Expressing the sense of the Senate on Armed Forces Radio and Television Service programming.

1. Inserts new text wherever appropriate

   Inserts

   Inserted: Whereas it is the mission of the American Forces Radio and Television Service to provide U.S. military commanders overseas and at sea with a broadcast media resource to effectively communicate DoD, Service-unique, theater, and local command information to personnel under their commands and to provide U.S. military members, DoD civilians, and their families stationed outside the Continental U.S. and at sea with the same type and quality of American radio and television news, information, sports, and entertainment that would be available to them if they were in the continental U.S.; and

   Inserted: Whereas key principles of American Forces Radio and Television Service broadcasting policy, as outlined in Department of Defense Regulation 5120.20R, are to ensure political programming characterized by fairness and balance and to provide a free flow of political programming from U.S. commercial and public networks without manipulation or censorship of any news content to the men and women of the Armed Forces and their dependents; and

   Inserted: Whereas the stated policy of the American Forces Radio and Television Service is to select programming that represents a cross-section of popular American radio and television offerings and to emulate stateside scheduling and programming seen and heard in the United States; and

   Inserted: Whereas it is the policy of American Forces Radio and Television Service to select news and public affairs programs for airing that provide balance and diversity from available nationally recognized program sources, including broadcast and cable networks, Headquarters, American Forces Radio and Television Service, the military departments, and other government or public service agencies. Therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate--

   Inserted: that the mission statement and policies of the American Forces Radio and Television Service appropriately state the goal of maintaining equal opportunity balance with respect to political programming and that the Secretary of Defense should therefore ensure that these policies are fully being implemented by developing appropriate methods of oversight to ensure presentation of all sides of important public questions with the fairness and balance envisioned by the Department of Defense throughout the American Forces Radio and Television Service system.

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   Original wording

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As printed