Sponsors (2)
The bill expands and funds coordinated Mandarin‑language broadcasting, outreach, and circumvention tools to increase information access and U.S. influence in China, at the cost of ongoing taxpayer funding, risks to target‑audiences' safety and privacy, and potential diplomatic backlash and credibility challenges.
Mandarin‑speaking PRC citizens (inside China and abroad) gain greater access to independent, uncensored news and tools to bypass censorship, increasing their ability to receive alternative viewpoints and exercise free expression.
U.S. public diplomacy and strategic influence are strengthened as Mandarin‑language outreach and circumvention efforts help counter authoritarian narratives and promote U.S. perspectives abroad.
The bill creates predictable, dedicated funding streams and grant mechanisms (including a non‑Federal grantee and audit oversight) to sustain Mandarin content, outreach, and circumvention programs, improving continuity and accountability for federally funded broadcasting.
U.S. efforts to expand circumvention tools and targeted information outreach risk diplomatic escalation and retaliatory measures from the PRC that could harm trade, restrict U.S. access, and degrade broader bilateral cooperation.
Taxpayers face increased federal spending (approximately $75 million per year authorized through FY2029 plus potential additional costs) to sustain the expanded broadcasting, circumvention, and outreach programs.
Mandarin‑language programs and U.S.‑funded influencer/content networks may be perceived as propaganda by target audiences and the PRC, undermining credibility, reducing uptake, and risking programs being blocked or discredited.
Based on analysis of 16 sections of legislative text.
Requires a presidential strategy, a coordinator-led interagency task force, and a USAGM-funded Global News Service to expand Mandarin content and circumvention tools for PRC audiences.
Introduced February 5, 2025 by Daniel Scott Sullivan · Last progress February 5, 2025
Creates a presidentially‑led interagency effort to expand Mandarin‑language independent news and information for people in and from the People’s Republic of China, pair that content with internet circumvention and secure‑sharing tools, and require a one‑year strategy to guide those efforts. Establishes a non‑federal “Global News Service” under existing USAGM grant authority to curate and distribute China‑related content, and directs the Department of State and other agencies to coordinate funding, technical development, and outreach to increase access to uncensored information inside and outside the PRC.