I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4189 
To require the Secretary of Defense to provide an annual certification that 
all programming on the American Forces Radio and Television Service 
represents the best-faith efforts by the Department of Defense to provide 
programming for members of the Armed Forces and their families that 
communicates the policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives 
of the Department while avoiding airing programming that exhibits val-
ues contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 8, 2012 
Mr. RYAN of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Defense to provide an annual 
certification that all programming on the American 
Forces Radio and Television Service represents the best- 
faith efforts by the Department of Defense to provide 
programming for members of the Armed Forces and 
their families that communicates the policies, priorities, 
programs, goals, and initiatives of the Department while 
avoiding airing programming that exhibits values con-
trary to the values of the Armed Forces and the United 
States. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 
1. 
ANNUAL 
CERTIFICATION 
OF 
AMERICAN 
FORCES RADIO AND TELEVISION SERVICE 
PROGRAMMING. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) The American Forces Radio and Television 
Service, also known as the Armed Forces Radio and 
Television Service, is part of the Department of De-
fense and is headquartered at Fort George Meade, 
Maryland. 
(2) The mission of the American Forces Radio 
and Television Service mission is to communicate 
Department of Defense policies, priorities, programs, 
goals, and initiatives through multi-channel broad-
cast quality radio and television services and ex-
panded internal information products. 
(3) The American Forces Radio and Television 
Service includes the Radio and Television Production 
Office, the Pentagon Channel, and the AFN Broad-
cast Center. 
(4) The American Forces Radio and Television 
Service provides radio and television programming, 
‘‘a touch of home’’, to members of the Armed 
Forces, civilian employees of the Department of De-
fense, and their families serving outside the conti-
nental United States. 
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that programs broadcast by the American Forces 
Radio and Television Service should seek to reflect the val-
ues, including equality, freedom, and service, to which 
members of the Armed Forces and their fellow Americans 
aspire, and the American Forces Radio and Television 
Service should avoid airing programming that has a his-
tory of being contrary to these values. 
(c) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary of De-
fense shall provide an annual certification to Congress 
that all programming broadcast by the American Forces 
Radio and Television Service represents the best-faith ef-
forts by the Department of Defense to provide program-
ming that communicates the policies, priorities, programs, 
goals, and initiatives of the Department while avoiding air-
ing programming that exhibits values contrary to the val-
ues of the Armed Forces and the United States. 
Æ 
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