SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. 
(a) INCLUSION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RE-
LATING TO FREEDOM OF THE PRESS WORLDWIDE IN AN-
NUAL COUNTRY REPORTS
ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRAC-
TICES.—The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amend-
ed— 
(1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)), as 
amended by section 333(c) of this division— 
(A) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in paragraph (11)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(12) wherever applicable— 
‘‘(A) a description of the status of freedom 
of the press, including initiatives in favor of 
freedom of the press and efforts to improve or 
preserve, as appropriate, the independence of 
the media, together with an assessment of 
progress made as a result of those efforts; 
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‘‘(B) an identification of countries in which 
there were violations of freedom of the press, 
including direct physical attacks, imprisonment, 
indirect sources of pressure, and censorship by 
governments, military, intelligence, or police 
forces, criminal groups, or armed extremist or 
rebel groups; and 
‘‘(C) in countries where there are particu-
larly severe violations of freedom of the press— 
‘‘(i) whether government authorities 
of each such country participate in, facili-
tate, or condone such violations of the free-
dom of the press; and 
‘‘(ii) what steps the government of 
each such country has taken to preserve 
the safety and independence of the media, 
and to ensure the prosecution of those in-
dividuals who attack or murder journal-
ists.’’; and 
(2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by add-
ing at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(i) The report required by subsection (b) shall in-
clude, wherever applicable— 
‘‘(1) a description of the status of freedom of 
the press, including initiatives in favor of freedom of 
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the press and efforts to improve or preserve, as ap-
propriate, the independence of the media, together 
with an assessment of progress made as a result of 
those efforts; 
‘‘(2) an identification of countries in which 
there were violations of freedom of the press, includ-
ing direct physical attacks, imprisonment, indirect 
sources of pressure, and censorship by governments, 
military, intelligence, or police forces, criminal 
groups, or armed extremist or rebel groups; and 
‘‘(3) in countries where there are particularly 
severe violations of freedom of the press— 
‘‘(A) whether government authorities of 
each such country participate in, facilitate, or 
condone such violations of the freedom of the 
press; and 
‘‘(B) what steps the government of each 
such country has taken to preserve the safety 
and independence of the media, and to ensure 
the prosecution of those individuals who attack 
or murder journalists.’’. 
(b) FREEDOM OF THE PRESS GRANT PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 
administer a grant program with the aim of pro-
moting freedom of the press worldwide. The grant 
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program shall be administered by the Department of 
State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and 
Labor in consultation with the Undersecretary for 
Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy. 
(2) AMOUNTS
AND
TIME.—Grants may be 
awarded to nonprofit and international organizations 
and may span multiple years, up to five years. 
(3) PURPOSE.—Grant proposals should promote 
and broaden press freedoms by strengthening the 
independence of journalists and media organizations, 
promoting a legal framework for freedom of the 
press, or through providing regionally and culturally 
relevant training and professionalization of skills to 
meet international standards in both traditional and 
digital media. 
(c) MEDIA ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘media organization’’ means a group or or-
ganization that gathers and disseminates news and infor-
mation to the public (through any medium of mass com-
munication) in a foreign country in which the group or 
organization is located, except that the term does not in-
clude a group or organization that is primarily an agency 
or instrumentality of the government of such foreign coun-
try. The term includes an individual who is an agent or 
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employee of such group or organization who acts within 
the scope of such agency or employment. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec-
essary to carry out this section. 
Æ 
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