[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 49 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 49

 To express the sense of the Senate regarding the importance of public 
                               diplomacy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 13, 2009

   Mr. Lugar (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kaufman, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
  Feingold, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Cardin, and Mrs. 
Shaheen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

                              May 7, 2009

                Reported by Mr. Kerry, without amendment

                              May 19, 2009

                        Considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 To express the sense of the Senate regarding the importance of public 
                               diplomacy.

Whereas public diplomacy is the conduct of foreign relations directly with the 
        average citizen of a country, rather than with officials of a country's 
        foreign ministry;
Whereas public diplomacy is commonly conducted through people-to-people 
        exchanges in which experts, authors, artists, educators, and students 
        interact with their peers in other countries;
Whereas effective public diplomacy promotes free and unfiltered access to 
        information about the United States through books, newspapers, 
        periodicals, and the Internet;
Whereas public diplomacy requires a willingness to discuss all aspects of 
        society, search for common values, foster a long-term bilateral 
        relationship based on mutual respect, and recognize that certain areas 
        of disagreement may remain unresolved on a short term basis;
Whereas a BBC World Service poll published in February 2009 that involved 13,000 
        respondents in 21 countries found that while 40 percent of the 
        respondents had a positive view of the United States, 43 percent had a 
        negative view of the United States;
Whereas Freedom House's 2008 Global Press Freedom report notes that 123 
        countries (66 percent of the world's countries and 80 percent of the 
        world's population) have a press that is classified as ``Not Free'' or 
        ``Partly Free'';
Whereas the Government of the United Kingdom, of France, and of Germany run 
        stand-alone public diplomacy facilities throughout the world, which are 
        known as the British Council, the Alliance Francaise, and the Goethe 
        Institute, respectively;
Whereas these government-run facilities teach the national languages of their 
        respective countries, offer libraries, newspapers, and periodicals, 
        sponsor public lecture and film series that engage local audiences in 
        dialogues that foster better understandings between these countries and 
        create an environment promoting greater trust and openness;
Whereas the United States has historically operated similar facilities, known as 
        American Centers, which--

    (1) offered classes in English, extensive libraries housing collections 
of American literature, history, economics, business, and social studies, 
and reading rooms offering the latest American newspapers, periodicals, and 
academic journals;

    (2) hosted visiting American speakers and scholars on these topics; and

    (3) ran United States film series on topics related to American values;

Whereas in societies in which freedom of speech, freedom of the press, or local 
        investment in education were minimal, American Centers provided vital 
        outposts of information for citizens throughout the world, giving many 
        of them their only exposure to uncensored information about the United 
        States;
Whereas this need for uncensored information about the United States has 
        accelerated as more foreign governments have restricted Internet access 
        or blocked Web sites viewed as hostile to their political regimes;
Whereas following the end of the Cold War and the attacks on United States 
        embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, budgetary and security pressures 
        resulted in the drastic downsizing or closure of most of the American 
        Centers;
Whereas beginning in 1999, American Centers began to be renamed Information 
        Resource Centers and relocated primarily inside United States embassy 
        compounds;
Whereas of the 177 Information Resource Centers operating in February 2009, 87, 
        or 49 percent, operate on a ``By Appointment Only'' basis and 18, or 11 
        percent, do not permit any public access;
Whereas Information Resource Centers located outside United States embassy 
        compounds receive significantly more visitors than those inside such 
        compounds, including twice the number of visitors in Africa, 6 times 
        more visitors in the Middle East, and 22 times more visitors in Asia; 
        and
Whereas Iran has increased the number of similar Iranian facilities, known as 
        Iranian Cultural Centers, to about 60 throughout the world: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Secretary of State should initiate a reexamination 
        of the public diplomacy platform strategy of the United States 
        with a goal of reestablishing publicly accessible American 
        Centers;
            (2) after taking into account relevant security 
        considerations, the Secretary of State should consider placing 
        United States public diplomacy facilities at locations 
        conducive to maximizing their use, consistent with the 
        authority given to the Secretary under section 606(a)(2)(B) of 
        the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 
        1999 (22 U.S.C. 4865(a)(2)(B)) to waive certain requirements of 
        that Act.
                                 <all>