66-511: The United States Information Agency ( USIA ) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service ( USIS ) posts operating out of U.S. embassies worldwide since World War II became the field operations offices of the USIA. In 1978, USIA was merged with the Bureau of Educational Cultural Affairs of
132-642: A Freedom of Information Act request. The act does not prohibit the entirety of the Executive Branch from distributing information at home, just the State Department and Broadcasting Board of Governors. The result of the amendments to the Act means that most United States taxpayers do not know how the VOA (and its successor agencies) operate or what their programming content was, as was noted in 1967 by
198-510: A New Deal "transgression". The cultural component was held in greater disdain, which caused Benton to change the name of his office from the Office of Cultural and Public Affairs a year after it was created to the Office of Public Affairs. Other comments were similarly tough. The ranking minority member of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Rep. John Taber (R-NY), called for
264-588: A "house-cleaning" of "some folks" in the State Department to "keep only those people whose first loyalty is to the United States". The Federal Bureau of Investigation was also concerned over the ability of State to monitor and control participants in the exchange programs. In July 1946, the Bloom Bill passed the House, but due to a failure to steward the bill in the Senate, it was blocked from moving in
330-455: A "sunset clause" for governmental activities that Rep. Karl Mundt (R-SD) and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs William Benton stated clearly: as private media stood up, government media would stand down. Section 501(a) of the Act (care of the Voice of America website) provides that information produced by VOA for audiences outside the United States shall not be disseminated within
396-527: A direct bearing on the effectiveness of U.S. policies. The Department of State provided foreign policy guidance. During the Cold War , some American officials believed that a propaganda program was essential to convey the United States and its culture and politics to the world, and to offset negative Soviet propaganda against the US. With heightened fears about the influence of communism, some Americans believed that
462-471: A new peacetime instrument of foreign policy . Congress harbored significant reservations about empowering the State Department to propagate informational and ideological materials to the American public. A key issue was oversight over State Department programs, including exchanges, which books were distributed abroad, art that was distributed as representing the United States, and the radio programming. When
528-428: A number of websites to transmit information. Second, the agency ran a "Speakers and Specialists Program", sending Americans abroad for various public speaking and technical assistance roles. These speakers were referred to as "American Participants" or "AmParts". Third, the agency operated more than 100 "Information Resource Centers" abroad. These included some public-access libraries in developing countries. Finally,
594-501: A radio broadcast operation not-yet-commonly known as the Voice of America . The Bloom Bill was altered and reintroduced in October 1945 to include the substantial information programs from OWI, notably the libraries, book publishing, movies and film strip production, and speakers tours. In December 1945, it was reintroduced again as H.R. 4982, but whereas the previous iterations amended pre-war legislation from 1939 authorizing exchanges in
660-469: Is forbidden to broadcast within the United States." However, any American with a shortwave receiver or an Internet connection can listen to VOA. This is incidental, however. VOA cannot direct or intend its programs to be "for" Americans. The following are administered by the Broadcasting Board of Governors , an agency of the United States government. The Department of State is also covered by
726-756: Is the bicameral legislature of the United States government, and is made up of two chambers: the United States Senate (the upper chamber) and the United States House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Together, the two chambers exercise authority over the following legislative agencies: The legislature also oversees the Library of Congress (LOC), a national library dedicated to national records, which administers various programs, agencies, and services including: The federal judiciary consists of courts established under Article Three of
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#1732772603411792-410: The 79th Congress . It was subsequently passed by the 80th Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on January 27, 1948. The Act was developed to regulate broadcasting of programs for foreign audiences produced under the guidance by the State Department, and it prohibited domestic dissemination of materials produced by such programs as one of its provisions. The original version of
858-452: The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). This continues to operate independently from the State Department. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, some commentators characterized United States international broadcasters, such as Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe, and Voice of America as United States propaganda . List of federal agencies in the United States [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Legislative definitions of an agency of
924-726: The Executive Residence (EXR) maintained by the Office of Administration (OA). To effectively run the country's affairs, the President also maintains councils regarding various issues, including: Smith%E2%80%93Mundt Act The U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Public Law 80-402), popularly called the Smith–Mundt Act , was first introduced by Congressman Karl E. Mundt (R-SD) in January 1945 in
