Radio Free Europe still hopes for Congress funds after U.S. financing halt

By Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet

U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is seeking to build bi-partisan support in Congress to keep operating when approved financing ends later this year, its president Stephen Capus said.

Started in 1950 to broadcast to communist-run countries during the Cold War, RFE/RL still reaches millions in eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine, as well as central Asia and the Middle East. However, it is caught in efforts to down-size government under U.S. President Donald Trump.

The administration froze Congress-approved federal grants in March, leaving RFE/RL to fight in court for appropriated funds.

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RFE/RL received funds for May on Thursday after a court order, Capus said, and continues to seek over $50 million appropriated by Congress for its fiscal year ending September while seeking ways to fund operations ahead.

"After September 30th, there is still a possibility of receiving funds from Congress," he told Reuters during the Globsec Forum in Prague on Thursday. "We've got very strong bipartisan support... We have confidence that can happen."

The funding rows have forced the station to furlough about 350 staff, out of around 1,200, Capus said, and it has reduced some programming. It also let go "hundreds and hundreds" of freelancers and contractors, and some senior staff have left.

The Czech Republic has searched for solutions with European Union partners and others to help RFE/RL. Last month, the EU said it would donate 5.5 million euros ($6.33 million).

The station has so far not accepted outside funds and wants to see where talks and U.S. court decisions lead.

Capus said some form of funding from U.S. and European sources might be an option, given Europe's rising focus on security, including in the information space.

Nothing was on the table now, he said, but "it's an idea worth exploring."