,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cgfd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #g1 #bjbb,mr4 ,menendez 7for himself and ,mrs4 ,blackburn7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to authorize ,united ,states ,government efforts to promote and protect internet freedom in countries where the freedom of information is under threat4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,internet ,freedom and ,operations 7,,info7 ,act of #bjbb4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,more than #c1jjj1jjj1jjj people use the internet around the world every day to access information4 7#b7 ,authoritarian and repressive governments routinely use internet access as a means of suppressing information sharing and communications between people1 civil society organizations1 and journalists4 #c4 ,internet freedom 7a7 ,statement of policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states to continue to preserve and expand the internet as an open1 global space for freedom of expression and association4 7b7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year #bjbc-- 7#a7 #ge1jjj1jjj to the ,department of ,state and the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development 7referred to in this ,act as ,,usaid7 to continue efforts to promote internet freedom1 including through the ,bureau of ,democracy1 ,human ,rights1 and ,labor's ,internet ,freedom program2 and 7#b7 #di1jjj1jjj to the ,united ,states ,agency for ,global ,media 7referred to in this ,act as ,,usagm7 and grantees for internet freedom and circumvention technologies4 7c7 ,other funding sources ,in addition to the amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection 7b71 the efforts of the ,department of ,state and ,,usaid to promote internet freedom may be funded through-- 7#a7 the ,economic ,support ,fund authorized under section #eca of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcdf72 7#b7 the ,development ,assistance ,fund authorized under section #fec7;a7 of such ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bdac7;a772 7#c7 amounts appropriated under the heading ,assistance for ,europe1 ,eurasia1 and ,central ,asia in an appropriations ,act2 and 7#d7 amounts appropriated for ,,usagm4 #d4 ,circumvention technology 7a7 ,defined term ,in this section1 the term internet censorship circumvention tool means a software application or other tool that an individual can use to evade foreign government restrictions on internet access4 7b7 ,authorization of funding 7#a7 ,in general ,if the government of a foreign country restricts or closes off internet access to the residents of such country1 or access to certain websites1 the ,secretary of ,state shall make available #b1ejj1jjj from the ,economic ,support ,fund on an expedited basis to vetted entities already engaged in internet freedom programs in such country if the ,secretary determines that such use of funds is in the national interest4 7#b7 ,criteria ,amounts may be made available under paragraph 7#a7 within #g days if-- 7,a7 the ,secretary of ,state notifies the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate1 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives1 and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives of such planned expenditure2 and 7,b7 such amounts are expended to provide bandwidth for private ,united ,states companies that received ,federal funding during fiscal year #bjba to provide unrestricted internet access overseas4 7c7 ,report ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state and the ,administrator of ,,usaid shall jointly submit a report1 which may include a classified annex1 to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 ,such report shall describe-- 7#a7 as of the date of the report-- 7,a7 the full scope of ,internet ,freedom programs within the ,department of ,state and ,,usaid1 including-- 7i7 ,department of ,state circumvention efforts2 and 7ii7 ,,usaid efforts to support internet infrastructure2 7,b7 the capacity of internet censorship circumvention tools supported by the ,united ,states ,government that are available for use by individuals in foreign countries seeking to counteract censors2 and 7,c7 any barriers to the provision of the efforts described in clauses 7i7 and 7ii7 of subparagraph 7,a71 including access to surge funding2 and 7#b7 any new resources needed to provide the ,united ,states ,government with greater capacity to provide and boost internet access-- 7,a7 to respond rapidly to internet shutdowns in closed societies2 and 7,b7 to provide internet connectivity to foreign locations where the provision of additional internet access service would promote freedom from repressive regimes4 7d7 ,report ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,,usagm ,chief ,executive ,officer shall submit a report to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives that describes-- 7#a7 as of the date of the report-- 7,a7 the full scope of ,internet ,freedom programs within ,,usagm1 including-- 7i7 the efforts of the ,office of ,internet ,freedom2 and 7ii7 the efforts of the ,open ,technology ,fund2 7,b7 the capacity of internet censorship circumvention tools supported by the ,office of ,internet ,freedom and grantees of the ,open ,technology ,fund that are available for use by individuals in foreign countries seeking to counteract censors2 and 7,c7 any barriers to the provision of the efforts described in clause 7i7 and 7ii7 of subparagraph 7,a71 including access to surge funding2 and 7#b7 successful examples from the ,office of ,internet ,freedom and ,open ,technology ,fund involving-- 7,a7 responding rapidly to internet shutdowns in closed societies2 and 7,b7 ensuring uninterrupted circumvention services for ,,usagm entities to promote internet freedom within repressive regimes4