Charlie Kirk Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Charlie Kirk Act rewrites section 501 of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 and section 208 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for fiscal years 1986 and 1987. USAGM may prepare and disseminate abroad information about the United States, its people, and its policies through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, the internet, information centers, instructors abroad, and other communication channels. Except for specified access at the Department of State and later National Archives distribution, USAGM information may not be disseminated domestically. After 12 years, USAGM must make motion pictures, films, video, audio, and other foreign-dissemination materials available to the Archivist for domestic distribution. The Archivist must be custodian, issue rights-and-license regulations, charge cost-covering fees under title 44, and place fees in the National Archives Trust Fund. The bill also bans USAGM appropriations from influencing United States public opinion, bars domestic distribution of USAGM program material, preserves Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act programs, and lets USAGM employees answer public inquiries about operations, policies, or programs.
Who Benefits and How
Foreign audiences remain the intended beneficiaries of USAGM information programs. Press representatives, research students, scholars, Members of Congress, and later archival users benefit from defined access routes to USAGM materials. The National Archives Trust Fund benefits from fee revenue tied to domestic releases.
Who Bears the Burden and How
USAGM and its component networks must restrict domestic distribution, provide aged materials to the Archivist, manage reimbursements, and avoid domestic public-opinion influence. National Archives staff must take custody, issue regulations, verify rights and licenses, collect fees, and distribute materials. Domestic users must wait 12 years for general archival distribution and pay cost-covering fees where applicable.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes USAGM to prepare and disseminate information abroad about the United States, its people, and its policies.
- Restricts domestic dissemination of USAGM materials except for limited State Department examination and later National Archives distribution.
- Requires USAGM to provide foreign-dissemination materials to the Archivist after 12 years for domestic distribution.
- Directs the Archivist to issue rights-and-license rules, collect cost-covering fees, and deposit fees into the National Archives Trust Fund.
- Prohibits USAGM appropriations from being used to influence United States public opinion or distribute program material domestically, with stated exceptions.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Restores a stricter domestic-dissemination framework for USAGM materials by authorizing foreign information work while limiting domestic distribution and routing older materials through the National Archives.
Key Policy Areas
Foreign Policy, Government, Media
Primary Purpose
Restores a stricter domestic-dissemination framework for USAGM materials by authorizing foreign information work while limiting domestic distribution and routing older materials through the National Archives.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- foreign audiences
- press representatives
- research students
- scholars
- Members of Congress
- National Archives Trust Fund
Identified Costs
- United States Agency for Global Media staff
- National Archives staff
- domestic users
- USAGM component networks
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Introduced in House
Mr. Ogles (for himself and Mr. Donalds) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Members of Congress examining USAGM materials, National Archives Trust Fund receiving access fees, National Archives staff distributing aged materials
Positive-direction: Members of Congress examining USAGM materials, National Archives Trust Fund receiving access fees, USAGM employees responding to public inquiries
Negative-direction: National Archives staff distributing aged materials, National Archives staff issuing distribution regulations, United States Agency for Global Media component networks, United States Agency for Global Media staff
Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act programs, research students examining USAGM materials
United States public shielded from domestic USAGM influence, domestic archival users paying access fees
Positive-direction: United States public shielded from domestic USAGM influence
Negative-direction: domestic archival users paying access fees
foreign audiences receiving United States information
press representatives examining USAGM materials
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "Archivist"
- → Archivist of the United States
- "USAGM CEO"
- → Chief Executive Officer of the United States Agency for Global Media
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology