TITLE 22-FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE

Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act

(Public Law 101-246, 104 Stat. 58, February 16, 1990, Part D of Title II of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991)

PART D-TELEVISION BROADCASTING TO

CUBA 1

SEC. 241. [22 U.S.C. 1465aa nt] SHORT TITLE.

This part may be cited as the "Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act".

SEC. 242. [22 U.S.C. 1465aa] FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

The Congress finds and declares that

(1) it is the policy of the United States to support the right of the people of Cuba to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

(2) consonant with this policy, television broadcasting to Cuba may be effective in furthering the open communication of accurate information and ideas to the people of Cuba and, in particular, information about Cuba;

(3) television broadcasting to Cuba, operated in a manner not inconsistent with the broad foreign policy of the United States and in accordance with high professional standards, would be in the national interest;

(4) facilities broadcasting television programming to Cuba must be operated in a manner consistent with applicable regulations of the Federal Communications Commission, and must

1Section 107(c) of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-114; 110 Stat. 798) provides for the repeal of this Act "upon transmittal of a determination under section 203(c)(3)" of P.L. 104-114.

Section 203(c)(3) of P.L. 104-114 (110 Stat. 809) provides as follows:

SEC. 203. COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; IMPLEMENTATION AND REPORTS TO CONGRESS; REPROGRAMMING.

(3) IMPLEMENTATION WITH RESPECT TO DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT.-The President shall, upon determining that a democratically elected government in Cuba is in power, submit that determination to the appropriate congressional committees and shall, subject to an authorization of appropriations and subject to the availability of appropriations, commence the delivery and distribution of assistance to such democratically elected government under the plan developed under section 202(b).

not affect the quality of domestic broadcast transmission or reception; and

(5) that1 the Voice of America already broadcasts to Cuba information that represents America, not any single segment of American society, and includes a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions, but that there is a need for television broadcasts to Cuba which provide news, commentary, and other information about events in Cuba and elsewhere to promote the cause of freedom in Cuba.

SEC. 243. [22 U.S.C. 1465bb] TELEVISION BROADCASTING TO CUBA.

(a) TELEVISION BROADCASTING TO CUBA.-In order to carry out the purposes set forth in section 242 and notwithstanding the limitation of section 501 of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1461) with respect to the dissemination in the United States of information prepared for dissemination abroad to the extent such dissemination is inadvertent, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (hereafter in this part referred to as the "Agency" 2) shall provide for the open communication of information and ideas through the use of television broadcasting to Cuba. Television broadcasting to Cuba shall serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of accurate, objective, and comprehensive news.

(b) VOICE OF AMERICA STANDARDS.-Television broadcasting to Cuba under this part shall be in accordance with all Voice of America standards to ensure the broadcast of programs which are objective, accurate, balanced, and which present a variety of views.

(c) TELEVISION MARTI.-Any program of United States Government television broadcasts to Cuba authorized by this section shall be designated "Television Marti Program”.

(d) FREQUENCY ASSIGNMENT.—

(1) Subject to the Communications Act of 1934, the Federal Communications Commission shall assign by order a suitable frequency to further the national interests expressed in this part, except that no such assignment shall result in objectionable interference with the broadcasts of any domestic licensee.

(2) No Federal branch or agency shall compel an incumbent domestic licensee to change its frequency in order to eliminate objectionable interference caused by broadcasting of the Service.

(3) For purposes of section 305 of the Communications Act of 1934, a television broadcast station established for purposes of this part shall be treated as a government station, but the Federal Communications Commission shall exercise the authority of the President under such section to assign a frequency to such station.

(e) INTERFERENCE WITH DOMESTIC BROADCASTING.

(1) Broadcasting by the Television Marti Service shall be conducted in accordance with such parameters as shall be prescribed by the Federal Communications Commission to preclude objectionable interference with the broadcasts of any do

1So in original. The word "that" probably should not appear.

2 So in original. Probably should be "Board".

mestic licensee. The Television Marti Service shall be governed by the same standards regarding objectionable interference as any domestic licensee. The Federal Communications Commission shall monitor the operations of television broadcasting to Cuba pursuant to subsection (f). If, on the basis of such monitoring or a complaint from any person, the Federal Communications Commission determines, in its discretion, that broadcasting by the Television Marti Service is causing objectionable interference with the transmission or reception of the broadcasts of a domestic licensee, the Federal Communications Commission shall direct the Television Marti Service to cease broadcasting and to eliminate the objectionable interference. Broadcasts by the Service shall not be resumed until the Federal Communications Commission finds that the objectionable interference has been eliminated and should not recur.

(2) The Federal Communications Commission shall take such actions as are necessary and appropriate to assist domestic licensees in overcoming the adverse effects of objectionable interference caused by broadcasting by the Television Marti Service. Such assistance may include the authorization of nondirectional increases in the effective radiated power of a domestic television station so that its coverage is equivalent to the maximum allowable for such facilities, to avoid any adverse effect on such stations of the broadcasts of the Television Marti Service.

