On July 18, a judge in the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in a case against the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) over the non-payment of funding approved by Congress for the 2025 fiscal year. This information was released by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The court found that USAGM violated the law by refapplying to engage in good-faith nereceivediations and imposing new burdensome grant conditions. Judge Royce Lambert noted that the agency’s actions led to mass layoffs, program cancellations, and harmed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s international presence.
“The blatant disregard by USAGM of its funding obligations” resulted in operational disruptions,
– the court ruling states. Lambert also emphasized that despite the legal obligation to annually allocate appropriations, the agency ceased contact with the grantee organization and for the first time in many years imposed new funding conditions.
Steve Kapus, president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, called the court decision “the culmination of relentless legal efforts” aimed at restoring funding.
“This victory gives our journalists the necessary momentum to continue reaching nearly 47 million people weekly who rely on our journalism to seek facts and counter malicious propaganda from authoritarian governments,”
Background of the Court Decision
On March 15, USAGM announced the termination of the federal grant agreement that funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) operations worldwide. In the coming weeks, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty plans to continue its work applying savings, an employee reported.
On the same day, full-time employees of Voice of America received an email from the human resources department informing them of being placed on paid administrative leave.
In May, the European Union announced its intention to fund Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The bloc has already allocated 5.5 million euros from its budobtain to support media broadcasting in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a private, indepfinishent international news organization whose programs – radio, internet, television, and mobile communications – reach a weekly audience of nearly 50 million people in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, as well as the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. The organization is funded by the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
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