text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 
  2012''.
  
  SEC. 2. DISSEMINATION ABROAD OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNITED STATES.
  
      (a) United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 
  1948.--Section 501 of the United States Information and Educational 
  Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1461) is amended to read as follows:
  
                          ``general authorization
  
      ``Sec. 501.  (a) The Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of 
  Governors are authorized to use funds appropriated or otherwise made 
  available for public diplomacy information programs to provide for the 
  preparation, dissemination, and use of information intended for foreign 
  audiences abroad about the United States, its people, and its policies, 
  through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, the Internet, and 
  other information media, including social media, and through 
  information centers, instructors, and other direct or indirect means of 
  communication.
      ``(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary and the 
  Broadcasting Board of Governors may, upon request and reimbursement of 
  the reasonable costs incurred in fulfilling such a request, make 
  available, in the United States, motion pictures, films, video, audio, 
  and other materials prepared for dissemination abroad or disseminated 
  abroad pursuant to this Act, the United States International 
  Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Radio 
  Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et seq.), or the Television 
  Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.). The Secretary and 
  the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall issue necessary regulations--
              ``(A) to establish procedures to maintain such material;
              ``(B) for reimbursement of the reasonable costs incurred in 
          fulfilling requests for such material; and
              ``(C) to ensure that the persons seeking release of such 
          material have secured and paid for necessary United States 
          rights and licenses.
      ``(2) With respect to material prepared for dissemination abroad or 
  disseminated abroad before the effective date of the Smith-Mundt 
  Modernization Act of 2012--
              ``(A) the Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors 
          shall make available to the Archivist of the United States, for 
          domestic distribution, motion pictures, films, videotapes, and 
          other material 12 years after the initial dissemination of the 
          material abroad; and
              ``(B) the Archivist shall be the official custodian of the 
          material and shall issue necessary regulations to ensure that 
          persons seeking its release in the United States have secured 
          and paid for necessary United States rights and licenses and 
          that all costs associated with the provision of the material by 
          the Archivist shall be paid by the persons seeking its release, 
          in accordance with paragraph (3).
      ``(3) The Archivist may charge fees to recover the costs described 
  in paragraph (2), in accordance with section 2116(c) of title 44. Such 
  fees shall be paid into, administered, and expended as part of the 
  National Archives Trust Fund.
      ``(c) Nothing in this section may be construed to require the 
  Secretary or the Broadcasting Board of Governors to make material 
  disseminated abroad available in any format other than in the format 
  disseminated abroad.''.
      (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
  to affect the allocation of funds appropriated or otherwise made 
  specifically available for public diplomacy.
      (c) Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 
  1987.--Section 208 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 
  Years 1986 and 1987 (22 U.S.C. 1461-1a) is amended to read as follows:
  
  ``SEC. 208. CLARIFICATION ON DOMESTIC DISTRIBUTION OF PROGRAM MATERIAL.
  
      ``(a) In General.--No funds authorized to be appropriated to the 
  Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall be 
  used to influence public opinion in the United States. This section 
  shall apply only to programs carried out pursuant to the United States 
  Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1431 et 
  seq.), the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 
  U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 
  1465 et seq.), and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 
  1465aa et seq.). This section shall not prohibit or delay the 
  Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors from 
  providing information about its operations, policies, programs, or 
  program material, or making such available, to the media, public, or 
  Congress, in accordance with other applicable law.
      ``(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
  construed to prohibit the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board 
  of Governors from engaging in any medium or form of communication, 
  either directly or indirectly, because a United States domestic 
  audience is or may be thereby exposed to program material, or based on 
  a presumption of such exposure. Such material may be made available 
  within the United States and disseminated, when appropriate, pursuant 
  to sections 502 and 1005 of the United States Information and 
  Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1462 and 1437), except that 
  nothing in this section may be construed to authorize the Department of 
  State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors to disseminate within the 
  United States any program material prepared for dissemination abroad on 
  or before the effective date of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 
  2012.
      ``(c) Application.--The provisions of this section shall apply only 
  to the Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors and 
  to no other department or agency of the Federal Government.''.
      (d) Conforming Amendments.--The United States Information and 
  Educational Exchange Act of 1948 is amended--
              (1) in section 502 (22 U.S.C. 1462)--
                      (A) by inserting ``and the Broadcasting Board of 
                  Governors'' after ``Secretary''; and
                      (B) by inserting ``or the Broadcasting Board of 
                  Governors'' after ``Department''; and
              (2) in section 1005 (22 U.S.C. 1437), by inserting ``and 
          the Broadcasting Board of Governors'' after ``Secretary'' each 
          place it appears.
      (e) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect and apply on the 
  date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
target: Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 - Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to authorize the Secretary of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to provide for the preparation and dissemination of information intended for foreign audiences abroad about the United States, including about its people, its history, and the federal government's policies, through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, the Internet, and other information media, including social media, and through information centers and instructors. (Under current law such authority is restricted to information disseminated abroad, with a limited domestic exception.)
  
  Authorizes the Secretary and the Board to make available in the United States motion pictures, films, video, audio, and other materials prepared for dissemination abroad or disseminated abroad pursuant to such Act, the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994, the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act, or the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act.
  
  Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987 to prohibit funds for the Department of State or the Board from being used to influence public opinion or propagandizing in the United States. (Under current law such provision applies to the United States Information Agency [USIA].)
  
  Applies such prohibition only to programs carried out pursuant to the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994, the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act, and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act.
  
  States that such provision shall: (1) not prohibit the Department or the Board from providing information about its operations, policies, programs, or program material, or making such information available to members of the media, public, or Congress; (2) not be construed to prohibit the Department from engaging in any medium of information on a presumption that a U.S. domestic audience may be exposed to program material; and (3) apply only to the Department and the Board and to no other federal department or agency.
feat_title: To amend the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to authorize the domestic dissemination of information and material about the United States intended primarily for foreign audiences, and for other purposes.