Sec. 1291. United States Agency for Global Media
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This section may be cited as the . U.S. Agency for Global Media Reform Act It is the sense of Congress that the Office of Cuba Broadcasting should— remain an independent entity of the United States Agency for Global Media; and continue taking steps to ensure that the Office is fulfilling its core mission of promoting freedom and democracy by providing the people of Cuba with objective news and information programming. Section 305 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 ( 22 U.S.C. 6204 ) is amended— in subsection (a)— in paragraph (20), by inserting in accordance with subsection
(c)before the period at the end; in paragraph (21)— by striking including with Federal officials, ; and by inserting in accordance with subsection
(c)before the period at the end; by adding at the end the following new paragraph: To— require semi-annual content reviews of each language service of each surrogate network, consisting of a review of at least 10 percent of available weekly content, by fluent language speakers and experts without direct affiliation to the language service being reviewed, who are seeking any evidence of inappropriate or unprofessional content, which shall be submitted to the Office of Policy Research, the head and Board of the respective surrogate service, and the Chief Executive Officer; and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of anomalous reports, including status updates on anomalous services during the 3-year period commencing on the date of receipt of the first report of biased, unprofessional, or otherwise problematic content. ; by adding at the end the following new subsection: The Chief Executive Officer may not award any grant under subsection
(a)to RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, the Open Technology Fund, or any other grantee authorized under this title (collectively referred to as Agency Grantee Networks ) unless the incorporation documents of any such grantee require that the corporate leadership and Board of Directors of such grantee be selected in accordance with this Act. The Chief Executive Officer may not serve on any of the corporate boards of any grantee under subsection (a). A full-time employee of a Federal agency may not serve on a corporate board of any grantee under subsection (a). Individuals appointed under subsection
(a)to the Board of Directors of any of the Agency Grantee Networks shall have requisite expertise in journalism, technology, broadcasting, or diplomacy, or appropriate language or cultural understanding relevant to the grantee’s mission. . Section 306 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 ( 22 U.S.C. 6205 ) is amended— by striking subsections
(a)through
(c)and inserting the following: The International Broadcasting Advisory Board (referred to in this section as the Advisory Board ) shall advise the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Agency for Global Media, as appropriate. The Advisory Board as established shall exist within the executive branch as an entity described in section 104 of title 5, United States Code. The Advisory Board shall consist of seven members, of whom— six shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in accordance with subsection (c); and one shall be the Secretary of State. The President shall designate, with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of the members appointed under paragraph (1)(A) as Chair of the Advisory Board. Not more than three members of the Advisory Board appointed under paragraph (1)(A) may be affiliated with the same political party. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), members of the Advisory Board shall serve for a single term of 4 years, except that, of the first group of members appointed under paragraph (1)(A)— two members who are not affiliated with the same political party, shall be appointed for terms ending on the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of the U.S. Agency for Global Media Reform Act ; two members who are not affiliated with the same political party, shall be appointed for terms ending on the date that is 4 years after the date of the enactment of the U.S. Agency for Global Media Reform Act ; and two members who are not affiliated with the same political party, shall be appointed for terms ending on the date that is 6 years after the date of the enactment of the U.S. Agency for Global Media Reform Act . The Secretary of State shall serve as a member of the Advisory Board for the duration of his or her tenure as Secretary of State. The President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, additional members to fill vacancies on the Advisory Board occurring before the expiration of a term. Any members appointed pursuant to subparagraph
(A)shall serve for the remainder of such term. Any member whose term has expired shall continue to serve as a member of the Advisory Board until a qualified successor has been appointed and confirmed by the Senate. When there is a vacancy in the office of Secretary of State, the Acting Secretary of State shall serve as a member of the Advisory Board until a new Secretary of State is appointed. ; by redesignating subsection
(d)as subsection (c); by amending subsection (c), as redesignated— in the subsection heading, by inserting before Advisory ; and Board in paragraph (2), by inserting who are before distinguished ; and by striking subsections
(e)and
(f)and inserting the following new subsections: The members of the Advisory Board shall— provide the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Agency for Global Media with advice and recommendations for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Agency and its programming; meet with the Chief Executive Officer at least four times annually, including twice in person as practicable, and at additional meetings at the request of the Chief Executive Officer or the Chair of the Advisory Board; report periodically, or upon request, to the congressional committees specified in subsection (c)(2) regarding its advice and recommendations for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the United States Agency for Global Media and its programming; obtain information from the Chief Executive Officer, as needed, for the purposes of fulfilling the functions described in this subsection; consult with the Chief Executive Officer regarding budget submissions and strategic plans before they are submitted to the Office of Management and Budget or to Congress; advise the Chief Executive