On March 24, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held a hearing on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) emergency request for $7.5 million in funds that Congress appropriated for its operations in March but that the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) had failed to provide. RFE/RL also requested that the Court halt USAGM’s March 15 direction that RFE/RL close out its operations.
Shortly before the hearing, USAGM notified the Court that it will take immediate steps to disburse the $7.5 million, equivalent to two weeks of operations. However, the hearing went forward to determine whether to grant RFE/RL a temporary restraining order to forestall closing out its operations.
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If the court grants the order, RFE/RL will be free to continue fulfilling its mission to serve its global audiences while it pursues a full resolution of the lawsuit.
RFE/RL also seeks a preliminary injunction requiring USAGM to disburse the additional approximately $77 million that Congress appropriated for the rest of the fiscal year.
RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said:
“We hope the imminent disbursement of two weeks’ worth of funding that Congress appropriated to RFE/RL will keep our lights on until the court rules on the broader case. We’re confident the law is on our side as the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power of the purse. It is unlawful to deny us the funds that Congress has already appropriated to RFE/RL for the rest of this fiscal year.
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The dedicated staff of RFE/RL remains on the job, buoyed by the support we’ve received. But the situation is dire, and we’re especially concerned about the fate of our journalists who are unjustly imprisoned around the world. The decision to abruptly terminate our grant puts their lives—and the overall welfare of our staff—at increased risk.”
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach a weekly audience of nearly 50 million people in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the US Congress through USAGM.
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