RFE/RL Files New Request for Emergency Relief in US District Court
New oversight demands from USAGM contravene federal law and require more bureaucracy
(WASHINGTON) — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has filed an updated emergency request in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., asking the court to order the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to disburse RFE/RL’s Congressionally appropriated funds for the month of April.
The filing comes after USAGM informed RFE/RL that the agency would impose unlawful restrictions before disbursing any funding, including a requirement that USAGM have ultimate control over the selection of RFE/RL’s Board of Directors.
USAGM also imposed unmeetable 24-hour deadlines on a barrage of bureaucratic demands that represent a stark departure from past practice. RFE/RL’s filing explains that enacted laws prohibit USAGM’s actions and seeks to ensure that RFE/RL obtains April funding to carry out its Congressionally authorized mission.
RFE/RL is subject to comprehensive oversight by Congress and USAGM and has a track record of clean audits and a reputation for good governance. Over the past two fiscal years, RFE/RL has submitted more than 1,200 reports to USAGM, the State Department Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Congress, and other federal entities. RFE/RL is also subject to audits by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examining RFE/RL’s operations, accounts, property, and records. Supplemental appropriations for foreign policy priorities such as Afghanistan and Ukraine are also subject to special oversight.
RFE/RL holds hundreds of meetings each year with lawmakers and their staff and provides experts for testimony on Capitol Hill. In 2024, 20 U.S. lawmakers and 46 Congressional staffers visited RFE/RL’s Prague-based headquarters and bureaus to oversee its operations in person. RFE/RL holds frequent and productive conversations with the State Department, the National Security Council, and other executive branch agencies on a range of issues like journalist safety and press freedom.
RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said:
“RFE/RL has a well-earned reputation as an efficient and transparent organization that provides extraordinary value to the American people at limited cost. Adding unnecessary and extra bureaucracy from USAGM, which its own leaders have described as ‘irretrievably broken,’ is not aligned with the goal of making government more effective.
During a Congressional hearing last year, then-Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul (R-TX) praised RFE/RL’s good stewardship of its funding and said, ‘Look no further than RFE/RL as a shining example of how [U.S global media] should function.’”
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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 U.S. Congress through USAGM.
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