1
 So in original.
the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act [
2
 So in original. See 2016 Amendment note below.
before the effective date of title XIII of the Foreign Affairs Consolidation Act of 1998 for carrying out the broadcasting activities covered by this chapter.
3
 So in original. The period and quotation marks preceding the semicolon probably should not appear.
and
Editorial Notes
References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (9), (17), (18) and (c)(1) the first place appearing, was in the original “this title”, meaning title III of Pub. 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.

The Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), (9), is Pub. L. 98–111, Oct. 4, 1983, 97 Stat. 749, which is classified generally to subchapter V–A (§ 1465 et seq.) of chapter 18 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1465 of this title and Tables.

The Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), (9), is part D of title II of Pub. L. 101–246, Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 58, which is classified principally to subchapter V–B (§ 1465aa et seq.) of chapter 18 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1465aa of this title and Tables.

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a)(5), (14), and (c)(1) the second place appearing, was in the original “this Act”, and was translated, to reflect the probable intent of Congress, as reading “this title”, meaning title III of Pub. 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.

The United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, referred to in subsec. (a)(17), is act Jan. 27, 1948, ch. 36, 62 Stat. 6, which is classified generally to chapter 18 (§ 1431 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1431 of this title and Tables.

Section 6 of Reorganization Plan Number 2 of 1977, referred to in subsec. (a)(17), which was set out under section 1461 of this title, was repealed by Pub. L. 105–277, div. G, subdiv. A, title XIII, § 1336(6), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–790.

For the effective date of title XIII of the Foreign Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1998, referred to in subsec. (a)(17), (18), meaning the effective date of title XIII of subdiv. A of div. G of Pub. L. 105–277, see section 1301 of Pub. L. 105–277, set out as a note under section 6531 of this title.

Codification

“Chief Executive Officer” was substituted for “Board” in section catchline to reflect the probable intent of Congress and the amendment by Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), which substituted “Chief Executive Officer” for “Board” wherever appearing in subsec. (a).

Section is comprised of section 305 of Pub. L. 103–236, which consists of subsecs. (a), (b), (e), and (c), in that order. Subsec. (e) of section 305 of Pub. L. 103–236 amended sections 1465b and 1465c of this title and is omitted from the text of this section. There was no subsec. (c) or (d) after amendment by Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(B)–(D). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(c)(2), which added a new subsec. (c), directed that it be added at the end of this section, which technically places it after subsec. (e) but is shown here as following subsec. (b) due to the omission of subsec. (e).

Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XII, § 1299Q(c), (e)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4021, 4025, which amended this section, was itself amended by Pub. 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 Pub. L. 116–260 could not be executed because it was enacted before the provision from Pub. L. 116–283 that it amended.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 117–263, § 9706(1), struck out “direct and” before “supervise”.

Subsec. (a)(20). Pub. L. 117–263, § 9706(4), which directed amendment of par. (22), “as redesignated”, of subsec. (a) by substituting a period for “and to condition grants” and all that followed, was executed by substituting a period for “and to condition grants or cooperative agreements, if appropriate, on such grants or cooperative agreements or any similar amendments as authorized under section 6207(a) of this title, including authority to name and replace the board of any grantee authorized under this chapter, to meet the purposes of this chapter in accordance with subsection (c).” in par. (20), as redesignated by Pub. L. 117–263, § 9706(3), to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See Amendment note below. Par. (20), and not par. (22), contained the words “and to condition grants”.

Pub. L. 117–263, § 9706(2), (3), redesignated par. (21) as (20) and struck out former par. (20) which read as follows: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 6207(a) of this title, to condition, if appropriate, any grant or cooperative agreement to RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Asia, the Open Technology Fund, or the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, or any organization that is established through the consolidation of such entities, on authority to determine membership of their respective boards, and the consolidation of such grantee entities into a single grantee organization under terms and conditions established by the Agency in accordance with subsection (c).”

Subsec. (a)(21), (22). Pub. L. 117–263, § 9706(3), redesignated pars. (22) and (23) as (21) and (22), respectively. Former par. (21) redesignated (20).

2021—Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(e)(2)(A)(i), substituted “Agency” for “Board”.

Subsec. (a)(13). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(e)(2)(A)(ii), substituted “Agency” for “Board”.

Subsec. (a)(20). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(c)(1)(A), (e)(2)(A)(iii), substituted “Agency” for “Board” and inserted “in accordance with subsection (c)” before period at end.

Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299P(c)(2), inserted “the Open Technology Fund,” before “or the Middle East Broadcasting Networks”.

Subsec. (a)(21). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(c)(1)(B), struck out “including with Federal officials,” before “to meet the purposes” and inserted “in accordance with subsection (c)” before period at end.

Subsec. (a)(22). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(e)(2)(A)(iv), substituted “Agency” for “Board”.

Subsec. (a)(23). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(c)(1)(C), added par. (23).

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(e)(2)(B), substituted “Agency” for “Board” in two places.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1299Q(c)(2), added subsec. (c). See Codification note above.