(3) If the Federal Communications Commission directs the Television Marti Service to cease broadcasting pursuant to paragraph (1), the Commission shall, as soon as practicable, notify the appropriate committees of Congress of such action and the reasons therefor. The Federal Communications Commission shall continue to notify the appropriate committees of Congress of progress in eliminating the objectionable interference and shall assure that Congress is fully informed about the operation of the Television Marti Service.

(f) MONITORING OF INTERFERENCE.-The Federal Communications Commission shall continually monitor and periodically report to the appropriate committees of the Congress interference to domestic broadcast licensees

(1) from the operation of Cuban television and radio stations; and

(2) from the operations of the television broadcasting to Cuba.

(g) TASK FORCE. It is the sense of the Congress that the President should establish a task force to analyze the level of interference from the operation of Cuban television and radio stations experienced by broadcasters in the United States and to seek a practical political and technical solution to this problem.

SEC. 244. [22 U.S.C. 1465ec] TELEVISION MARTI SERVICE.

(a) TELEVISION MARTI SERVICE.-There is within the Voice of America a Television Marti Service. The Service shall be responsible for all television broadcasts to Cuba authorized by this part.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors1 shall appoint a head of the Service who shall report directly to the International Boardcasting Bureau. 1 The head of the Service shall employ such staff as the head of the Service may need to carry out the duties of the Service. (b) USE OF EXISTING FACILITIES OF THE USIA.-To assure consistency of presentation and efficiency of operations in conducting the activities authorized under this part, the Television Marti Service shall make maximum feasible utilization of Board facilities and management support, including Voice of America: Cuba Service, Voice of America, and the United States International Television Service.

(c) AUTHORITY.-The Board may carry out the purposes of this part by means of grants, leases, or contracts (subject to the availability of appropriations), or such other means as the Board determines will be most effective.

SEC. 245. AMENDMENTS TO THE RADIO BROADCASTING TO CUBA ACT. (a) ***

(b) [22 U.S.C. 1465c note] REFERENCES.-A reference in any provision of law to the "Advisory Board for Radio Broadcasting to Cuba" shall be considered to be a reference to the "Advisory Board for Cuba Broadcasting".

(c) [22 U.S.C. 1465c note] CONTINUED SERVICE OF MEMBERS OF BOARD.-Each member of the Advisory Board for Radio Broadcasting to Cuba as in existence on the day before the effective date of the amendment made by subsection (a) shall continue to serve for the remainder of the term to which such member was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board for Cuba Broadcasting.

(d) [22 U.S.C. 1465c note] STAFF DIRECTOR.-The Board shall have a staff director who shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Advisory Board for Cuba Broadcasting.

SEC. 246. [22 U.S.C. 1465dd] ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.

In order to assist the United States Information Agency in carrying out the provisions of this part, any agency or instrumentality of the United States may sell, loan, lease, or grant property (including interests therein) and may perform administrative and technical support and services at the request of the Board.

SEC. 247. [22 U.S.C. 1465ee] AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.-In addition to amounts otherwise made available under section 201 for such purposes, there are authorized to be appropriated to the United States Information Agency, $16,000,000 for the fiscal year 1990 and $16,000,000 for the fiscal year 1991 for television broadcasting to Cuba in accordance with the provisions of this part.

(b) LIMITATION.

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), no funds authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) may be obligated or expended unless the President determines and notifies the appropriate committees of Congress that the test of television broadcasting

1 The amendments made by section 1325(4)(B)(ii)(I) and (II) of Public Law 105-277 (112 Stat. 2681-781) were carried out to the third sentence instead of the second sentence to reflect the probable intent of the Congress.

to Cuba (as authorized by title V of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1989 (Public Law 100-459)) has demonstrated television broadcasting to Cuba is feasible and will not cause objectionable interference with the broadcasts of incumbent domestic licensees. The Federal Communications Commission shall furnish to the appropriate committees of Congress all interim and final reports and other appropriate documentation concerning objectionable interference from television broadcasting to Cuba to incumbent domestic licensees.

(2) Not less than 30 days before the President makes the determination under paragraph (1), the President shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Congress which includes the findings of the test of television broadcasting to Cuba. The period for the test of television broadcasting may be extended until

(A) the date of the determination and notification by the President under paragraph (1), or

(B) 30 days,

whichever comes first.

(c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.-Amounts appropriated to carry out the purposes of this part are authorized to be available until expended.

SEC. 248. [22 U.S.C. 1465ff] DEFINITIONS.

As used in this part

(1) the term "licensee" has the meaning provided in section 3(c) of the Communications Act of 1934;

(2) the term "incumbent domestic licensee" means a licensee as provided in section 3(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 that was broadcasting a television signal as of January 1, 1989;

(3) the term "objectionable interference" shall be applied in the same manner as such term is applied under regulations of the Federal Communications Commission to other domestic broadcasters; and

(4) the term "appropriate committees of Congress" includes the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.