3 RFA’s transmissions. 

4 (7) RFA has provided continuous online news 

5 to its Asian audiences since 2004, although some 

6 countries— 

7 (A) routinely and aggressively attempt to 

8 block RFA’s website; 

9 (B) monitor access to RFA’s website; and 

10 (C) discourage online users by making it il11 legal to access RFA’s website. 

12 (8) Despite these attempts, RFA has managed 

13 to reach its online audiences through proxies, cut14 ting-edge software, and active republication and re15 postings by its audience. 

16 (9) RFA also provides forums for local opinions 

17 and experiences through message boards, podcasts, 

18 web logs (blogs), cell phone-distributed newscasts, 

19 and new media, including Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, 

20 and YouTube. 

21 (10) Freedom House has documented that free22 dom of the press is in decline in nearly every region 

23 of the world, particularly in Asia, where none of the 

24 countries served by RFA have increased their free25 dom of the press during the past five years. 


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1 (11) Independent media sources are nonexistent 

2 or severely restrained in their operations in these 

3 areas where the press often serves as a means to 

4 promote the government’s agenda. 

5 (12) Congress currently provides grant funding 

6 for RFA’s operations on a fiscal year basis. 

7 (13) RFA’s sunset provision has hampered its 

8 operations, such as hiring staff and negotiating cost 

9 effective lease and capital agreements. 

10 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that— 

12 (1) public access to timely, uncensored, and ac13 curate information is imperative for achieving gov14 ernment accountability, the protection of human 

15 rights, and the promotion of democratic values and 

16 institutions; 

17 (2) Radio Free Asia provides a vital and unique 

18 voice to people in Asia; 

19 (3) in the 14 years since RFA was established, 

20 freedom of the press in Asia has come under intensi21 fied attack; 

22 (4) some of the governments in Asia spend mil23 lions of dollars each year to jam RFA’s broadcasts, 

24 block its Internet sites, and illegally access RFA’s 

25 computer networks and user files; 


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1 (5) the United States should continue to sup2 port RFA and the other entities overseen by the 

3 Broadcasting Board of Governors for— 

4 (A) Internet censorship circumvention; and 

5 (B) enhancement of their cyber security ef6 forts; and 

7 (6) permanently authorizing funding for Radio 

8 Free Asia would— 

9 (A) reflect the concern that media censor10 ship and press restrictions in the countries 

11 served by RFA have increased since RFA was 

12 established; 

13 (B) send a powerful signal of United 

14 States support for a free press in Asia and 

15 throughout the world; and 

16 (C) enhance the efficiency of RFA’s oper17 ations. 

18 SEC. 3. PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION FOR RADIO FREE 

19 ASIA. 

20 Section 309 of the United States International 

21 Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6208) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘, and shall 

23 further specify that funds to carry out the activities 

24 of Radio Free Asia may not be available after Sep25 tember 30, 2010’’; 


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1 (2) by striking subsection (f); and 

2 (3) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 

3 subsection (f) and (g), respectively. 

Æ 


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