Still Awaiting Funds, RFE/RL Furloughs Staff and Seeks Relief from Court
(WASHINGTON) — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) today began furloughing staff at its Prague headquarters because the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has not sent RFE/RL its Congressionally appropriated funds for April.
Although USAGM rescinded its letter terminating RFE/RL’s grant agreement on March 26, RFE/RL has not received any of its Congressionally appropriated funds since that date – and USAGM has not approved RFE/RL’s financial plan for April, despite having received it nearly two weeks ago and despite having promptly approved previous financial plans for this fiscal year.
Yesterday, RFE/RL filed a new request to the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. asking the judge to grant both a temporary restraining order, so that RFE/RL can safely spend appropriated funds in April, and a preliminary injunction, to ensure that USAGM sends RFE/RL its Congressionally appropriated funds for the remainder of the current fiscal year.
RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said:
“Our staff and their families are now paying the price as RFE/RL continues to wait for USAGM to provide our Congressionally appropriated funds. For more than seven decades, RFE/RL has been a vital U.S. national security asset, fighting censorship to bring news to millions of people in the world’s most repressive societies.
RFE/RL will stay in court until we have adequate assurance that USAGM will follow the law and send us the funds that Congress appropriated to us.”
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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.