[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3714 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3714
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the Annual
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices information about freedom of
the press in foreign countries, establish a grant program to promote
freedom of the press worldwide, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 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 amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the Annual
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices information about freedom of
the press in foreign countries, establish a grant program to promote
freedom of the press worldwide, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press
Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.
(a) Inclusion of Additional Information Relating to Freedom of the
Press Worldwide in Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.--
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
(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;
``(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 particularly
severe violations of freedom of the press--
``(i) whether government authorities of
each such country participate in, facilitate,
or condone such violations of the freedom 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 individuals who attack
or murder journalists.''; and
(2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
``(i) The report required by subsection (b) shall include, wherever
applicable--
``(1) 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;
``(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;
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 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 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 section, 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.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
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