Benjamin Gilman: “the third problem with the Hamilton amendment is that it provides no protection at all for vital functions of the…”

“the third problem with the Hamilton amendment is that it provides no protection at all for vital functions of the agencies that are to be abolished. For example, international public diplomacy which is carried out by USIA is extremely important. We spend a lot of money to support it. We do not want it to be abused. We do not want all the resources of the USIA to be redirected to bombard the American people with propaganda in support of the administration or any administration's foreign policy, and we do not want to spend U.S. taxpayer's money churning out propaganda to influence U.S. public opinion. My reorganization language contains protection for the integrity of public diplomacy. We preserve the broadcasting board of governors to make certain that the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe and Radio Marti are not turned into mouthpieces for whoever happens to be running U.S. foreign policy. The Hamilton amendment, I submit, contains no such protections. In closing, the bottom line on the Hamilton amendment is this: Do we want real reorganization of the foreign agencies or do we want reorganization? Let us hold the President to his word and insist on real reorganization and vote down the Hamilton amendment.”