[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5399-S5400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 5940. Mr. PORTMAN (for himself and Mr. Brown) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. 
Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be proposed to the 
bill H.R. 7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

   Subtitle G--Promotion of Freedom of Information and Countering of 
               Censorship and Surveillance in North Korea

     SEC. 1281. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Otto Warmbier 
     Countering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act of 
     2022''.

     SEC. 1282. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The information landscape in North Korea is the most 
     repressive in the world, consistently ranking last or near-
     last in the annual World Press Freedom Index.
       (2) Under the brutal rule of Kim Jung Un, the country's 
     leader since 2012, the North Korean regime has tightened 
     controls on access to information, as well as enacted harsh 
     punishments for consumers of outside media, including 
     sentencing to time in a concentration camp and a maximum 
     penalty of death.
       (3) Such repressive and unjust laws surrounding information 
     in North Korea resulted in the death of 22-year-old United 
     States citizen and university student Otto Warmbier, who had 
     traveled to North Korea in December 2015 as part of a guided 
     tour.
       (4) Otto Warmbier was unjustly arrested, sentenced to 15 
     years of hard labor, and severely mistreated at the hands of 
     North Korean officials. While in captivity, Otto Warmbier 
     suffered a serious medical emergency that placed him into a 
     comatose state. Otto Warmbier was comatose upon his release 
     in June 2017 and died 6 days later.
       (5) Despite increased penalties for possession and 
     viewership of foreign media, the people of North Korean have 
     increased their desire for foreign media content, according 
     to a survey of 200 defectors concluding that 90 percent had 
     watched South Korean or other foreign media before defecting.
       (6) On March 23, 2021, in an annual resolution, the United 
     Nations General Assembly condemned ``the long-standing and 
     ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human 
     rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea'' and 
     expressed grave concern at, among other things, ``the denial 
     of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion 
     . . . and of the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, 
     and association, both online and offline, which is enforced 
     through an absolute monopoly on information and total control 
     over organized social life, and arbitrary and unlawful state 
     surveillance that permeates the private lives of all 
     citizens''.
       (7) In 2018, Typhoon Yutu caused extensive damage to 15 
     broadcast antennas used by the United States Agency for 
     Global Media in Asia, resulting in reduced programming to 
     North Korea. The United States Agency for Global Media has 
     rebuilt 5 of the 15 antenna systems as of June 2021.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) in the event of a crisis situation, particularly where 
     information pertaining to the crisis is being actively 
     censored or a false narrative is being put forward, the 
     United States should be able to quickly increase its 
     broadcasting capability to deliver fact-based information to 
     audiences, including those in North Korea; and

[[Page S5400]]

       (2) the United States International Broadcasting Surge 
     Capacity Fund is already authorized under section 316 of the 
     United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 
     U.S.C. 6216), and expanded authority to transfer unobligated 
     balances from expired accounts of the United States Agency 
     for Global Media would enable the Agency to more nimbly 
     respond to crises.

     SEC. 1283. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

        It is the policy of the United States--
       (1) to provide the people of North Korea with access to a 
     diverse range of fact-based information;
       (2) to develop and implement novel means of communication 
     and information sharing that increase opportunities for 
     audiences in North Korea to safely create, access, and share 
     digital and non-digital news without fear of repressive 
     censorship, surveillance, or penalties under law; and
       (3) to foster and innovate new technologies to counter 
     North Korea's state-sponsored repressive surveillance and 
     censorship by advancing internet freedom tools, technologies, 
     and new approaches.

     SEC. 1284. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO COMBAT NORTH KOREA'S 
                   REPRESSIVE INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the President shall develop and 
     submit to Congress a strategy on combating North Korea's 
     repressive information environment.
       (b) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) 
     shall include the following:
       (1) An assessment of the challenges to the free flow of 
     information into North Korea created by the censorship and 
     surveillance technology apparatus of the Government of North 
     Korea.
       (2) A detailed description of the agencies and other 
     government entities, key officials, and security services 
     responsible for the implementation of North Korea's 
     repressive laws regarding foreign media consumption.
       (3) A detailed description of the agencies and other 
     government entities and key officials of foreign governments 
     that assist, facilitate, or aid North Korea's repressive 
     censorship and surveillance state.
       (4) A review of existing public-private partnerships that 
     provide circumvention technology and an assessment of the 
     feasibility and utility of new tools to increase free 
     expression, circumvent censorship, and obstruct repressive 
     surveillance in North Korea.
       (5) A description of and funding levels required for 
     current United States Government programs and activities to 
     provide access for the people of North Korea to a diverse 
     range of fact-based information.
       (6) An update of the plan required by section 104(a)(7)(A) 
     of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 
     7814(a)(7)(A)).
       (7) A description of Department of State programs and 
     funding levels for programs that promote internet freedom in 
     North Korea, including monitoring and evaluation efforts.
       (8) A description of grantee programs of the United States 
     Agency for Global Media in North Korea that facilitate 
     circumvention tools and broadcasting, including monitoring 
     and evaluation efforts.
       (9) A detailed assessment of how the United States 
     International Broadcasting Surge Capacity Fund authorized 
     under section 316 of the United States International 
     Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6216) has operated to 
     respond to crisis situations in the past, and how authority 
     to transfer unobligated balances from expired accounts would 
     help the United States Agency for Global Media in crisis 
     situations in the future.
       (10) A detailed plan for how the authorization of 
     appropriations under section 1285 will operate alongside and 
     augment existing programming from the relevant Federal 
     agencies and facilitate the development of new tools to 
     assist that programming.
       (c) Form of Strategy.--The strategy required by subsection 
     (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 
     the matters required by paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection 
     (b) in a classified annex.

     SEC. 1285. PROMOTING FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND COUNTERING 
                   CENSORSHIP AND SURVEILLANCE IN NORTH KOREA.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the United States Agency for Global 
     Media an additional $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 
     through 2027 to provide increased broadcasting and grants for 
     the following purposes:
       (1) To promote the development of internet freedom tools, 
     technologies, and new approaches, including both digital and 
     non-digital means of information sharing related to North 
     Korea.
       (2) To explore public-private partnerships to counter North 
     Korea's repressive censorship and surveillance state.
       (3) To develop new means to protect the privacy and 
     identity of individuals receiving media from the United 
     States Agency for Global Media and other outside media 
     outlets from within North Korea.
       (4) To bolster existing programming from the United States 
     Agency for Global Media by restoring the broadcasting 
     capacity of damaged antennas caused by Typhoon Yutu in 2018.
       (b) Annual Reports.--Section 104(a)(7)(B) of the North 
     Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814(a)(7)(B)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding clause (i)--
       (A) by striking ``1 year after the date of the enactment of 
     this paragraph'' and inserting ``September 30, 2022''; and
       (B) by striking ``Broadcasting Board of Governors'' and 
     inserting ``Chief Executive Officer of the United States 
     Agency for Global Media''; and
       (2) in clause (i), by inserting after ``this section'' the 
     following: ``and sections 1284 and 1285 of the Otto Warmbier 
     Countering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act of 
     2022''.
                                 ______