Knowing In Advance Reaction From Capitol Hill, Might Biden Administration Be Testing Political Temperatures For Changes To Cuba Policy? Or, Just Another Budget Reduction?
/Politico
Arlington, Virginia
6 January 2022
FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY –– USAGM CONSIDERING CUBA BROADCASTING DOWNSIZE: The U.S. Agency for Global Media is looking into a potential downsizing of its Office of Cuba Broadcasting, per our own DANIEL LIPPMAN, its hands forced by an ever-shrinking budget.
“Yesterday USAGM notified Congress of its intention to evaluate a potential Reduction-in-Force (RIF) within the OCB through consultation with experts within the Office of Personnel Management,” UASGM said in a statement to Lippman. “USAGM and OCB leadership continue to explore all options for cost reductions without compromising the ability to achieve its mission, including personnel reductions, to operate within the funding levels set by the Congress in recent years and to meet the President’s 2022 budget request for OCB of $13m.”
The budget for OCB has seen a steady decline in recent years, with the office spending nearly $29 million in fiscal year 2019, then almost $25 million in 2020 and nearly $20 million in 2021. As a result, USAGM’s acting CEO, KELU CHAO, informed Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.) of the push for “workforce shaping services” in a Tuesday letter.
The move is likely to face stiff bipartisan resistance by some on the Hill, even though OCB has provided some taxpayer-funded embarrassments, such as an anti-Semitic segment.
“As OCB undergoes reforms, now is not the time to cut critical services supporting the free flow of information into and out of the island,” Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Lippman. “I will ensure that any restructuring and staffing decisions don’t undermine the work of Radio and TV Marti, or the new technologies and internet freedom tools from the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.”
“It’s outrageous that the Biden administration wants to cut funds for Radio and TV Martí, a critical and independent source of information in support of democracy and Cubans on the island. It’s shameful and embarrassing, especially following last year’s historic protests. My office is in contact with USAGM and I will do everything I can to prevent this unjustified cut,” said Sen. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.), a longtime critic of the Cuba regime.
