[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 77 (Tuesday, May 19, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5645-S5646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             EXPRESSING THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that we now proceed to Calendar No. 
56, S. Res. 49.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 49) to express the sense of the 
     Senate regarding the importance of public diplomacy.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, 
the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the 
table, and that any statements relating to this resolution be printed 
in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 49) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 49

       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.

[[Page S5646]]



                          ____________________