990-559: The Fulbright Scholarship Program ). USIA would mount exhibitions in its libraries overseas to reach people in other countries. "Fulbrighters" were grant recipients under the USIA educational and cultural exchange program. To ensure that those grant programs would be fair and unbiased, persons of educational and cultural expertise in the grant subject areas selected the grantee recipients. The USIA's third division included press services. Within its first two decades,
1056-723: The Government in the Sunshine Act . These further cloud attempts to enumerate a list of agencies. The executive branch of the federal government includes the Executive Office of the President and the United States federal executive departments (whose secretaries belong to the Cabinet ). Employees of the majority of these agencies are considered civil servants . The majority of the independent agencies of
1122-674: The Mutual Security Agency . USIA was also responsible for the overseas administration of the exchange of persons program formerly conducted by IIA. The USIA was the largest full-service public relations organization in the world, spending over $ 2 billion per year to highlight the views of the U.S. while diminishing those of the Soviet Union , through about 150 different countries. Its stated goals were to explain and advocate U.S. policies in terms that are credible and meaningful in foreign cultures; to provide information about
1188-585: The U.S. Department of State and the now independent agency , the International Broadcasting Bureau . USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the Broadcasting Board of Governors , which had been created in 1994. Since the merger of USIA with the Department of State, public diplomacy and public affairs sections at U.S. missions have carried on this work. When USIA was abolished in 1999, USIS posts once again were operated by
1254-707: The United States Department of State and then the United States Information Agency (USIA) beginning in 1952, were prohibited from disseminating information intended for foreign audiences, with the express intent that Congress , the American media , or academia would be the distributors of such information. The exchanges in the act, known as the Mundt Exchanges through about the early 1960s, went beyond those of
1320-400: The United States Senate by Senator Robert A. Taft . Taft's reasoning, which he gave in a speech later, was concern about a growing government bureaucracy. After the department, when Congress reconvened, Taft supported the legislation. On March 21, 1947, pre– Pearl Harbor isolationist and former teacher Representative Karl E. Mundt (R-SD) introduced H.R. 3342, which was an evolution from
1386-562: The federal government of the United States are varied, and even contradictory. The official United States Government Manual offers no definition. While the Administrative Procedure Act definition of "agency" applies to most executive branch agencies, Congress may define an agency however it chooses in enabling legislation, and through subsequent litigation often involving the Freedom of Information Act and
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#17327726034111452-404: The "USIA publishe[d] sixty-six magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals, totaling almost 30 million copies annually, in twenty-eight languages". The fourth division dealt with the motion picture service. After the USIA failed in its effort to collaborate with Hollywood filmmakers to portray America in a positive light, the agency began producing their own documentaries. By the time the agency
1518-410: The "drones, the loafers, and the incompetents" were weeded out, he would allow a few million dollars for international broadcasting. Several significant leaders went to the House to testify in support of the bill, including Secretary of State George C. Marshall , Chief of Staff General Dwight D. Eisenhower , Under Secretary of State Dean Acheson , Secretary of Commerce W. Averell Harriman (formerly
1584-431: The 1950s that portrayed Communism unfavorably and the United States positively. Articles reflecting the views promoted by the USIA were frequently published under fictitious bylines , such as "Guy Sims Fitch". The agency regularly conducted research on foreign public opinion about the United States and its policies, in order to inform the president and other key policymakers. It conducted public opinion surveys throughout
1650-598: The Act in 1972 and 1985 reflected the Cold War 's departure from the "struggle for minds and wills" (a phrase used by both President Truman and President Eisenhower) to a balance of power based on "traditional diplomacy" and counting missiles, bombers, and tanks. As a result, Senator J. William Fulbright argued America's international broadcasting should take its "rightful place in the graveyard of Cold War relics". A decade later, Senator Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) successfully blocked taxpayer access to USIA materials, even through Freedom of Information Act requests, as he compared
1716-540: The Act was amended by the Smith–Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 which allowed for materials produced by the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to be made available within the United States. The original legislation authorizes the U.S. State Department to communicate to audiences outside of the borders of the United States through broadcasting , face-to-face contacts, exchanges (including educational, cultural, and technical),
1782-620: The Ambassador to the Soviet Union), and Ambassador to the Soviet Union Walter Bedell Smith . They agreed that it was "folly" to spend millions for foreign aid and relief without explaining America's aims. Congress, in recommending passage of the bill, declared that "truth can be a powerful weapon". Congress further declared six principles were required for the legislation to be successful in action: tell
