Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Republican, Democratic Lawmakers Call on USAGM to Release $20M for
Censorship-Evading Tech

VOA News

   A group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers is pressing the Trump
   administration to release $20 million incongressionallyapprovedfunds
   aimed at promoting internet access throughout the world, especially in
   authoritarian countries such as China and Iran.

   Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House
   Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement, "The Open Technology
   Fund provides a lifeline for people living under oppressive regimes."
   He added, "Unfortunately, this critical programming is on the brink of
   collapse."

   Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign
   Relations Committee, called the funding hold "a gift to repressive
   governments in China, Iran and elsewhere," according to theWashington
   Post.

   Lawmakers spoke out after Laura Cunningham, the acting chief executive
   of the Washington-based Open Technology Fund, accused USAGM and its
   leader, Michael Pack, of forcing the OTF to halt 49 of its 60 internet
   freedom projects that assist human rights and pro-democracy advocates
   in about 200 countries, because of the funding lapse.

   USAGM responded to Cunningham's letter in a statement to VOA that did
   not say whether the agency plans to release the funds but said
   "advancing internet freedom and protecting the safety of journalists
   and activists are among USAGM's highest priorities." The statement also
   accused OTF of unspecified security failures that jeopardize its
   mission and the security of people working to advance internet freedom.

   The Open Technology Fund is one of several government-funded global
   media entities, including Voice of America, overseen by Pack as chief
   executive of USAGM. He assumed control of USAGM in June after a
   protracted fight in Congress over his appointment by President Donald
   Trump.

   USAGM announced last month that the agency is [1]looking into
   "long-term security failures" atall ofthe organizations it oversees,
   without specifying what those failures are, or how the agency proposes
   to address them.

References

   1. https://www.voanews.com/usa/usagm-announces-investigation-long-term-security-failures

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