05/12/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/12/2021 19:20
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today applauded the adoption of his amendment to the Endless Frontiers Act building on his previous bill, the Blocking Evasive Attempts to Manipulate Signals or BEAMS Act, to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from exploiting Federal Communications Commission (FCC) loopholes in order to propagandize to Americans through stations entangled with Chinese state-owned media outlets such as Phoenix TV. Specifically, the amendment cites a provision under the Communications Act, which prohibits a foreign government from holding a radio station license, to include the transfer of permits or licenses to an entity that is subject to 'undue influence' by the CCP or the People's Republic of China.
Upon the adoption of his amendment, Sen. Cruz said:
'Right now, CCP-linked outlets are openly trying to purchase radio stations inside the U.S. and across our borders, with the aim of controlling what Americans see, hear, and ultimately think. There's no justification for allowing our greatest geopolitical threat to spend billions of dollars every year parroting talking points on American airwaves covering up unflattering and politically inconvenient truths about its totalitarian regime.
'This amendment is a major step toward thwarting China's attempts to wage information warfare, and is a part of a larger fight to untangle the United States from China's propaganda efforts and counter the CCP's threats.'
Sen. Cruz previously introduced the BEAMS Act in 2020 to amend the Brinkley Act in the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the FCC from issuing licenses that the Chinese were exploiting to broadcast propaganda into the United States from across the border with Mexico. In September 2018, Sen. Cruz sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai about this issue.
The Endless Frontiers Act advanced out of committee with six other Cruz-led amendments, including:
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