[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 12, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H250-H251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H250]]
                       RADIO FREE AFGHANISTAN ACT

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the 
Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2998) to authorize the establishment 
of Radio Free Afghanistan.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Radio Free Afghanistan 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF RADIO FREE AFGHANISTAN.

       (a) Requirement of a Detailed Plan.--Not later than 15 days 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, RFE/RL, 
     Incorporated, shall submit to the Broadcasting Board of 
     Governors a report setting forth a detailed plan for the 
     provision by RFE/RL, Incorporated, of surrogate broadcasting 
     services in the Dari and Pashto languages to Afghanistan. 
     Such broadcasting services shall be known as ``Radio Free 
     Afghanistan''.
       (b) Grant Authority.--
       (1) In general.--Effective 15 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, or the date on which the report 
     required by subsection (a) is submitted, whichever is later, 
     the Broadcasting Board of Governors is authorized to make 
     grants to support Radio Free Afghanistan.
       (2) Supersedes existing limitation on total annual grant 
     amounts.--Grants made to RFE/RL, Incorporated, during the 
     fiscal year 2002 for support of Radio Free Afghanistan may be 
     made without regard to section 308(c) of the United States 
     International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6207(c)).
       (c) Available Authorities.--In addition to the authorities 
     in this Act, the authorities applicable to carry out United 
     States Government broadcasting activities under the United 
     States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, the 
     United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994, the 
     Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, and 
     other provisions of law consistent with such purpose may be 
     used to carry out the grant authority of subsection (b).
       (d) Standards; Oversight.--Radio Free Afghanistan shall 
     adhere to the same standards of professionalism and 
     accountability, and shall be subject to the same oversight 
     mechanisms, as other services of RFE/RL, Incorporated.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) In General.--In addition to such amounts as are 
     otherwise available for such purposes, the following amounts 
     are authorized to be appropriated to carry out United States 
     Government broadcasting activities under the United States 
     Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, the United 
     States International Broadcasting Act of 1994, the Foreign 
     Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, and this Act, 
     and to carry out other authorities in law consistent with 
     such purposes:
       (1) For ``International Broadcasting Operations'', 
     $8,000,000 for the fiscal year 2002.
       (2) For ``Broadcasting Capital Improvements'', $9,000,000 
     for the fiscal year 2002.
       (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
     to subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until 
     expended.

     SEC. 4. REPEAL OF BAN ON UNITED STATES TRANSMITTER IN KUWAIT.

       Section 226 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, 
     Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 (Public Law 103-236; 108 Stat. 
     423), is repealed.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde).


                             General Leave

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This bill authorizes the establishment of a new radio service for 
Afghanistan. The new service will be called Radio Free Afghanistan and 
will broadcast in the Dari and Pashtu languages. The legislation 
provides the Broadcasting Board of Governors with the authority to make 
a grant to Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty to carry out this new 
broadcast service.
  As a result of the hard work of the bill's original sponsor, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the subcommittee chairman, the 
House passed H.R. 2998 by a vote of 405 to 2 on November 7, 2001. The 
bill, as amended by the Senate, provides $17 million for fiscal year 
2002 for this purpose. I believe the House should concur with the 
Senate amendment, which makes the following changes to the original 
House bill:
  One, the Senate amendment authorizes funds for fiscal 2002. The House 
bill was a 2-year authorization. Two, the Senate bill authorizes a 
total of $17 million for Radio Free Afghanistan. The House bill 
authorized $27.5 million over 2 years. Three, the Senate bill includes 
an adjustment to the statutory funding cap on Radio Free Europe-Radio 
Liberty to accommodate the additional funds required for Radio Free 
Afghanistan.
  All of these changes are acceptable to the committee, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this measure. Such broadcasting will support the 
transition in Afghanistan. Concurring in the Senate amendment to the 
bill will allow it to be sent to the White House for the President's 
signature.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill and 
yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would first like to commend my good friends and 
colleagues on the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Berman), for introducing this bill, and Chairman Hyde for his 
leadership in bringing the legislation to the floor of the House.
  Mr. Speaker, much has changed in the 5 months since the attacks of 
September 11. Global alliances have shifted, and the world has united 
against the forces of barbarism and evil. The United States finds 
itself leading an unprecedented coalition against international 
terrorism. In short order, we have helped to liberate the people of 
Afghanistan from the repressive rule of the Taliban regime and their al 
Qaeda cohorts.
  But the fog of war has not yet lifted from Afghanistan, and the war 
on terrorism is very far from being over. We are fighting a new kind of 
war which requires new tactics. Our military is adjusting to this 
asymmetrical warfare with elite forces using the newest U.S. technology 
and the smartest weapons.
  But to win this war, we need more than smart bombs, we need smart 
diplomacy. We must have more agile tools to communicate our message 
more effectively. The terrorists use fear and intimidation, lies and 
half truth to manipulate young minds. International broadcasting and 
public diplomacy are critical to combating these terrorist tactics and 
broadening international understanding of the United States and the 
values that form the basis of our foreign policy.
  We cannot win the information war and, hence, the war against 
terrorism, if we shortchange our public diplomacy. I was dismayed, Mr. 
Speaker, to see the cuts in funding for international broadcasting in 
the administration's budget. Not only are there insufficient funds to 
meet the world-wide programming needs for Radio Free Europe-Radio 
Liberty, Voice of America, and Radio Free Asia; but the 
administration's budget does not request a single penny for Radio Free 
Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, it is in this context that I rise in support of H.R. 
2998, the Radio Free Afghanistan Act of 2001. Radio Free Afghanistan 
could be an important element of our foreign policy arsenal, and 
passage of this legislation will hopefully encourage the administration 
to seek funding for this new and worthy initiative.
  But the imperative of creating a Radio Free Afghanistan is just one 
example of the need to bolster funding for all areas of the U.S. 
diplomatic and public diplomacy arsenal. We must increase, not 
decrease, funds for the international broadcasting agencies.
  We must also support the Agency for International Development, which 
strives to help the poor, the hungry, the illiterate, and the oppressed 
in Afghanistan and Albania and all across Africa. And we must support 
the thousands of men and women who represent this Nation in our 
embassies and consulates across the globe. These are the individuals 
and the institutions who are on the front lines of the new war we are 
fighting.
  If we are to win this war, we must equip our diplomats with the best 
tools and the best training, boost or development assistance, and 
ensure that our international broadcasters are heard throughout the 
world. H.R. 2998 is an important step in the right direction, and I 
urge all of my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H251]]

