S.Amdt. 4604

SA 4604. Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Coons)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867
submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R.
4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title XII, add the following:

Subtitle H--Otto Warmbier Countering North Korean Censorship and
Surveillance Act of 2021

SEC. 1291. SHORT TITLE.

This subtitle may be cited as the ``Otto Warmbier
Countering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act of
2021''.

SEC. 1292. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The information landscape in North Korea is the most
repressive in the world, consistently ranking last or near-
last in the annual World Press Freedom Index.
(2) Under the brutal rule of Kim Jung Un, the country's
leader since 2012, the North Korean regime has tightened
controls on access to information, as well as enacted harsh
punishments for consumers of outside media, including
sentencing to time in a concentration camp and a maximum
penalty of death.
(3) Such repressive and unjust laws surrounding information
in North Korea resulted in the death of 22-year-old United
States citizen and university student Otto Warmbier, who had
traveled to North Korea in December 2015 as part of a guided
tour.
(4) Otto Warmbier was unjustly arrested, sentenced to 15
years of hard labor, and severely mistreated at the hands of
North Korean officials. While in captivity, Otto Warmbier
suffered a serious medical emergency that placed him into a
comatose state. Otto Warmbier was comatose upon his release
in June 2017 and died 6 days later.
(5) Despite increased penalties for possession and
viewership of foreign media, the people of North Korean have
increased their desire for foreign media content, according
to a survey of 200 defectors concluding that 90 percent had
watched South Korean or other foreign media before defecting.
(6) On March 23, 2021, in an annual resolution, the United
Nations General Assembly condemned ``the long-standing and
ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human
rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea'' and
expressed grave concern at, among other things, ``the denial
of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion
. . . and of the rights to freedom of opinion, expression,
and association, both online and offline, which is enforced
through an absolute monopoly on information and total control
over organized social life, and arbitrary and unlawful state
surveillance that permeates the private lives of all
citizens''.
(7) In 2018, Typhoon Yutu caused extensive damage to 15
broadcast antennas used by the United States Agency for
Global Media in Asia, resulting in reduced programming to
North Korea. The United States Agency for Global Media has
rebuilt 5 of the 15 antenna systems as of June 2021.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) in the event of a crisis situation, particularly where
information pertaining to the crisis is being actively
censored or a false narrative is being put forward, the
United States should be able to quickly increase its
broadcasting capability to deliver fact-based information to
audiences, including those in North Korea; and
(2) the United States International Broadcasting Surge
Capacity Fund is already authorized under section 316 of the
United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22
U.S.C. 6216), and expanded authority to transfer unobligated
balances from expired accounts of the United States Agency
for Global Media would enable the Agency to more nimbly
respond to crises.

SEC. 1293. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to provide the people of North Korea with access to a
diverse range of fact-based information;
(2) to develop and implement novel means of communication
and information sharing that increase opportunities for
audiences in North Korea to safely create, access, and share
digital and non-digital news without fear of repressive
censorship, surveillance, or penalties under law; and

[[Page S8115]]

(3) to foster and innovate new technologies to counter
North Korea's state-sponsored repressive surveillance and
censorship by advancing internet freedom tools, technologies,
and new approaches.

SEC. 1294. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO COMBAT NORTH KOREA'S
REPRESSIVE INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall develop and
submit to Congress a strategy on combating North Korea's
repressive information environment.
(b) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a)
shall include the following:
(1) An assessment of the challenges to the free flow of
information into North Korea created by the censorship and
surveillance technology apparatus of the Government of North
Korea.
(2) A detailed description of the agencies and other
government entities, key officials, and security services
responsible for the implementation of North Korea's
repressive laws regarding foreign media consumption.
(3) A detailed description of the agencies and other
government entities and key officials of foreign governments
that assist, facilitate, or aid North Korea's repressive
censorship and surveillance state.
(4) A review of existing public-private partnerships that
provide circumvention technology and an assessment of the
feasibility and utility of new tools to increase free
expression, circumvent censorship, and obstruct repressive
surveillance in North Korea.
(5) A description of and funding levels required for
current United States Government programs and activities to
provide access for the people of North Korea to a diverse
range of fact-based information.
(6) An update of the plan required by section 104(a)(7)(A)
of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C.
7814(a)(7)(A)).
(7) A description of Department of State programs and
funding levels for programs that promote internet freedom in
North Korea, including monitoring and evaluation efforts.
(8) A description of grantee programs of the United States
Agency for Global Media in North Korea that facilitate
circumvention tools and broadcasting, including monitoring
and evaluation efforts.
(9) A detailed assessment of how the United States
International Broadcasting Surge Capacity Fund authorized
under section 316 of the United States International
Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6216) has operated to
respond to crisis situations in the past, and how authority
to transfer unobligated balances from expired accounts would
help the United States Agency for Global Media in crisis
situations in the future.
(10) A detailed plan for how the authorization of
appropriations under section 1296 will operate alongside and
augment existing programming from the relevant Federal
agencies and facilitate the development of new tools to
assist that programming.
(c) Form of Strategy.--The strategy required by subsection
(a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include
the matters required by subsection (b) in a classified annex.

SEC. 1295. REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO
NORTH KOREA.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter through
2024, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the
Treasury shall jointly submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on sanctions-related
activities and enforcement undertaken by the United States
Government with respect to North Korea during the period
described in subsection (b) that includes--
(1) an assessment of activities conducted by persons in
North Korea or the Government of North Korea that would
require mandatory designations pursuant to the North Korea
Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9201
et seq.); and
(2) sanctions-related enforcement or other sanctions-
related actions undertaken by the United States Government
pursuant to that Act.
(b) Period Described.--The period described in this
subsection is--
(1) in the case of the first report required by subsection
(a), the period beginning on January 1, 2021, and ending on
the date on which the report is required to be submitted; and
(2) in the case of each subsequent report required by
subsection (a), the one-year period preceding submission of
the report.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Select Committee
on Intelligence of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Financial Services, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 1296. PROMOTING FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND COUNTERING
CENSORSHIP AND SURVEILLANCE IN NORTH KOREA.

(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the United States Agency for Global
Media $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026
to provide increased broadcasting and grants for the
following purposes:
(1) To promote the development of internet freedom tools,
technologies, and new approaches, including both digital and
non-digital means of information sharing related to North
Korea.
(2) To explore public-private partnerships to counter North
Korea's repressive censorship and surveillance state.
(3) To develop new means to protect the privacy and
identity of individuals receiving media from the United
States Agency for Global Media and other outside media
outlets from within North Korea.
(4) To bolster existing programming from the United States
Agency for Global Media by restoring the broadcasting
capacity of damaged antennas caused by Typhoon Yutu in 2018.
(b) Annual Reports.--Section 104(a)(7)(B) of the North
Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814(a)(7)(B)) is
amended--
(1) in the matter preceding clause (i)--
(A) by striking ``1 year after the date of the enactment of
this paragraph'' and inserting ``September 30, 2022''; and
(B) by striking ``Broadcasting Board of Governors'' and
inserting ``Chief Executive Officer of the United States
Agency for Global Media''; and
(2) in clause (i), by inserting after ``this section'' the
following: ``and sections 1294 and 1296 of the Otto Warmbier
Countering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act of
2021''.
______