2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), substituted “Chief Executive Officer” for “Board” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(ii), inserted “direct and” before “supervise”.

Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(iii), inserted “and cooperative agreements” after “grants” and substituted “in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter and on behalf of other agencies, accordingly” for “in accordance with sections 6207 and 6208 of this title”.

Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(iv), substituted “Board” for “International Broadcasting Bureau” and struck out “subject to the limitations in sections 6207 and 6208 of this title and” before “subject to reprogramming”.

Subsec. (a)(10). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), (v), substituted “Chief Executive Officer” for “Board”, inserted “, rent, or lease” after “procure”, and substituted “property for journalism, media, production, and broadcasting, and related support services, notwithstanding any other provision of law relating to such acquisition, rental, or lease, and under the same terms and conditions as authorized under section 501(b) of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1461(b)), and for multiyear contracts and leases for periods of up to 20 years subject to the requirements of subsections (b) through (f) of section 3903 of title 41” for “personal property”.

Subsec. (a)(11). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), (vi), struck out “staff” before “personnel” and substituted “for the Chief Executive Officer” for “for the Board”, “as the Chief Executive Officer” for “as the Board”, and “which shall not be subject” for “subject”.

Subsec. (a)(12). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), substituted “Chief Executive Officer” for “Board”.

Subsec. (a)(13). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(vii), substituted “Board” for “Bureau” and “Chief Executive Officer has taken” for “Board has taken”.

Subsec. (a)(14). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), (viii), substituted “Chief Executive Officer” for “Board” and inserted “transmission or” before “relay” and “or any other grantee authorized under this chapter” after “Radio Free Asia”.

Subsec. (a)(15)(A). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(ix), struck out “temporary and intermittent” after “To procure” and “to the same extent as is authorized by section 3109 of title 5,” after “personal services”.

Subsec. (a)(16). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), (x), substituted “for the Chief Executive Officer” for “for the Board” and “Chief Executive Officer determines” for “Board determines”.

Subsec. (a)(17). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), substituted “Chief Executive Officer” for “Board”.

Subsec. (a)(18). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), (xi), substituted “Agency, the Chief Executive Officer” for “Agency, the Bureau” and “or the Chief Executive Officer” for “or the Board”.

Subsec. (a)(19). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(i), substituted “Chief Executive Officer” for “Board” in subpars. (A) and (B).

Subsec. (a)(20) to (22). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(A)(xii), added pars. (20) to (22).

Subsecs. (b) to (d). Pub. L. 114–328, § 1288(2)(B)–(D), redesignated subsec. (d) as (b), substituted “and the Chief Executive Officer” for “and the Board” and “Board” for “International Broadcasting Bureau”, and struck out former subsecs. (b) and (c) which related to delegation of authority and broadcasting budgets, respectively.

2005—Subsec. (a)(19). Pub. L. 109–140 added par. (19).

2002—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 107–228 substituted “annually,” for “annually,,”.

1998—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(e)(1), struck out “direct and” after “To” and substituted “, the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act, and Worldnet Television, except as provided in section 6205(b) of this title” for “and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act”.

Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(e)(2), inserted “, after consultation with the Secretary of State,” after “annually,”.

Subsec. (a)(9). Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(e)(3), struck out “, through the Director of the United States Information Agency,” after “the Congress” and inserted at end “Each annual report shall place special emphasis on the assessment described in paragraph (2).”

Subsec. (a)(12). Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(e)(4), substituted “1998 and 1999” for “1994 and 1995” and “to the Board and the International Broadcasting Bureau for such purposes for fiscal year 1997” for “to the Board for International Broadcasting for such purposes for fiscal year 1993”.

Subsec. (a)(15) to (18). Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(e)(5), added pars. (15) to (18).

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(f), added subsec. (b). Former subsec. (b) redesignated (c).

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(g), (h), struck out “(1)” before “The Director”, struck out “the Director of the United States Information Agency for the consideration of the Director as a part of the Agency’s budget submission to” before “the Office of Management and Budget”, and struck out par. (2) which read as follows: “The Director of the United States Information Agency shall include in the Agency’s submission to the Office of Management and Budget the comments and recommendations of the Board concerning the proposed broadcasting budget.”

Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(f)(1), redesignated subsec. (b) as (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d).

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(i), amended heading and text of subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Director of the United States Information Agency and the Board, in carrying out their functions, shall respect the professional independence and integrity of the International Broadcasting Bureau, its broadcasting services, and grantees.”

Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(f)(1), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d).

Pub. L. 105–277, § 1323(f)(1), redesignated subsec. (d) as (e). See Codification note above.

1994—Subsec. (a)(14). Pub. L. 103–415 substituted “relay of Radio” for “relay to Radio”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2021 Amendment

Amendment by section 1299P(c)(2) of Pub. L. 116–283 effective and applicable beginning on July 1, 2021, see section 1299P(e) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note under section 6203 of this title.

Effective Date of 1998 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 105–277 effective Oct. 1, 1999, see section 1301 of Pub. L. 105–277, set out as an Effective Date note under section 6531 of this title.

