S. 3104 

One Hundred Eleventh Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 

the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten 

An Act 

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

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds the following: 

(1) Radio Free Asia (referred to in this Act as ‘‘RFA’’)— 

(A) was authorized under section 309 of the United 

States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 

6208); 

(B) was incorporated as a private, non-profit corporation in March 1996 in the hope that its operations would 

soon be obviated by the global advancement of democracy; 

and 

(C) is headquartered in Washington, DC, with additional offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Phnom Penh, Seoul, 

Ankara, and Taipei. 

(2) RFA broadcasts serve as substitutes for indigenous 

free media in regions lacking free media outlets. 

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

news and information to Asian countries whose governments 

prohibit access to a free press’’ in order to enable informed 

decisionmaking by the people within Asia. 

(4) RFA provides daily broadcasts of news, commentary, 

analysis, and cultural programming to Asian countries in several languages, including— 

(A) 12 hours per day in Mandarin; 

(B) 8 hours per day in 3 Tibetan dialects, Uke, Kham, 

and Amdo; 

(C) 4 hours per day in Korean and Burmese; 

(D) 2 hours per day in Cantonese, Vietnamese, Laotian, 

Khmer (Cambodian), and Uyghur; and 

(E) 11⁄2 hours per week in Wu (local Shanghai dialect). 

(5) The governments of the countries targeted for these 

broadcasts have consistently denied and blocked attempts at 

Medium Wave and FM transmissions into their countries, 

forcing RFA to rely on Shortwave broadcasts and the Internet. 

(6) RFA has provided continuous online news to its Asian 

audiences since 2004, although some countries— 

(A) routinely and aggressively block RFA’s website; 

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

(C) discourage online users by making it illegal to 

access RFA’s website. 
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(7) Despite these attempts, RFA has successfully managed 

to reach its online audiences through proxies, cutting-edge software, and active republication and repostings by its audience. 

(8) RFA also provides forums for local opinions and experiences through message boards, podcasts, web logs (blogs), cell 

phone-distributed newscasts, and new media, including 

Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube. 

(9) Freedom House has documented that freedom of the 

press is in decline in nearly every region of the world, particularly in Asia, where none of the countries served by RFA 

have increased their freedom of the press during the past 

5 years. (10) In fiscal year 2010, RFA is operating on a $37,000,000 budget, less than $400,000 of which is available to fund Internet 

censorship circumvention. 

(11) Congress currently provides grant funding for RFA’s 

operations on a fiscal year basis. 

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

It is the sense of the Senate that— 

(1) public access to timely, uncensored, and accurate 

information is imperative for promoting government accountability and the protection of human rights; 

(2) Radio Free Asia provides a vital voice to people in 

Asia; 

(3) some of the governments in Asia spend millions of 

dollars each year to jam RFA’s shortwave, block its Internet 

sites; 

(4) Congress should provide additional funding to RFA 

and the other entities overseen by the Broadcasting Board 

of Governors for— 

(A) Internet censorship circumvention; and 

(B) enhancement of their cyber security efforts; and 

(5) permanently authorizing funding for Radio Free Asia 

would— 

(A) reflect the concern that media censorship and press 

restrictions in the countries served by RFA have increased 

since RFA was established; and 

(B) send a powerful signal of our Nation’s support 

for free press in Asia and throughout the world. 

SEC. 3. PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION FOR RADIO FREE ASIA. 

Section 309 of the United States International Broadcasting 

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

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

specify that funds to carry out the activities of Radio Free 

Asia may not be available after September 30, 2010’’; 

(2) by striking subsection (f); 

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

(f) and (g), respectively; and 

(4) in subsection (f), as redesignated— 

(A) by striking ‘‘The Board’’ and inserting the following: 

‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.—The Board’’; 

(B) by striking ‘‘before entering’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘before— 

‘‘(A) entering’’; 

(C) by striking ‘‘Radio Free Asia.’’ and inserting the 

following: ‘‘Radio Free Asia; or 
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‘‘(B) entering into any agreements in regard to the 

utilization of Radio Free Asia transmitters, equipment, or 

other resources that will significantly reduce the broadcasting activities of Radio Free Asia.’’; 

(D) by striking ‘‘The Chairman’’ and inserting the following: 

‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Chairman’’; and 

(E) by inserting ‘‘or Radio Free Asia broadcasting 

activities’’ before the period at the end. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.