[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21949]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               EXPAND EFFECTIVENESS OF U.S. BROADCASTING

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 7, 2001

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today we adopted H.R. 2998 authorizing 
the establishment of Radio Free Afghanistan to create a surrogate radio 
broadcasting service in Afghanistan. I am a cosponsor of this 
legislation and I look forward to its serving as a valuable complement 
to the important contribution already made by the Voice of America 
(VOA). We need to increase and improve our public diplomacy in the 
Arabic-speaking world. We can reach millions and provide fair, accurate 
information about America, its principles and policies by increasing 
our VOA broadcasting in this way.
  A constituent of mine who is an Arabic linguist has written to me 
regarding his thoughtful idea about how we can better utilize 
information we already receive and make it even more useful in our 
information-sharing efforts here and abroad.
  The Smith-Mundt Act (22 U.S.C. 1461) should be amended to allow the 
release of materials such as manuscripts upon request and further 
assist U.S. linguists to receive these materials. As we respond to the 
events of September 11, I believe this modification would expand the 
effectiveness of VOA and allow qualified private institutions greater 
access to information so vital for intercultural exchange.
  I urge my colleagues' consideration of allowing this greater use of 
the information we are already receiving, and will be working to 
accomplish this through my membership on the House International 
Relations Committee.

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