[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1861 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1861

        To highlight and promote freedom of the press worldwide.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 2009

 Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Pence) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To highlight and promote freedom of the press worldwide.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press 
Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Acts of violence against journalists and media 
        personnel continue to rise in frequency, with very few of the 
        attacks resulting in prosecution.
            (2) According to the 2008 Annual Report by the Committee to 
        Protect Journalists, in 2008 at least 41 journalists were 
        killed in connection with their work, and 125 were imprisoned.
            (3) Reflecting the rise in influence of Internet reporting, 
        an increasing number of online editors, bloggers, and web-based 
        reporters are being imprisoned and websites are being closed 
        because of official censorship.
            (4) The United States and the international community agree 
        that the safety and independence of journalists and the media 
        are a matter of pressing international concern. On December 10, 
        1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights states that ``Everyone has the 
        right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes 
        freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, 
        receive and impart information and ideas through any media and 
        regardless of frontiers.''.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) highlight and promote the work and accomplishments of 
        journalists and media organizations that promote freedom of 
        opinion and expression worldwide;
            (2) draw attention to the conditions in countries in which 
        journalists are killed, imprisoned, kidnapped, threatened, or 
        censored;
            (3) offer protection for these individuals and media 
        organizations by identifying to the international community 
        those countries where journalists are at the highest risk; and
            (4) emphasize the significance of including freedom of the 
        press as enshrined in article 19 of the Universal Declaration 
        of Human Rights as a factor in United States foreign policy.

SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PROMOTION OF FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 
              WORLDWIDE.

    (a) Report.--The Secretary of State shall annually submit to 
Congress a report regarding the promotion of freedom of the press 
worldwide. The report shall be entitled the ``Annual Report on the 
Status of Freedom of the Press Worldwide''.
    (b) Preparation.--The Secretary shall prepare the Annual Report 
with the assistance of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
    (c) Contents.--The Annual Report shall contain the following 
information:
            (1) A description of the status of freedom of the press in 
        each country, 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.
            (2) 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.
            (3) In countries where there are particularly severe 
        violations of freedom of the press, the annual report shall 
        address the following:
                    (A) Whether government authorities of each such 
                country participate in, facilitate, or condone such 
                violations of the freedom of the press.
                    (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.
    (d) Organization.--The Annual Report shall be organized in three 
parts, as follows:
            (1) Part I shall consist of the identification of countries 
        (and the associated assessment of their efforts) under 
        subsection (c)(1).
            (2) Part II shall consist of the identification of 
        countries (and the associated assessment of their efforts) 
        under subsection (c)(2).
            (3) Part III shall consist of the identification of 
        countries (and the associated assessment of their efforts) 
        under subsection (c)(3).
    (e) Time for Submission.--The Secretary shall submit the Annual 
Report on May 3 of each year, declared by the United Nations General 
Assembly as World Press Freedom Day, or the first day thereafter on 
which either House of Congress is in session.
    (f) Unclassified Form.--The Annual Report shall be submitted in 
unclassified form.

SEC. 4. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall administer a grant 
program with the aim of promoting freedom of the press worldwide. The 
grant program shall be administered by the Department of State's Bureau 
of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor as part of the Human Rights 
Democracy Fund (HRDF).
    (b) Amounts and Time.--Grants may be awarded to nonprofit and 
international organizations in amounts ranging from $70,000 to $150,000 
annually. Grants may span multiple years, up to five years.
    (c) 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.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State 
$2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 to 2014 to carry out this Act.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Annual report.--The term ``Annual Report'' means the 
        Annual Report on the Status of Freedom of the Press Worldwide 
        required under subsection (a).
            (2) Media organization.--The term ``media organization'' 
        means a group or organization that gathers and disseminates 
        news and information to the public (through any medium of mass 
        communication) in a foreign country in which the group or 
        organization is located, except that the term does not include 
        a group or organization that is primarily an agency or 
        instrumentality of the government of such foreign country. The 
        term includes an individual who is an agent or employee of such 
        group or organization who acts within the scope of such agency 
        or employment.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of State.
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