1848-627: The American Republics, plus the Philippines, this time was a stand-alone and it also included the radio operation. The language "shall disseminate" abroad found in the early versions was a specific authority requested by the State Department to permit it to operate globally. Under previous authorities, the department was restricted to operating these programs within North, Central, and South America. It would provide legislative approval for
1914-630: The Bloom Bill (H.R. 4982) went to the House Rules Committee in February 1946, committee Chairman Eugene Cox (D-GA) informed Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs William B. Benton that ten of the twelve committee members were against anything the State Department favored because of its "Communist infiltration and pro-Russian policy". That the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously reported
1980-601: The Congress as they answered critical concerns about government engaging domestic audiences. Added to the Bloom Bill, the predecessor to the Smith–Mundt Act in June 1946 by Representative John M. Vorys (R-OH) "to remove the stigma of propaganda" and address the principal objections to the information activities the Congress intended to authorize. These provisions remain unamended and were the real prophylactic to address concerns
2046-594: The Department of State into a new agency called the United States International Communications Agency ( USICA ). Use of the name United States Information Agency (USIA) was restored in 1982. In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush , President Bill Clinton assigned USIA's cultural exchange and non-broadcasting intelligence functions to the newly created under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs at
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2112-424: The Department of State under the newly created Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs . When dismantled, the agency budget was $ 1.109 billion. After reductions of staff in 1997, the agency had 6,352 employees, of which almost half were civil service employees in the United States (2,521). About 1,800 of these employees worked in international broadcasting, while approximately 1,100 worked on
2178-469: The Department of State. Former USIA director of TV and film service Alvin Snyder recalled in his 1995 memoir that "the U.S. government ran a full-service public relations organization, the largest in the world, about the size of the twenty biggest U.S. commercial PR firms combined. Its full-time professional staff of more than 10,000, spread out among some 150 countries, burnished America‘s image and trashed
2244-399: The Smith–Mundt Act. No other department or agency of the United States government is covered by the Smith–Mundt Act. The United States Agency for International Development and Millennium Challenge Corporation have said they are not sure whether they are covered. A 1998 U.S. Court of Appeals ruling indicated that this act exempts Voice of America from releasing transcripts in response to
2310-604: The Soviet Union 2,500 hours a week with a 'tower of babble' comprised of more than 70 languages, to the tune of over $ 2 billion per year". The USIA was "the biggest branch of this propaganda machine." President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the United States Information Agency on August 1, 1953, during the postwar tensions with the communist world known as the Cold War. The USIA's mission
2376-497: The Stanton Commission report noted above. The act insulates the American public from being targeted by the government-sponsored information and broadcasting which is directed at audiences beyond America's borders. Some experts claim that the United States is the only industrialized democracy to do this, and creates mistrust of the same activities in these audiences who increasingly question why Americans cannot read or hear
2442-493: The State Department in this work. Section 1437 of the Act requires the State Department to maximize its use of "private agencies". Section 1462 requires "reducing Government information activities whenever corresponding private information dissemination is found to be adequate" and prohibits the State Department from having monopoly in any "medium of information" (a prescient phrase). Combined, these provide not only protection against government's domination of domestic discourse, but
2508-688: The State Department said overseas. In 1967, the Advisory Commission on Information (later renamed the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy) recommended the de facto prohibition on domestic distribution be removed noting that there is "nothing in the statutes specifically forbidding making USIA materials available to American audiences. Rather, what began as caution has hardened into policy." This changed in 1972 when Senator J. William Fulbright (D-AR) argued that America's international broadcasting should take its "rightful place in
2574-454: The U.S. government would create Nazi-style propaganda or resurrect President Woodrow Wilson 's CPI -style activities. The amendment said the information activities should only be conducted if needed to supplement international information dissemination of private agencies; that the State Department was not to acquire a monopoly of broadcasting or any other information medium; and that private sector leaders should be invited to review and advise
2640-539: The U.S. pavilions representing the United States at major world Expos . The Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, Division G of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Pub. L. 105–277 (text) (PDF) , 112 Stat. 2681-761 , enacted October 21, 1998 , abolished the U.S. Information Agency effective October 1, 1999. Its information and cultural exchange functions were folded into
