22 USC 6208 - Radio Free Asia

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (e)(2) and (h), was in the original “this title”, meaning title III of Puspan. L. 103–236, Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 432, known as the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of title III to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6201 of this title and Tables.

Codification

Puspan. L. 116–283, div. A, title XII, § 1299Q(e)(4), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4025, which amended this section, was itself amended by Puspan. L. 116–260, div. O, title XIII, § 1301, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2158, to make it effective 90 days after Jan. 1, 2021. However, the amendment by Puspan. L. 116–260 could not be executed because it was enacted before the provision from Puspan. L. 116–283 that it amended.

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (c)(1). Puspan. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(e)(4)(A), substituted “Agency” for “Board” in two places.

Subsec. (e). Puspan. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(e)(4)(B), substituted “Agency” for “Board” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (f). Puspan. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(e)(4)(C), substituted “Agency” for “Board” in introductory provisions of par. (1) and in par. (2).

Subsec. (g). Puspan. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(e)(4)(D), substituted “Agency” for “Board”.

2016—Subsec. (a)(1). Puspan. L. 114–323, § 703(a)(1), substituted “Asia.” for “the following countries: The People’s Republic of China, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, North Korea, Tibet, and Vietnam.”

Subsec. (span)(1). Puspan. L. 114–323, § 703(a)(2), struck out “the respective countries of” before “Asia”.

Subsec. (f)(2). Puspan. L. 114–328, § 1288(6)(A), substituted “Chief Executive Officer of the Board” for “Chairman of the Board”.

Subsecs. (g), (h). Puspan. L. 114–328, § 1288(6)(B), (C), added subsec. (g) and redesignated former subsec. (g) as (h).

2010—Subsec. (c)(2). Puspan. L. 111–202, § 3(1), struck out “, and shall further specify that funds to carry out the activities of Radio Free Asia may not be available after September 30, 2010” after “Government”.

Subsecs. (f) to (h). Puspan. L. 111–202, § 3(2)–(4), redesignated subsecs. (g) and (h) as (f) and (g), respectively, designated first sentence of subsec. (f) as par. (1), inserted heading, inserted subpar. (A) designation before “entering into any agreements for the utilization of Voice of America”, added subpar. (B), designated second sentence of subsec. (f) as par. (2), inserted heading, inserted “or Radio Free Asia broadcasting activities” before period at end, and struck out former subsec. (f) which related to sunset provisions.

2009—Subsec. (f). Puspan. L. 111–71 substituted “2010” for “2009”.

2008—Subsec. (c)(2). Puspan. L. 110–321 substituted “2010” for “2009”.

1999—Subsec. (c). Puspan. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title V, § 501(1), (2)], redesignated subsec. (d) as (c) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (c), which required the Board, through the Director of the United States Information Agency, to submit to Congress a detailed plan for the establishment and operation of Radio Free Asia prior to the awarding of a grant to carry out this section.

Subsec. (c)(1). Puspan. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title V, § 501(3)(A)], struck out “(A)” after “(1)” and struck out subpar. (B) which read as follows: “Not later than 90 days after confirmation of all members of the Board, the Board shall provide a report to Congress on the number of administrative, managerial, and technical staff of Radio Free Asia who will be located within the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C., and the number of employees whose principal place of business will be located outside the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C.”

Subsec. (c)(2). Puspan. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title V, § 501(3)(B)], substituted “September 30, 2009” for “September 30, 1999”.

Subsec. (c)(4). Puspan. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title V, § 501(3)(C)], substituted “$30,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 2000 and 2001” for “$22,000,000 in any fiscal year”.

Subsec. (c)(5), (6). Puspan. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title V, § 501(3)(D), (E)], redesignated par. (6) as (5) and struck out former par. (5) which read as follows: “The total amount of grant funds made available for one-time capital costs of Radio Free Asia may not exceed $8,000,000.”

Subsecs. (d), (e). Puspan. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title V, § 501(2)], redesignated subsecs. (e) and (f) as (d) and (e), respectively. Former subsec. (d) redesignated (c).

Subsec. (f). Puspan. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title V, § 501(4)], reenacted subsec. heading without change and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Board may not make any grant for the purpose of operating Radio Free Asia after September 30, 1998, unless the President of the United States determines in the President’s fiscal year 1999 budget submission that continuation of funding for Radio Free Asia for 1 additional year is in the interest of the United States.”

Puspan. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title V, § 501(2)], redesignated subsec. (g) as (f). Former subsec. (f) redesignated (e).

Subsecs. (g) to (i). Puspan. L. 106–113, § 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title V, § 501(2)], redesignated subsecs. (h) and (i) as (g) and (h), respectively. Former subsec. (g) redesignated (f).

1994—Subsec. (d)(1)(B). Puspan. L. 103–415 inserted “of all members” after “confirmation”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Findings

Puspan. L. 111–202, § 1, July 13, 2010, 124 Stat. 1373, provided that: “Congress finds the following:

“(1) Radio Free Asia (referred to in this Act [amending this section] as ‘RFA’)—

“(A) was authorized under section 309 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6208);

“(B) was incorporated as a private, non-profit corporation in March 1996 in the hope that its operations would soon be obviated by the global advancement of democracy; and

“(C) is headquartered in Washington, DC, with additional offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Ankara, and Taipei.

“(2) RFA broadcasts serve as substitutes for indigenous free media in regions lacking free media outlets.

“(3) The mission of RFA is ‘to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press’ in order to enable informed decisionmaking by the people within Asia.

“(4) RFA provides daily broadcasts of news, commentary, analysis, and cultural programming to Asian countries in several languages, including—

“(A) 12 hours per day in Mandarin;

“(B) 8 hours per day in 3 Tibetan dialects, Uke, Kham, and Amdo;

“(C) 4 hours per day in Korean and Burmese;

“(D) 2 hours per day in Cantonese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Khmer (Cambodian), and Uyghur; and

“(E) 1½ hours per week in Wu (local Shanghai dialect).

“(5) The governments of the countries targeted for these broadcasts have consistently denied and blocked attempts at Medium Wave and FM transmissions into their countries, forcing RFA to rely on Shortwave broadcasts and the Internet.

“(6) RFA has provided continuous online news to its Asian audiences since 2004, although some countries—

“(A) routinely and aggressively block RFA’s website;

“(B) monitor access to RFA’s website; and

“(C) discourage online users by making it illegal to access RFA’s website.

“(7) Despite these attempts, RFA has successfully managed to reach its online audiences through proxies, cutting-edge software, and active republication and repostings by its audience.

“(8) RFA also provides forums for local opinions and experiences through message boards, podcasts, wespan logs (blogs), cell phone-distributed newscasts, and new media, including Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube.

“(9) Freedom House has documented that freedom of the press is in decline in nearly every region of the world, particularly in Asia, where none of the countries served by RFA have increased their freedom of the press during the past 5 years.

“(10) In fiscal year 2010, RFA is operating on a $37,000,000 budget, less than $400,000 of which is available to fund Internet censorship circumvention.

“(11) Congress currently provides grant funding for RFA’s operations on a fiscal year basis.”