Expansion of Farsi Language Programming

Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title XII, § 1262, Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2553, provided that:

“(a)
International Broadcasting Operations Fund.—
In addition to amounts otherwise authorized for the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ [now United States Agency for Global Media] International Broadcasting Operations Fund, there is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 to expand Farsi language programming and to provide for the dissemination of accurate and independent information to the Iranian people through radio, television, Internet, cellular telephone, short message service, and other communications.
“(b)
Broadcasting Capital Improvements Fund.—
In addition to amounts otherwise authorized for the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ Broadcasting Capital Improvements Fund, there is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 to expand transmissions of Farsi language programs to Iran.
“(c)
Use of Amounts.—
In pursuit of the objectives described in subsections (a) and (b), amounts in the International Broadcasting Operations Fund and the Capital Improvements Fund may be used to—
“(1)
develop additional transmission capability for Radio Farda and the Persian News Network to counter ongoing efforts to jam transmissions, including through additional shortwave and medium wave transmissions, satellite, and Internet mechanisms;
“(2)
develop additional proxy server capability and anti-censorship software to counter efforts to block Radio Farda and Persian News Network Web sites;
“(3)
develop technologies to counter efforts to block SMS text message exchange over cellular phone networks;
“(4)
expand program coverage and analysis by Radio Farda and the Persian News Network, including the development of broadcast platforms and programs, on the television, radio and Internet, for enhanced interactivity with and among the people of Iran;
“(5)
hire, on a permanent or short-term basis, additional staff for Radio Farda and the Persian News Network; and
“(6)
develop additional Internet-based, Farsi-language television programming, including a Farsi-language, Internet-based news channel.”

Iranian Electronic Education, Exchange, and Media Fund

Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title XII, § 1263, Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2553, provided that:

“(a)
Establishment.—
There is established in the Treasury of the United States the Iranian Electronic Education, Exchange, and Media Fund (referred to in this section as the ‘Fund’), consisting of amounts appropriated to the Fund pursuant to subsection (f).
“(b)
Administration.—
The Fund shall be administered by the Secretary of State.
“(c)
Objective.—
The objective of the Fund shall be to support the development of technologies, including Internet Web sites, that will aid the ability of the Iranian people to—
“(1)
gain access to and share information;
“(2)
exercise freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly through the Internet and other electronic media;
“(3)
engage in Internet-based education programs and other exchanges between Americans and Iranians; and
“(4)
counter efforts—
“(A)
to block, censor, and monitor the Internet; and
“(B)
to disrupt or monitor cellular phone networks or SMS text exchanges.
“(d)
Use of Amounts.—
In pursuit of the objective described in subsection (c), amounts in the Fund may be used for grants to United States or foreign universities, nonprofit organizations, or companies for targeted projects that advance the purpose of the Fund, including projects that—
“(1)
develop Farsi-language versions of existing social-networking Web sites;
“(2)
develop technologies, including Internet-based applications, to counter efforts—
“(A)
to block, censor, and monitor the Internet; and
“(B)
to disrupt or monitor cellular phone networks or SMS text message exchanges;
“(3)
develop Internet-based, distance learning programs for Iranian students at United States universities; and
“(4)
promote Internet-based, people-to-people educational, professional, religious, or cultural exchanges and dialogues between United States citizens and Iranians.
“(e)
Transfers.—
Amounts in the Fund may be transferred to the United States Agency for International Development, the Broadcasting Board of Governors [now United States Agency for Global Media], or any other agency of the Federal Government to the extent that such amounts are used to carry out activities that will further the objective described in subsection (c).
“(f)
Authorization of Appropriations.—
There is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 to the Fund.”

Buying Power Maintenance Account

Pub. L. 110–252, title I, § 1408(c), June 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2342, provided that: “The Broadcasting Board of Governors [now United States Agency for Global Media] may transfer funds into its Buying Power Maintenance Account, notwithstanding the requirement that such funds be provided in advance in appropriations Acts. The authority in this subsection may be exercised only with respect to funds appropriated or otherwise made available after fiscal year 2008.”

Pilot Project for Transcription of Certain Programming Into English

Pub. L. 110–53, title XX, § 2032, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 516, provided that:

“(a)
Transcription of Persian and Arabic Language Broadcasts.—
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 3, 2007], the Broadcasting Board of Governors [now United States Agency for Global Media] shall initiate a pilot project to transcribe into the English language news and information programming broadcast by Radio Farda, Radio Sawa, the Persian Service of the Voice of America, and Alhurra.
“(b)
Random Sampling; Public Availability.—
The transcription required under subsection (a) shall consist of a random sampling of such programming. The transcripts shall be available to Congress and the public on the Internet site of the Board.
“(c)
Report.—
Not later than May 1, 2008, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on the feasibility and utility of continuing the pilot project required under subsection (a).
“(d)
Authorization of Appropriations.—
There is authorized to be appropriated to the ‘International Broadcasting Operations’ account of the Broadcasting Board of Governors $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 to carry out the pilot project required under subsection (a).”