House Committee On
Foreign Affairs
Chairman Ed Royce
Chairman Royce Statement on Resignation of U.S. International Broadcasting Executive Andy Lack
Media Contact (202)225-5021
MAR 5, 2015
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on the resignation of Andy Lack as the Chief Executive Officer of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG):
“Mr. Lack resigned from his position as CEO after only 42 days in office, an incredibly short tenure by any measure. This resignation, once again, leaves the Broadcasting Board of Governors truly rudderless. For too long, the BBG has lurched from crisis to crisis, destroying the reputation of brands like the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe in the process. Two successive Secretaries of State have called for reform of the BBG. Secretary Clinton called the agency ‘defunct,’ and Secretary Kerry last week stated that he is ‘absolutely committed to the reform of the BBG.’ Their statements echo calls by the Office of the Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office for far-reaching reforms.
“Over the years, defenders of the status quo have argued that the BBG is generally on the right track and that only minor reforms or hiring the right CEO would do the trick. In reality, the BBG’s problems go far beyond one person or one office. CEOs come and go, yet the BBG limps along. Our nation is getting beat by Putin propaganda and our international broadcasting is floundering. It’s unacceptable.
“In the coming weeks, I will reintroduce legislation to reform fundamentally this dysfunctional agency. In the last Congress, this legislation passed the House unanimously, and I expect it to move to the President’s desk for signature this Congress.”
Note: In July, the House passed H.R. 4490 the International Communications Reform Act of 2014 unanimously by voice vote. The legislation calls for the consolidation of six organizations into two and makes important cost-saving reforms to the structure of U.S. international communications. More information on #BrokenBroadcasting is available HERE.
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Statements and comments on the need for reform of the Broadcasting Board of Governors made at a hearing Tuesday, March 04, 2015, of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs by U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Ambassador Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State.