United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014

Short title— This Act may be cited as the “United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014”.

Table of contents— The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

United States international broadcasting exists to advance the United States interests and values by presenting accurate, objective, and comprehensive news and information, which is the foundation for democratic governance, to societies that lack a free media.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “[e]veryone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression”, and that “this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives on January 23, 2013, that the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) “is practically a defunct agency in terms of its capacity to be able to tell a message around the world. So we’re abdicating the ideological arena and need to get back into it.”.

The BBG, which was created by Congress to oversee the United States international broadcasting in the wake of the Cold War, has, because of structural and managerial issues, had limited success to date in both coordinating the various components of the international broadcasting framework and managing the day-to-day operations of the Federal components of the international broadcasting framework.

The lack of regular attendance by board members and a periodic inability to form a quorum have plagued the BBG and, as a result, it has been functionally incapable of running the agency.

The board of governors has only achieved the full slate of all nine governors for seven of its 17 years of existence, which highlights the difficulties of confirming and retaining governors under the current structure.

Both the Department of State’s Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office have issued reports which outline a severely dysfunctional organizational structure of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

The Inspector General of the Department of State concluded in its January 2013 report that dysfunction of the BBG stems from “a flawed legislative structure and acute internal dissension”.

The Inspector General of the Department of State also found that the BBG’s structure of nine part-time members “cannot effectively supervise all United States Government-supported, civilian international broadcasting”, and its involvement in day-to-day operations has impeded normal management functions.

The Government Accountability Office report determined that there was significant overlap among the BBG’s languages services, and that the BBG did not systematically consider the financial cost of overlap.

According to the Office of the Inspector General, the BBG’s Office of Contracts is not in compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, lacks appropriate contract oversight, and violates the Anti-Deficiency Act. The Office of the Inspector General also determined that the Broadcasting Board of Governors has not adequately performed full and open competitions or price determinations, has entered into hundreds of personal service contracts without statutory authority, and contractors regularly work without valid contracts in place.

The size and make-up of the BBG workforce should be closely examined, given the agency’s broader broadcasting and technical mission, as well as changing media technologies.

The BBG should be structured to ensure that more taxpayer dollars are dedicated to the substantive, broadcasting, and information-related elements of the agency’s mission.

The lack of a coherent and well defined mission of the Voice of America has led to programming that duplicates the efforts of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, RFE/RL, Incorporated, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated that results in inefficient use of tax-payer funding.

The annual survey conducted by the “Partnership for Public Service” consistently ranks the Broadcasting Board of Governors at or near the bottom of all Federal agencies in terms of “overall best places to work” and “the extent to which employees feel their skills and talents are used effectively”. The consistency of these low scores point to structural, cultural, and functional problems at the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

The Federal and non-Federal organizations that comprise the United States international broadcasting framework have different, yet complementary, missions that necessitate coordination at all levels of management.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors has an overabundance of senior civil service positions, defined here as full-time employees encumbering GS–14 and GS–15 positions on the General Schedule pay scale.

United States international broadcasting should seek to leverage public-private partnerships, including the licensing of content and the use of technology owned or operated by non-governmental sources, where possible to expand outreach capacity.

Shortwave broadcasting has been an important method of communication that should be utilized in regions as a component of United States international broadcasting where a critical need for the platform exists.

Congressional action is necessary at this time to improve international broadcasting operations, strengthen the United States public diplomacy efforts, enhance the grantee surrogate broadcasting effort, restore focus to news, programming, and content, and maximize the value of Federal and non-Federal resources that are dedicated to public diplomacy and international broadcasting.

To provide objective, accurate, credible, and comprehensive news and information to societies that lack freedom of expression and information.

To improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility of United States international broadcasting to allow it to adapt to constantly changing political and media environments through clarification of missions, improved coordination, and organizational restructuring.

To coordinate the complementary efforts of the Department of State and United States international broadcasting.

To create a United States international broadcasting framework that more effectively leverages the broadcasting tools available and creates specialization of expertise in mission oriented programming, while minimizing waste and inefficiency.

To improve United States international broadcasting workforce effectiveness, security, and satisfaction.

Appropriate congressional committees— The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

Grantee— The term “grantee” means the non-Federal organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code as of day before the date of the enactment of this Act that receives Federal funding from the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and includes Radio Free Asia, RFE/RL, Incorporated, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated.

Freedom news network— The term “Freedom News Network” refers to the non-Federal organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code that would receive Federal funding and be responsible for promoting democratic freedoms and free media operations for foreign audiences in societies that lack freedom of expression and information, and consisting of the consolidation of the grantee in accordance with section 211.

Public diplomacy— The term “public diplomacy” means the effort to achieve broad United States foreign policy goals and objectives, advance national interests, and enhance national security by informing and influencing foreign publics and by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the people and Government of the United States and citizens of other countries.

Be consistent with the broad foreign policy objectives of the United States.

Be consistent with the international telecommunications policies and treaty obligations of the United States.

Not duplicate the activities of private United States broadcasters.

Be conducted in accordance with the highest professional standards of broadcast journalism while remaining consistent with and supportive of the broad foreign policy objectives of the United States.

Be based on reliable, research-based information, both quantitative and qualitative, about its potential audience.

Be designed so as to effectively reach a significant audience.

Promote freedom of expression, religion, and respect for human rights and human equality.

In general— The Board of the United States International Communications Agency and the Board of the Freedom News Network, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall ensure that United States international broadcasting is conducted only to countries and regions that—

Exception— The United States International Communications Agency and the Freedom News Network may broadcast to countries that fall outside of the criteria described in subsection (a) if the Chief Executive Officer of the Agency and the Freedom News Network, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determine it is in the national security interest of the United States, or in the interests of preserving the safety and security of United States citizens at home and abroad, to do so.