[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 105 (Thursday, July 15, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S5957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      TRIBUTE TO BLANQUITA CULLUM

 Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, as Blanquita Cullum's service as 
Governor on the Broadcasting Board of Governors comes to an end, I wish 
to make note of her untiring efforts to maintain United States 
international broadcasting during times of enormous pressures.
  Throughout her tenure, Blanquita Cullum has been a champion for the 
mission of American international broadcasting, but also for the 
audiences who rely upon our international broadcasts for credible, 
authoritative, accurate and factual news and information.
  Chief among her concerns has been for the continuation of U.S. 
international radio broadcasts, the form of communication which to this 
day remains the most readily accessible and cost-effective means of 
communication for billions of oppressed people living in poverty.
  In our technologically driven consumer society, it escapes our 
attention that almost two billion people make less than $2 a day. 
Blanquita Cullum has insisted, often in the face of resistance, that 
these populations not be abandoned and their fate left to chance.
  In addition, she has argued strongly that cuts not be made to 
critical strategic regions of the world where regions are often one 
incident away from open conflict. She was among those calling for the 
resumption of United States international broadcasts to Russia. This 
call to action was given added impetus during the armed conflict 
between Russia and the Republic of Georgia, days after U.S. 
international broadcasts to Russia were ended. Even though the other 
members of the Board inexplicably refused to restore Russian 
broadcasts, Blanquita Cullum's forceful arguments helped avert their 
planned termination of U.S. broadcasts to the Republic of Georgia and 
the Ukraine.
  Blanquita Cullum has global vision. International terrorism and other 
threats to the United States are globalized. We ignore this fact at our 
own risk. For example, she has argued strongly for a more robust 
presence of U.S. international broadcasting to Latin America, including 
targeted broadcasts to Cuba, Venezuela, and other audiences whose 
airwaves are saturated with antidemocracy sentiments and propaganda.
  Further, she has strongly argued for increased oversight and 
accountability with regard to U.S. international broadcasting, 
recognizing the importance of our broadcasts being above reproach. In 
the course of my own investigations, I discovered VOA broadcasts to 
Iran that undermined U.S. policy and gave a platform for the propaganda 
of our enemies. U.S. broadcasts in Arabic have also given uninterrupted 
and unchallenged platforms to terrorists and other enemies of the U.S. 
and our allies. Blanquita Cullum was the only Governor to support my 
and my colleagues' calls for greater transparency and accountability in 
our broadcasts--an ongoing need that has yet to be adequately 
rectified.
  In the Asian sphere, she resisted efforts by the BBG bureaucracy to 
reduce the agency's Tibetan broadcasts and made certain that broadcasts 
to Burma during its violent crackdown of pro-democracy advocates were 
not interrupted.
  Long before it became a topic of urgency, Blanquita Cullum recognized 
the importance of cybersecurity and argued for increased vigilance on 
the part of the agency's technical component to take measures necessary 
to ensure that BBG broadcasts and Internet assets were protected 
against such threats.
  Finally, it is a secret to no one that Blanquita Cullum has been a 
strong believer in the human component of the agency's operations. She 
has enjoyed an engaged relationship with the agency's employees and 
bristled over the agency's poor showing in the annual Human Capital 
Survey. An organization that cannot command the confidence of its staff 
is not likely to be fully engaged with the audiences it portends to 
serve.
  One needs to look no further than Governor Blanquita Cullum as the 
model of unselfish public service in the National and Public Interest. 
She will be sorely missed by those at the BBG and in Congress who still 
believe in the original purpose of U.S. international broadcasting. The 
new Board of Governors will have a challenge ahead of them as they 
attempt to fill her shoes and continue her efforts to reform U.S. 
International Broadcasting.

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