[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4886 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4886

   To permanently authorize Radio Free Asia, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 2010

 Mr. Royce (for himself, Mr. Berman, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and Mr. Schiff) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To permanently authorize Radio Free Asia, 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. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Radio Free Asia (in this Act referred to as ``RFA'')--
                    (A) was authorized under section 309 of the United 
                States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 
                U.S.C. 6208);
                    (B) was incorporated as a private, nonprofit 
                corporation in March 1996 in the hope that its 
                operations would soon be obviated by the global 
                advancement of democracy; and
                    (C) is headquartered in Washington, DC, with 
                additional offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Phnom Penh, 
                Seoul, Ankara, Taipei, and Dharamsala.
            (2) RFA acts as a ``surrogate'' news service, in which its 
        broadcasts serve as substitutes for indigenous free media in 
        regions lacking free media outlets.
            (3) The mission of RFA is ``to provide accurate and timely 
        news and information to Asian countries whose governments 
        prohibit access to a free press'' in order to enable informed 
        decisionmaking by the people within Asia.
            (4) The ``surrogate'' broadcasting model was used 
        effectively in Eastern Europe, helping to inspire democrats and 
        create space for civil society.
            (5) RFA provides daily broadcasts of news, commentary, 
        analysis, and cultural programming to Asian countries in 
        several of the region's languages.
            (6) The governments of the countries targeted for these 
        broadcasts have actively sought to block RFA's transmissions.
            (7) RFA has provided continuous online news to its Asian 
        audiences since 2004, although some countries--
                    (A) routinely and aggressively attempt to block 
                RFA's website;
                    (B) monitor access to RFA's website; and
                    (C) discourage online users by making it illegal to 
                access RFA's website.
            (8) Despite these attempts, RFA has managed to reach its 
        online audiences through proxies, cutting-edge software, and 
        active republication and repostings by its audience.
            (9) RFA also provides forums for local opinions and 
        experiences through message boards, podcasts, web logs (blogs), 
        cell phone-distributed newscasts, and new media, including 
        Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube.
            (10) Freedom House has documented that freedom of the press 
        is in decline in nearly every region of the world, particularly 
        in Asia, where none of the countries served by RFA have 
        increased their freedom of the press during the past five 
        years.
            (11) Independent media sources are nonexistent or severely 
        restrained in their operations in these areas where the press 
        often serves as a means to promote the government's agenda.
            (12) Congress currently provides grant funding for RFA's 
        operations on a fiscal year basis.
            (13) RFA's sunset provision has hampered its operations, 
        such as hiring staff and negotiating cost effective lease and 
        capital agreements.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) public access to timely, uncensored, and accurate 
        information is imperative for achieving government 
        accountability, the protection of human rights, and the 
        promotion of democratic values and institutions;
            (2) Radio Free Asia provides a vital and unique voice to 
        people in Asia;
            (3) in the 14 years since RFA was established, freedom of 
        the press in Asia has come under intensified attack;
            (4) some of the governments in Asia spend millions of 
        dollars each year to jam RFA's broadcasts, block its Internet 
        sites, and illegally access RFA's computer networks and user 
        files;
            (5) the United States should continue to support RFA and 
        the other entities overseen by the Broadcasting Board of 
        Governors for--
                    (A) Internet censorship circumvention; and
                    (B) enhancement of their cyber security efforts; 
                and
            (6) permanently authorizing funding for Radio Free Asia 
        would--
                    (A) reflect the concern that media censorship and 
                press restrictions in the countries served by RFA have 
                increased since RFA was established;
                    (B) send a powerful signal of United States support 
                for a free press in Asia and throughout the world; and
                    (C) enhance the efficiency of RFA's operations.

SEC. 3. PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION FOR RADIO FREE ASIA.

    Section 309 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 
1994 (22 U.S.C. 6208) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ``, and shall further 
        specify that funds to carry out the activities of Radio Free 
        Asia may not be available after September 30, 2010'';
            (2) by striking subsection (f); and
            (3) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsection 
        (f) and (g), respectively.
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