Commemorating the 35th anniversary of United States broadcasting to Cuba.

Commemorating the 35th anniversary of United States broadcasting to Cuba. Whereas the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act ( Public Law 98111 Whereas, upon signing the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act into law on October 4, 1983, President Ronald Reagan said that the law responds to an important foreign policy initiative of my administration: to break Fidel Castro's monopoly on news and information within Cuba will be in a better position to make Cuba's leaders accountable for their conduct in foreign policy, economic management, and human rights. Whereas radio service into Cuba was named Radio Marti Whereas, on May 20, 1985, the 83rd anniversary of Cubas Independence Day, Radio Mart began its first broadcast into Cuba; Whereas, in 1990, Congress passed and President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act ( Public Law 101246 Television Mart Whereas President William Jefferson Clinton signed into law the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996 ( Public Law 104134 Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting was relocated to Miami, Florida in 1998, ahead of schedule and under budget; Whereas United States broadcasts to Cuba were initiated to pierce the Castro regimes information blockade and to provide timely, accurate, uncensored, and reliable information to the Cuban people; Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting at the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) oversees Radio and Television Mart; Whereas Radio and Television Mart are multimedia hubs of news, information, and analysis that provide the people of Cuba with interactive programs 7 days a week through satellite television, shortwave and AM radio, and digital platforms, including its website, flash drives, emails, DVDs, and SMS text; Whereas Radio and Television Mart aim to inform and engage the people of Cuba by providing credible news and information rooted in respect for fundamental freedoms, democratic principles, and universal human rights; Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting facilitates critical technology services, allowing Cubans across provinces to connect, and linking Cuban pro-democracy activists with an expanding worldwide network of activists engaged in their own struggles for freedom and human rights in their respective countries; Whereas, on July 14, 2011, independent journalist and former political prisoner Jose Daniel Ferrer said, the particular stories, the news selected for A Fondo [a joint Voice of America and Radio Mart program], is what gives the show its quality, very professional. I listened to the show in prison on a daily basis. Whereas Karen Caballero of Radio and Television Mart received the David Burke Award in 2012 for her inspired coverage of the Lights of Liberty Flotilla Whereas, on August 13, 2013, Afro-Cuban activist and former political prisoner Jorge Luis Garca-Prez stated, In the 17 years that I spent behind bars, Radio Mart was, at times, my everything Whereas, in 2017, Television Marts Alas de Libertad That the Senate (1) celebrates the 35th anniversary of Radio Mart and the 30th anniversary of Television Mart; (2) recognizes the vital role that independent broadcasting to Cuba has served in providing uncensored, reliable, and accurate information to the Cuban people for the past 35 years; (3) honors the journalists, programming editors, technical support, and many other employees at Radio and Television Mart, administered through the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, who commit to high journalistic standards, tenacity, and providing unbiased, objective information to the Cuban people; (4) remembers the deep and lasting contributions that the free flow of information, including broadcasting, to Cuba has provided to the Cuban people in bolstering Cubas pro-democracy movement; and (5) reaffirms the importance of the United States strengthening policies in support of promoting democracy, promoting freedom of the press, and supporting the transmission of external, reliable, objective information to some of the most repressed parts of the world.

Summary: This resolution celebrates the 35th anniversary of Radio and TV Mart&iacute; and recognizes the role that broadcasting to Cuba serves in providing outside information to the Cuban people. Further, it honors those at Radio and TV Mart&iacute;, administered through the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, for their commitment and dedication to informing the Cuban people, and it reaffirms the importance of U.S. policies supporting the transmission of external, reliable, objective information to some of the most repressed parts of the world.