Officer to ensure that— the Chief Executive Officer fully respects the professional integrity and editorial independence of United States Agency for Global Media broadcasters, networks, and grantees; and agency networks, broadcasters, and grantees adhere to the highest professional standards and ethics of journalism, including taking necessary actions to uphold professional standards to produce consistently reliable and authoritative, accurate, objective, and comprehensive news and information; and provide other strategic input to the Chief Executive Officer. The heads of Voice of America, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, the Open Technology Fund, or of any other grantee authorized under this title may only be appointed or removed if such action has been approved by a majority vote of the Advisory Board. After consulting with the Chief Executive Officer, five or more members of the Advisory Board may unilaterally remove any such head of network or grantee network described in paragraph (1). A quorum shall consist of four members of the Advisory Board (excluding the Secretary of State). Except as provided in paragraph (2), decisions of the Advisory Board shall be made by majority vote, a quorum being present. The Advisory Board may meet in closed sessions in accordance with section 552b of title 5, United States Code. Members of the Advisory Board, while attending meetings of the Advisory Board or while engaged in duties relating to such meetings or in other activities of the Advisory Board under this section (including travel time) shall be entitled to receive compensation equal to the daily equivalent of the compensation prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code. While away from their homes or regular places of business, members of the Board may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized under section 5703 of such title for persons in the Government service employed intermittently. The Secretary of State is not entitled to any compensation under this title, but may be allowed travel expenses in accordance with paragraph (2). The Chief Executive Officer shall, from within existing United States Agency for Global Media personnel, provide the Advisory Board with an Executive Secretary and such administrative staff and support as may be necessary to enable the Advisory Board to carry out subsections
(d)and (e). . The United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 ( 22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is amended— in section 304— in the section heading, by striking and inserting Broadcasting Board of Governors ; United States Agency for Global Media in subsection (a), by striking Broadcasting Board of Governors and inserting United States Agency for Global Media ; in subsection (b)(1), by striking Broadcasting Board of Governors and inserting United States Agency for Global Media ; and in subsection (c), by striking Board each place such term appears and inserting Agency ; in section 305— in subsection (a)— in paragraph (6), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in paragraph (13), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in paragraph (20), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; and in paragraph (22), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in subsection (b), by striking Board each place such term appears and inserting Agency ; in section 308— in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in subsection (b), by striking Board each place such term appears and inserting Agency ; in subsection (d), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in subsection (g), by striking Board each place such term appears and inserting Agency ; in subsection (h)(5), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; and in subsection (i), in the first sentence, by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in section 309— in subsection (c)(1), by striking Board each place such term appears and inserting Agency ; in subsection (e), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in subsection (f), by striking Board each place such term appears and inserting Agency ; and in subsection (g), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in section 310(d), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in section 310A(a), by striking Broadcasting Board of Governors and inserting United States Agency for Global Media ; in section 310B, by striking Board and inserting Agency ; by striking section 312; in section 313(a), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking Board and inserting Agency ; in section 314— by striking
(4)the terms and inserting the following: Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Board means the Broadcasting Board of Governors the terms Agency and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency mean the United States Agency for Global Media and the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Agency for Global Media, respectively, ; and in paragraph (3)— by striking includes— and inserting means the corporation having the corporate title described in section 308 ; and by striking subparagraphs
(A)and (B); and in section 316— in subsection (a)(1), by striking Broadcasting Board of Governors and inserting United States Agency for Global Media ; and in subsection (c), by striking Broadcasting Board of Governors and inserting United States Agency for Global Media . Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the United States Agency for Global Media may not revise part 531 of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, which took effect on June 11, 2020, without explicit authorization by an Act of Congress. Section 310 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 ( 22 U.S.C. 6209 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections: No consolidation of grantees authorized under subsection
(a)involving any grantee shall result in any legal transfer of ownership of any proprietary information or intellectual property to the United State Agency for Global Media or any other Federal entity. No consolidation of grantees authorized under subsection
(a)shall result in the consolidation of the Open Technology Fund or any successor entity with any other grantee. . Nothing in the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 or any other provision of law may be construed to make the Open Technology Fund an entity authorized under such Act until the effective date of legislation authorizing the establishment of the Open Technology Fund.
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