[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 971 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 971

      Commemorating the 35th anniversary of broadcasting to Cuba.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 15, 2020

Mr. Diaz-Balart submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                  to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Commemorating the 35th anniversary of broadcasting to Cuba.

Whereas the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act passed by a wide margin in the House 
        of Representatives on September 29, 1983, and passed with strong voice 
        vote support in the Senate on September 12, 1983;
Whereas upon signing the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act into law on October 4, 
        1983, President Ronald Reagan said that the law ``responds to an 
        important foreign policy initiative of my administration: to break Fidel 
        Castro's monopoly on news and information within Cuba'' and further 
        explained that the purpose of providing impartial news to the Cuban 
        people was so that they ``will be in a better position to make Cuba's 
        leaders accountable for their conduct in foreign policy, economic 
        management, and human rights'';
Whereas radio service into Cuba was named ``Radio Marti'' after renowned 19th 
        century Cuban patriot Jose Marti;
Whereas, on May 20, 1985, the 83rd anniversary of Cuba's Independence Day, Radio 
        Marti began its first broadcast into Cuba;
Whereas, in 1990, the Congress passed and President George H.W. Bush signed into 
        law a bill expanding broadcasting to include television through the 
        Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act, and ``Television Marti'' 
        broadcasting began later that year;
Whereas President William Jefferson Clinton signed into law the Omnibus 
        Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, which required 
        the relocation of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting from Washington, DC, 
        to south Florida;
Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting was relocated to Miami, Florida, in 
        1998, ahead of schedule and under budget;
Whereas United States broadcasts to Cuba were initiated to pierce the Castro 
        regime's information blockade to provide timely and reliable information 
        to the Cuban people;
Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting oversees Radio and Television Marti;
Whereas Radio and TV Marti are a multimedia hub of news, information, and 
        analysis that provide the people of Cuba with interactive programs 7 
        days a week through satellite television and shortwave and AM radio, as 
        well as through flash drives, emails, DVDs, and SMS text;
Whereas Radio and TV Marti aim to inform and engage the people of Cuba by 
        providing credible news and information that encourages freedom and 
        democracy;
Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting uses shortwave, medium wave, direct-to-
        home satellite, satellite radio, internet, social media, flash drives, 
        and DVDs to help reach audiences in Cuba;
Whereas the Office of Cuba Broadcasting provides a critical service by 
        connecting Cubans across provinces, and linking Cuban pro-democracy 
        activists with an expanding worldwide network of activists engaged in 
        their own struggles for freedom and human rights in their respective 
        countries;
Whereas Karen Caballero of Radio and TV Marti received the David Burke Award in 
        2012 for her inspired coverage of the ``Lights of Liberty Flotilla'', a 
        small group of boats with a mission to sail across the Florida Strait to 
        bring attention to the solidarity between Cuban exiles and those on the 
        island, and to the human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime in 
        Cuba;
Whereas, in 2017, Television Marti's ``Alas de Libertad'' (Wings of Freedom), 
        which documented activities of the Brigade 2506 Air Force division 
        during the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, received the Suncoast Regional 
        Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences;
Whereas, on July 14, 2011, independent journalist and former political prisoner 
        Jose Daniel Ferrer said, ``the particular stories, the news selected for 
        A Fondo [a joint Voice of America and Radio Marti program], is what 
        gives the show its quality, very professional. I listened to the show in 
        prison on a daily basis.'';
Whereas, on May 30, 2013, Berta Soler, leader of the pro-democracy group the 
        Ladies in White, stated while visiting the Office of Cuba Broadcasting 
        while appearing on the ``Con Voz Propia'' (``In Their Own Voice'') 
        program, ``I feel like I am home. I wake up [in Cuba] with this show 
        every morning, and I can't believe I am here!''; and
Whereas, on August 13, 2013, Afro-Cuban activist and former political prisoner 
        Jorge Luis Garcia-Perez stated, ``In the 17 years that I spent behind 
        bars, Radio Marti was, at times, my `everything'. It was my lifeline.'': 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the vital role that broadcasting to Cuba 
        serves in providing uncensored, outside information to the 
        Cuban people over the past 35 years;
            (2) honors the journalists, programming editors, technical 
        support, and many other employees at Radio and TV Marti, 
        administered through the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, for their 
        steadfast commitment, hard work, and dedication to informing 
        the Cuban people;
            (3) remembers the deep and lasting contributions that 
        broadcasting to Cuba has provided to the Cuban people in 
        bolstering Cuba's pro-democracy movement; and
            (4) celebrates the United States policy of promoting 
        democracy and providing outside information to some of the most 
        of the repressed parts of the world.
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