2706-484: The USIA began its programs. The first division dealt with broadcasting information, both in the United States and around the world. The radio was one of the most widely used forms of media at the onset of the Cold War, as television was not widely available. The Smith–Mundt Act authorized information programs, including Voice of America . Voice of America was intended as an unbiased and balanced "Voice from America", as originally broadcast during World War II. The VOA
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2772-401: The USIA to an organ of Soviet propaganda. There are three key restrictions on the U.S. State Department in the Smith–Mundt Act. The first and most well-known restriction was originally a prohibition on domestic dissemination of materials intended for foreign audiences by the State Department. The original intent was the Congress, the media and academia would be the filter to bring inside what
2838-522: The USIA-operated foreign press centers in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles to "assist resident and visiting foreign journalists". In other major American cities, such as Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Seattle, the USIA worked cooperatively with other international press centers. Beginning with the 1958 Brussels World Fair, the USIA directed the design, construction, and operation of
2904-611: The United States Constitution . These are the The United States bankruptcy courts , while not established as Article III courts, are legally designated as "units of the district courts." The judicial branch includes the following agencies: The President of the United States is the chief executive of the federal government. He is in charge of executing federal laws and approving, or vetoing, new legislation passed by Congress. The President resides in
2970-604: The United States government are also classified as executive agencies (they are independent in that they are not subordinated under a Cabinet position). There are a small number of independent agencies that are not considered part of the executive branch, such as the Congressional Research Service and the United States Sentencing Commission , which are legislative and judicial agencies, respectively. The U.S. Congress
3036-487: The United States … but, on request, shall be available in the English language at VOA, at all reasonable times following its release as information abroad, for examination only by representatives of United States press associations, newspapers, magazines, radio systems, and stations, and by research students and scholars, and, on request, shall be made available for examination only to Members of Congress. "This means that VOA
3102-592: The agency's educational and informational programs, such as the Fulbright program. Foreign service officers consisting of about 1,000 members of the work force. Broadcasting functions, including Voice of America , Radio and TV Marti, Radio Free Europe (in Eastern Europe), Radio Free Asia, and Radio Liberty (in Russia and other areas of the former Soviet Union), were consolidated as an independent entity under
3168-552: The bill he had originally introduced in January 1945, which itself was a version of a bill he introduced in March 1943, at the request of the State Department. The State Department's information and exchange activities were still ongoing, although without authorization from the Congress. The authority was derived from Congressional appropriations legislation. In other words, the activities continued because they received money from Congress, which carried implicit authority but actual authority
3234-551: The bill out was meaningless. Cox told Benton that the Foreign Affairs Committee was "a worthless committee consisting of worthless impotent Congressmen; it was a kind of ghetto of the House of Representatives". Cox publicly characterized the State Department as "chock full of Reds" and "the lousiest outfit in town". The information component of the Bloom Bill was seen as a revitalization of the Office of War Information, for which many in Congress held contempt as
3300-607: The complementary Fulbright Program to include any country and any skill. Whereas the Fulbright Act, the name Benton gave the original 1946 amendment to the Surplus Property Act of 1944, required a bilateral agreement signed by the Secretary of State following certification of the availability of local funds by the U.S. Treasury , after the sale of U.S. surplus war equipment in the nation, and supported only
3366-527: The exchange of students and teachers, the Mundt Act used monies appropriated by the Congress for the program and did not require a signed bilateral agreement or other certification. Further, the Mundt exchanges supported educators and students, technicians (from industry experts to sewage treatment engineers), entertainers, and even bureaucrats to help nations develop local capacity and stability. Amendments to
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#17327726034113432-489: The films produced by the Hollywood movie industry, when critical of American society, damaged its image in other countries. The USIA "exist[ed] as much to provide a view of the world to the United States as it [did] to give the world a view of America". Films produced by the USIA could by law not be screened publicly within the United States due to the Smith–Mundt Act . This restriction also meant that Americans could not view
3498-438: The graveyard of Cold War relics" as he successfully amended the Act to read that any program material "shall not be disseminated" within the U.S. and that material shall be available "for examination only" to the media, academia, and Congress (P.L. 95-352 Sec. 204). In 1985, Senator Edward Zorinsky (D-NE) declared USIA would be no different than an organ of Soviet propaganda if its products were to be available domestically. The Act
