1. United States
2. Mass.
3. Letter

The recent executive order from the president calling for the elimination of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) poses a grave threat to press freedom and the safety of journalists worldwide. For over 80 years, USAGM entities like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have empowered free expression in some of the world's most repressive regimes, providing vital information to audiences living under authoritarian rule. Eliminating these organizations would undermine a cornerstone of democracy and hand a victory to autocrats seeking to suppress independent media. Journalists affiliated with USAGM outlets frequently face harassment, detention, and violence from authorities in censored countries for simply doing their jobs. Dissolving these media operations would endanger their lives and enable further crackdowns on press freedom globally. Moreover, it contradicts the United States' stated commitment to upholding free speech and a free press both at home and abroad. Congress must take immediate action to protect the USAGM, safeguard the well-being of its journalists, and reaffirm the critical role of an independent media in holding power to account. Failing to do so would represent a catastrophic assault on fundamental democratic values and cede immense ground to the world's most repressive regimes in the battle for truth and liberty of expression. The stakes for global press freedom could not be higher.