Sec. 9. Lokman Slim Excellence in Lebanese Investigative Journalism Award
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/bill/118/s/5574/is/section-9·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: On February 3, 2021, prominent Lebanese activist and journalist Lokman Slim was found murdered in the Hezbollah-controlled Al Zahrani district. Mr. Slim was a strong critic of Hezbollah and faced harassment and threats from Hezbollah and Hezbollah-aligned groups. Mr. Slim devoted his life to bringing about positive change in Lebanon and bravely pushed for justice, accountability, and rule of law. Despite promises by former President Michel Aoun and other Lebanese Government officials, Mr.
Slim’s killer has not been found and a credible investigation into his murder has not been launched by Lebanese Government authorities. In this section: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate ; the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives ; and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives . The term Award means the award established pursuant to subsection (c).
The Secretary of State is authorized to establish an award, which shall be known as the Lokman Slim Excellence in Lebanese Investigative Journalism Award , for extraordinary efforts in investigative journalism inside Lebanon, including in the face of harassment, detention, prosecution, or obstruction. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of State shall annually present the Award to not more than 3 individuals or organizations that are— United States citizens or foreign nationals engaged in investigative journalism focused on Lebanon; or United States or foreign private or nongovernmental organizations engaged in investigative journalism focused on Lebanon.
The Secretary of State shall establish procedures for selecting recipients of the Award. The Secretary of State shall submit an annual report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that— lists the Award recipients for such year; and includes an explanation of each recipient’s selection according to the procedures authorized under subsection (e). The Secretary of State should host an annual ceremony for recipients of the Award as soon as practicable after the date on which the Secretary submits the report required under subsection (f).
The Secretary of State may pay the travel costs of each Award recipient and a guest of each Award recipient who attends such ceremony. There are authorized to be appropriated, for each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2029, such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.