| Sponsor | Rep. Royce, Edward R. |
| Committee | Foreign Affairs |
| Date | September 23, 2009 (111th Congress, 1st Session) |
| Staff Contact | Adam Hepburn |
H.R. 3593 is being considered under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds vote for passage. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) on September 17, 2009.
H.R. 3593 amends the International Broadcasting Act of 1994 to extend the operation of Radio Free Asia through September 30, 2010. Authorization for the broadcast service is currently scheduled to expire on October 1, 2009.
Radio Free Asia began broadcasting in 1996. Although it is formally a private, nonprofit corporation, it is funded by an annual federal grant from, and administered by, the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Radio Free Asia's mission is "to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press." Radio Free Asia currently broadcasts in nine languages, including Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Tibetan, Uyghur, Burmese, Vietnamese, Lao, Khmer (to Cambodia) and Korean (to North Korea).
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not yet produced a cost estimate for H.R. 3593.