H.R. 4189: To require the Secretary of Defense to provide an annual certification that all programming on the American Forces Radio and Television Service represents the best-faith efforts by the Department of Defense to provide programming for members of the Armed Forces and their families that communicates the policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives of the Department while avoiding airing programming that exhibits values contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the United States.
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H.R. 4189: To require the Secretary of Defense to provide an annual certification that all programming on the American Forces Radio and Television Service represents the best-faith efforts by the Department of Defense to provide programming for members of the Armed Forces and their families that communicates the policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives of the Department while avoiding airing programming that exhibits values contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the United States.
112th Congress · introduced 2012-03-08 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2012-03-08 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-17] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
To require the Secretary of Defense to provide an annual certification that all programming on the American Forces Radio and Television Service represents the best-faith efforts by the Department of Defense to provide programming for members of the Armed Forces and their families that communicates the policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives of the Department while avoiding airing programming that exhibits values contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the United States.
Plain summary
Expresses the sense of Congress that programs broadcast by the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) should reflect the values, including equality, freedom, and service, to which members of the Armed Forces and Americans aspire, and that the AFRTS should avoid airing programming that has a history of being contrary to such values. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to certify annually to Congress that such AFRTS-broadcast programming represents best-faith efforts to communicate the DOD's policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives while avoiding airing programming with values contrary to Armed Forces and U.S. values.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
To require the Secretary of Defense to provide an annual certification that all programming on the American Forces Radio and Television Service represents the best-faith efforts by the Department of Defense to provide programming for members of the Armed Forces and their families that communicates the policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives of the Department while avoiding airing programming that exhibits values contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the United States.
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-17] · 2 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA)
Agencies named in this bill
- Department of Defense: its federal spending and other bills that name it
Found automatically: the agency's full official name appears in the bill title. A bill can affect agencies it does not name, so this list may be incomplete.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Ballot initiative
- A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens place on the ballot by gathering enough voter signatures, so voters decide it directly. About half the states allow some form of it.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112hr4189.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/hr>
Record fed-us-cong112-hr4189 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112