Byron Dorgan: “I am offering an amendment. The amendment I offer today is very simple. It is an amendment that will eliminate the $21…”

“I am offering an amendment. The amendment I offer today is very simple. It is an amendment that will eliminate the $21 million in this appropriations bill for something called Television Marti and will instead use that $21 million to restore funding for the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps has been cut by $25 million. This would restore most of that $25 million. It would restore, in fact, the $21 million that is allocated for Television Marti. Let me talk for a moment about Television Marti. It is for the purpose of broadcasting signals into the island of Cuba, apparently to tell the Cubans the truth, to tell them Castro is an awful person. I would agree with that, that they ought to live free. We ought to find a way to move Cuba toward freedom. We have Radio Marti that sends radio signals into Cuba. I have been to Cuba. The Cuban people told me they receive the radio signals. Of course, they can also receive the signals of the Miami radio stations, but Radio Marti is something that is valuable, is important, we should fund and will fund. I support it. Television Marti, on the other hand, is a tragic, complete waste of money. We have now spent a substantial amount of money, $189 million, sending television broadcast into Cuba that the Cuban people cannot see. Let me tell you how we do that. This is a picture of Fat Albert. Fat Albert is an aerostat balloon.…”