[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5736 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5736

To amend the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 
    1948 to authorize the domestic dissemination of information and 
    material about the United States intended primarily for foreign 
                   audiences, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 10, 2012

Mr. Thornberry (for himself and Mr. Smith of Washington) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 
    1948 to authorize the domestic dissemination of information and 
    material about the United States intended primarily for foreign 
                   audiences, 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 ``Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 
2012''.

SEC. 2. DISSEMINATION ABROAD OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 
1948.--Section 501 of the United States Information and Educational 
Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1461) is amended to read as follows:

                        ``general authorization

    ``Sec. 501.  (a) The Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of 
Governors are authorized to use funds appropriated or otherwise made 
available for public diplomacy information programs to provide for the 
preparation, dissemination, and use of information intended for foreign 
audiences abroad about the United States, its people, and its policies, 
through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, the Internet, and 
other information media, including social media, and through 
information centers, instructors, and other direct or indirect means of 
communication.
    ``(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary and the 
Broadcasting Board of Governors may, upon request and reimbursement of 
the reasonable costs incurred in fulfilling such a request, make 
available, in the United States, motion pictures, films, video, audio, 
and other materials prepared for dissemination abroad or disseminated 
abroad pursuant to this Act, the United States International 
Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Radio 
Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et seq.), or the Television 
Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.). The Secretary and 
the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall issue necessary regulations--
            ``(A) to establish procedures to maintain such material;
            ``(B) for reimbursement of the reasonable costs incurred in 
        fulfilling requests for such material; and
            ``(C) to ensure that the persons seeking release of such 
        material have secured and paid for necessary United States 
        rights and licenses.
    ``(2) With respect to material prepared for dissemination abroad or 
disseminated abroad before the effective date of the Smith-Mundt 
Modernization Act of 2012--
            ``(A) the Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors 
        shall make available to the Archivist of the United States, for 
        domestic distribution, motion pictures, films, videotapes, and 
        other material 12 years after the initial dissemination of the 
        material abroad; and
            ``(B) the Archivist shall be the official custodian of the 
        material and shall issue necessary regulations to ensure that 
        persons seeking its release in the United States have secured 
        and paid for necessary United States rights and licenses and 
        that all costs associated with the provision of the material by 
        the Archivist shall be paid by the persons seeking its release, 
        in accordance with paragraph (3).
    ``(3) The Archivist may charge fees to recover the costs described 
in paragraph (2), in accordance with section 2116(c) of title 44. Such 
fees shall be paid into, administered, and expended as part of the 
National Archives Trust Fund.
    ``(c) Nothing in this section may be construed to require the 
Secretary or the Broadcasting Board of Governors to make material 
disseminated abroad available in any format other than in the format 
disseminated abroad.''.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to affect the allocation of funds appropriated or otherwise made 
specifically available for public diplomacy.
    (c) Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 
1987.--Section 208 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 
Years 1986 and 1987 (22 U.S.C. 1461-1a) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 208. CLARIFICATION ON DOMESTIC DISTRIBUTION OF PROGRAM MATERIAL.

    ``(a) In General.--No funds authorized to be appropriated to the 
Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall be 
used to influence public opinion in the United States. This section 
shall apply only to programs carried out pursuant to the United States 
Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1431 et 
seq.), the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 
U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 
1465 et seq.), and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 
1465aa et seq.). This section shall not prohibit or delay the 
Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors from 
providing information about its operations, policies, programs, or 
program material, or making such available, to the media, public, or 
Congress, in accordance with other applicable law.
    ``(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to prohibit the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board 
of Governors from engaging in any medium or form of communication, 
either directly or indirectly, because a United States domestic 
audience is or may be thereby exposed to program material, or based on 
a presumption of such exposure. Such material may be made available 
within the United States and disseminated, when appropriate, pursuant 
to sections 502 and 1005 of the United States Information and 
Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1462 and 1437), except that 
nothing in this section may be construed to authorize the Department of 
State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors to disseminate within the 
United States any program material prepared for dissemination abroad on 
or before the effective date of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 
2012.
    ``(c) Application.--The provisions of this section shall apply only 
to the Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors and 
to no other department or agency of the Federal Government.''.
    (d) Conforming Amendments.--The United States Information and 
Educational Exchange Act of 1948 is amended--
            (1) in section 502 (22 U.S.C. 1462)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and the Broadcasting Board of 
                Governors'' after ``Secretary''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``or the Broadcasting Board of 
                Governors'' after ``Department''; and
            (2) in section 1005 (22 U.S.C. 1437), by inserting ``and 
        the Broadcasting Board of Governors'' after ``Secretary'' each 
        place it appears.
    (e) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect and apply on the 
date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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