3564-408: The legislation was to engage in a global struggle for minds and wills, a phrase used by Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. It established the programming mandate that still serves as the foundation for U.S. overseas information and cultural programs at the Department of State. Since 1972, the act prohibits domestic access to information intended for foreign audiences. Prior to this,
3630-522: The material even for study at the National Archives. Within the US, the USIA was intended to assure Americans that "[t]he United States was working for a better world". Abroad, the USIA tried to preserve a positive image of the U.S. regardless of negative depictions from communist propaganda. One notable example was Project Pedro . This secretly funded project created newsreels in Mexico during
3696-408: The official policies of the United States, and about the people, values and institutions which influence those policies; to bring the benefits of international engagement to American citizens and institutions by helping them build strong long-term relationships with their counterparts overseas; and to advise the President and U.S. government policy-makers on the ways in which foreign attitudes would have
3762-525: The publishing of books, magazines, and other media of communication and engagement. Funding for these activities comes from other legislation passed by the U.S. Congress called appropriations . The legislation was introduced in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in January 1945 by Rep. Mundt, a member of the committee. It was modified a few months later at the request of the State Department. At this time, it did not include broadcasting. The bill
3828-469: The seemingly independent voices would be more persuasive." The USIA used various forms of media, including "personal contact, radio broadcasting, libraries, book publication and distribution, press motion pictures, television, exhibits, English-language instruction, and others". Through these different forms, the United States government distributed its materials more easily and engaged a greater concentration of people. Four main divisions were established when
3894-486: The truth; explain the motives of the United States; bolster morale and extend hope; give a true and convincing picture of American life, methods, and ideals; combat misrepresentation and distortion; and aggressively interpret and support American foreign policy . As a Cold War measure, it was intended to compete with propaganda from the Soviet Union and Communist organizations primarily in Europe. The principal purpose of
3960-429: The world. It issued a variety of reports to government officials, including a twice-daily report on foreign media commentary around the world. From the beginning, President Dwight Eisenhower said that "audiences would be more receptive to the American message if they were kept from identifying it as propaganda. Avowedly propagandistic materials from the United States might convince few, but the same viewpoints presented by
4026-522: Was "to understand, inform and influence foreign publics in promotion of the national interest, and to broaden the dialogue between Americans and U.S. institutions, and their counterparts abroad". The USIA was established "to streamline the U.S. government's overseas information programs, and make them more effective". It operated all of the foreign information activities formerly carried out by the Department of State's International Information Administration and Technical Cooperation Administration , as well as
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#17327726034114092-513: Was amended to read: "no program material prepared by the United States Information Agency shall be distributed within the United States" (P.L. 99-93). At least one court interpreted this language to mean USIA products were to be exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests. In response, the Act was amended again in 1990 to permit domestic distribution of program material "12 years after the initial dissemination" abroad (P.L. 101-246 Sec 202). The second and third provisions were of greater interest to
4158-426: Was reintroduced with the State Department's requests and renamed the Bloom Bill, after the committee's chairman, Rep. Sol Bloom (D-NY). The purpose was to make permanent various exchange activities, and some information programs such as books and other printed material. President Truman's dissolution of the Office of War Information (OWI) included moving substantial OWI programs over to the State Department, including
4224-571: Was reorganized in 1999, the educational and informational efforts encompassed a wide range of activities, outside of broadcasting. These were focused in four areas, the agency produced extensive electronic and printed materials. Its The Washington File information service, was intended to provide, in the words of the agency "both time-sensitive and in-depth information in five languages", incorporating full transcripts of speeches, Congressional testimony, articles by Administration officials, and materials providing analysis of key issues. The Agency also ran
4290-499: Was still lacking. Co-sponsoring the Mundt bill in the Senate was Senator H. Alexander Smith (R-NJ). The stated purpose of the reintroduced legislation was not to curtail the overall information activities of the United States, but to raise the quality and volume of the government's information programs. As the State Department admitted to lax oversight due to personnel and budget constraints, Congress voiced its frustration and slashed State's information budget. This time, Taber said if
4356-580: Was used to "tell America's stories ... to information deprived listeners behind the Iron Curtain ". By 1967, the VOA was broadcasting in 38 languages to up to 26 million listeners. In 1976 VOA gained its "Charter", requiring its news to be balanced. The second division of the USIA consisted of libraries and exhibits. The Smith–Mundt Act and the Fulbright–Hays Act of 1961 both authorized international cultural and educational exchanges (including
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