Ed Royce: “I think that it is indeed proper that the many achievements of George P. Shultz be recognized by the naming of this new…”

“I think that it is indeed proper that the many achievements of George P. Shultz be recognized by the naming of this new National Foreign Affairs Training Center after Mr. Shultz. I also commend the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for the bill that he brought up prior to this measure, and take a moment, if I could, to speak about the importance of commemorating the 50th anniversary of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. I think it is important that we remember within 10 minutes of the establishment of Radio Free Europe, the Soviets were already attempting in 1951 to jamb those broadcasts, and yet those broadcasts got through. What Joseph Stalin was afraid of was what was being told over the air waves. He was afraid of the truth; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty developed a rather unique form of international broadcasting. We call that today surrogate radio, airing local news about the countries to which they broadcast, operating as if they had a free and vibrant press. During the Cold War, these radios brought the news of the Hungarian revolution of 1956, the Prague uprising of 1968, and most importantly, the rise of the solidarity movement in Poland.”