[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4189 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4189

To require the Secretary of Defense to provide an annual certification 
   that all programming on the American Forces Radio and Television 
Service represents the best-faith efforts by the Department of Defense 
   to provide programming for members of the Armed Forces and their 
 families that communicates the policies, priorities, programs, goals, 
  and initiatives of the Department while avoiding airing programming 
that exhibits values contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the 
                             United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 8, 2012

 Mr. Ryan of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Defense to provide an annual certification 
   that all programming on the American Forces Radio and Television 
Service represents the best-faith efforts by the Department of Defense 
   to provide programming for members of the Armed Forces and their 
 families that communicates the policies, priorities, programs, goals, 
  and initiatives of the Department while avoiding airing programming 
that exhibits values contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the 
                             United States.

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

SECTION 1. ANNUAL CERTIFICATION OF AMERICAN FORCES RADIO AND TELEVISION 
              SERVICE PROGRAMMING.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The American Forces Radio and Television Service, also 
        known as the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, is part 
        of the Department of Defense and is headquartered at Fort 
        George Meade, Maryland.
            (2) The mission of the American Forces Radio and Television 
        Service mission is to communicate Department of Defense 
        policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives through 
        multi-channel broadcast quality radio and television services 
        and expanded internal information products.
            (3) The American Forces Radio and Television Service 
        includes the Radio and Television Production Office, the 
        Pentagon Channel, and the AFN Broadcast Center.
            (4) The American Forces Radio and Television Service 
        provides radio and television programming, ``a touch of home'', 
        to members of the Armed Forces, civilian employees of the 
        Department of Defense, and their families serving outside the 
        continental United States.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that programs 
broadcast by the American Forces Radio and Television Service should 
seek to reflect the values, including equality, freedom, and service, 
to which members of the Armed Forces and their fellow Americans aspire, 
and the American Forces Radio and Television Service should avoid 
airing programming that has a history of being contrary to these 
values.
    (c) Annual Certification.--The Secretary of Defense shall provide 
an annual certification to Congress that all programming broadcast by 
the American Forces Radio and Television Service represents the best-
faith efforts by the Department of Defense to provide programming that 
communicates the policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives 
of the Department while avoiding airing programming that exhibits 
values contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the United 
States.
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