[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 105 (Thursday, July 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1335-E1336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              PERMANENT RADIO FREE ASIA AUTHORIZATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. MICHAEL E. McMAHON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 30, 2010

  Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 3104, which 
amends the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 to give 
the Broadcasting Board of Governors permanent control of grants to 
operate Radio Free Asia.
  Radio Free Asia is a private, non-profit organization whose mission 
is to provide accurate and relevant news to those living in Asian 
countries where freedom of the press is restricted since 1996.
  This organization is vitally important to the intellectual and 
political development of the peoples of Asia. Democracy cannot flourish 
without a free press, which is why Radio Free Asia is so important to 
those living under authoritarian regimes.
  For this reason, totalitarian governments in Asia spend millions of 
dollars each year trying to jam Radio Free Asia. Despite attempts to 
suppress its influence, Radio Free Asia has been greatly successful in 
fulfilling its mission--even reaching remote regions of North Korea, 
arming refugees and peace builders with information from the free 
world.
  Radio Free Asia has been the recipient of numerous awards, such as 
the Annual Human Rights Press Award International Activist Award and 
Edward R. Murrow Regional Award, both of which have been presented to 
Radio Free Asia multiple times.
  I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to support this 
bipartisan bill.

[[Page E1336]]

Radio Free Asia represents the potential of technology to cultivate 
democracy in nations to which it is foreign, and it is important that 
we modernize the structure of the organization to ensure its future 
financing and success.

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