Text of Senate Amendment 5841

On 2026-06-17, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 5841" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 5841

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 102 (Wednesday, June 17, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 17, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S2904-S2905] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 5841. Mrs. BLACKBURN (for herself, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Kim, and Mr. Blumenthal) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her tothe bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of title XII, add the following: SEC. 1270A. OPEN TECHNOLOGY FUND. (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Open Technology Fund Reauthorization Act''. (b) Authority.--The Open Technology Fund is an independent nonprofit corporation that is authorized to receive amounts appropriated by Congress for the purpose of promoting, consistent with United States law, unrestricted access to uncensored sources of information through the internet. (c) Board of Directors.-- (1) In general.--The Open Technology Fund shall be governed by a Board of Directors that-- (A) is bipartisan; (B) except as otherwise provided in this section, has the sole responsibility to oversee the operations of the Open Technology Fund, within the jurisdiction of its incorporation; (C) is composed of not fewer than 5 members, who shall be qualified individuals who are not employed in the public sector; and (D) shall appoint successors in the event of a vacancy on the Board of Directors, in accordance with applicable bylaws. (2) Not federal employees.--No employee of the Open Technology Fund may be a Federal employee. (d) Functions.--In furtherance of the purpose described in subsection (b), the Open Technology Fund shall-- (1) seek to advance freedom of the press and unrestricted access to the internet in repressive environments oversees; (2) research, develop, implement, and maintain-- (A) technologies that circumvent techniques used by authoritarian governments, nonstate actors, and others to block or censor access to the internet, including circumvention tools that bypass internet blocking, filtering, and other censorship techniques used to limit or block legitimate access to content and information; and (B) secure communication tools and other forms of privacy and security technology that facilitate the creation and distribution of news and enable audiences to access media content on censored websites; (3) advance internet freedom by supporting private and public sector research, development, implementation, and maintenance of technologies that provide secure and uncensored access to the internet to counter attempts by authoritarian governments, nonstate actors, and others to improperly restrict freedom online; (4) research and analyze emerging technical threats and develop innovative solutions through collaboration with the private and public sectors to maintain the technological advantage of the United States Government over authoritarian governments, nonstate actors, and others; (5) develop, acquire, and distribute requisite internet freedom technologies and techniques, consistent with United States foreign policy priorities; (6) prioritize programs for countries the governments of which restrict freedom of expression on the internet, and that are important to the national interest of the United States, and are consistent with section 7050(b)(2)(C) of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116-94); and (7) carry out any other effort consistent with the purposes of this section or in furtherance of global internet freedom or press freedom overseas if requested or approved by an Act of Congress. (e) Methodology.--In carrying out subsection (d), the Open Technology Fund shall-- (1) support fully open-source tools, code, and components, to the extent practicable, to ensure such supported tools and technologies are as secure, transparent, and accessible as possible, and require that any such tools, components, code, or technology supported by the Open Technology Fund remain fully open-source, to the extent practicable; (2) support technologies that undergo comprehensive security audits to ensure that such technologies are secure and have not been compromised in a manner detrimental to the interest of the United States or to individuals and organizations benefitting from programs supported by the Open Technology Fund; (3) review and update periodically as necessary security auditing procedures used by the Open Technology Fund to reflect current industry security standards; (4) establish safeguards to mitigate the use of such supported technologies for illicit purposes; (5) solicit project proposals through an open, transparent, and competitive application process to attract innovative applications and reduce barriers to entry; (6) seek input from technical, regional, and subject matter experts from a wide range of relevant disciplines, to review, provide feedback, and evaluate proposals to ensure the most competitive projects are funded; (7) implement an independent review process, through which proposals are reviewed by such experts to ensure the highest degree of technical review and due diligence; (8) maximize cooperation with the public and private sectors, as well as foreign allies and partner countries, to maximize efficiencies and eliminate duplication of efforts; and (9) utilize any other methodology that is considered an industry best practice in furtherance of the mission of the Open Technology Fund. (f) Grants to the Open Technology Fund.--Any agreement with the Department of State or other Federal department or agency governing the expenditure of amounts appropriated to the Open Technology Fund shall be subject to the following limitations and restrictions: (1) The headquarters of the Open Technology Fund and its senior administrative [[Page S2905]] and managerial staff shall be located in a location which ensures economy, operational effectiveness, and public accountability. (2) Amounts appropriated by Congress to the Open Technology Fund shall be made subject to an agreement that-- (A) requires such amounts be used only for activities consistent with this section; (B) permits the termination of such amounts without fiscal obligation to the United States if the Open Technology Fund fails to substantially comply the requirements set forth in the grant; (C) requires any contract entered into by the Open Technology Fund to specify that all obligations are assumed by the Open Technology Fund and not by the United States Government; (D) prohibits the Open Technology Fund from entering into an obligation before receiving funding from the United States Government; and (E) requires any lease agreements entered into by the Open Technology Fund to be assignable to the United States Government, to the extent possible. (3) Administrative and managerial costs for operation of the Open Technology Fund-- (A) should be kept to a minimum; and (B) to the maximum extent feasible, should not exceed the costs that would have been incurred if the Open Technology Fund had been operated as a Federal entity rather than as an independent nonprofit corporation. (4) Amounts appropriated by Congress to the Open Technology Fund may not be used for any activity the purpose of which is influencing the passage or defeat of legislation being considered by Congress. (g) Assistance to Broadcasting Entities.--The Open Technology Fund should render assistance to broadcasting entities and United States Government-supported exile media grantees to the extent necessary for censorship circumvention and secure communications. (h) Not a Federal Agency or Instrumentality.--Nothing in this section may be construed to make the Open Technology Fund a Federal agency or instrumentality. (i) Relationship to Other United States Government-funded Internet Freedom Programs.--The Open Technology Fund shall coordinate with internet freedom programs of the Department of State and other relevant United States Government departments, in order to share information and best-practices relating to the implementation of subsections (d) and (e). (j) Annual Report.--The Open Technology Fund shall highlight, in its annual report, internet freedom activities, including a comprehensive assessment of the Open Technology Fund's activities relating to the implementation of subsections (d) and (e). Each such report shall include-- (1) an assessment of the current state of global internet freedom, including trends in censorship and surveillance technologies and internet shutdowns, and the threats such pose to journalists, citizens, and human rights and civil- society organizations; and (2) a description of the technology projects supported by the Open Technology Fund and the associated impact of such projects in the prior year, including the countries and regions in which such technologies were deployed, and any associated metrics indicating audience usage of such technologies, as well as future-year technology project initiatives. (k) Audit Authorities.-- (1) In general.--Financial transactions of the Open Technology Fund relating to functions carried out under this section may be audited by the Government Accountability Office in accordance with such principles and procedures and under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States. Any such audit shall be conducted at the place or places at which accounts of the Open Technology Fund are normally kept. (2) Access by government accountability office.--The Government Accountability Office shall have access to all books, accounts, records, reports, files, papers, and property belonging to or