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, 
which I authored; and I believe that the establishment of this Radio 
Free Afghanistan by Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty is essential for 
peace and essential for stability in the region. This approach is 
surrogate broadcasting operating as if Afghanistan had a free and 
vibrant press, which, unfortunately, it does not.
  Now, I have been calling for Radio Free Afghanistan for several years 
now. I think it is fair to say that the previous administration had no 
interest in this type of aggressive broadcasting to Afghanistan. For 5 
years, we have tried to introduce this concept. And now, finally, with 
the passage of this bill, the voices of freedom and democracy will fill 
the air in the region, offering an alternative to the hate radio that 
has been heard until now, because that hate radio is the methodology of 
Radio Shariat and other broadcasts; and it has had a very poisonous 
impact in Afghanistan.
  I am convinced that if we had had Radio Free Afghanistan up and 
running for several years now, the terrorists would not have had the 
fertile ground they found in Afghanistan. The roots of democracy would 
have been established. They would not have been ripped out.
  The concept behind Radio Free Afghanistan is to do what was done with 
Radio Free Europe in Poland and in Czechoslovakia and in other states. 
When we talk today with the leaders of Poland or the Czech Republic, 
they say that the hearts and minds of those people in those countries 
were turned by the opportunity to listen to free radio broadcasts from 
the West on a daily basis, which explained what was actually happening 
in their society. They were taught the concepts of tolerance, of 
democracy, and of political pluralism.
  And, frankly, information is power. We have the opportunity to teach 
those same values with these radio broadcasts. We know in Eastern 
Europe these broadcasts were able to explain and put in context what 
they were hearing from the Soviet broadcasts, so that people had an 
alternative, so that people had a frame of reference and could judge 
the truth of those Soviet broadcasts. Well, that is what people need in 
Afghanistan and Pakistan today, a chance to judge the truthfulness of 
the Shariat broadcasts they have been hearing for the last 5 years.
  Over time, we know from those leaders that we have talked to, that 
this was the most effective single thing that changed the attitudes of 
the average people in Eastern Europe. This legislation that we have 
today provides 8 hours of broadcasting a day, 4 in Pashtu, 4 in Dari, 
the two major dialects.
  I believe that Afghanistan, for us in the United States, is at a 
critical point in its history. And I say it is at a critical point 
because what media did exist there has been totally destroyed. The 
Taliban destroyed the wherewithal for people to communicate. Eighty-
five percent of those people own radios, and it is an opportunity for 
them now to hear this message.
  If the various factions in Afghanistan are going to be able to strike 
a longlasting governing accord, the free flow of accurate information 
will be critical. Otherwise, rumor and misinformation and hate 
broadcasts will kill that country's chance to develop stability. As I 
met with Afghanistan's interim leader, Chairman Karzai, the other week, 
he told me how excited he was about the impact these broadcasts are 
having on the country.
  This legislation initially passed the House on November 7, 2001, by a 
near unanimous vote. It now returns to the House with an amendment from 
the other body. And although the Senate's amendment scales back the 
proposal slightly, I am happy to get this bill to the President's desk 
for his signature; and I look forward to working with the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), who has done so much for public diplomacy, 
and with the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) to authorize Radio 
Free Afghanistan for fiscal year 2003 as well. That is something we 
need to do to build upon these crucial broadcasts.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I thank the 
gentleman for yielding me this time.

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Illinois (Chairman Hyde), the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), 
the ranking member, and I offer my appreciation to the author of this 
legislation, the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), as well as the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman).
  Before the end of the last session, I held a briefing on the 
treatment of children in Afghanistan. That issue may be different from 
what we are discussing today, but what I gleaned from that briefing and 
how children were being treated was also the desire for education, the 
desire to know a better life, the desire to be part of a better nation.
  This legislation, Radio Free Afghanistan, now coming back from the 
Senate, is legislation that answers the question that we will not 
return to the previous behavior after the involvement with Russia where 
it was suggested that America did not stay to help build a nation. Now 
we can build from within by having a democratic tool, by having people 
listen to how a nation can be built. The interim government has said 
they want to ensure that they have a land that respects individuals, 
the rights of women, the rights of children, the rights of families. 
Radio Free Afghanistan will be that vehicle to help them understand how 
they can structure their government.
  We know now that President Musharraf is here in the United States 
from Pakistan, and we hope that this reach will also influence what is 
going on in his country, and the collective region will be in the 
business of ensuring that we have a nation that will stand up for the 
principles of a democratic economy and a democratic nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge the importance of this legislation. I am 
pursuing my interest in the treatment of Afghanistan children, but I do 
know if they have the tools to understand how they can better 
themselves as they grow and provide a nation based on democratic 
principles and principles of equality, we will have a friend in that 
region, along with many other friends.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) for 
his leadership. However we can move this legislation along for the 
President's desk, we will be better for it, and certainly the region 
will be a better place for all who live there.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H.R. 2998.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) that the House suspend the rules and 
concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 2998.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________