The Senate will act tomorrow on a move to restore to the US Information Agency the full amount of its request for $194 million for operating expenses in the year beginning July 1. The action, to be introduced by Sen. Gale W. McGee (D.Wyo.), would assure continuation of the present complement of Voice of America broad castings including the Russian language religious program which contains content of Jewish interest.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee by a 9-4 vote, has recommended cutting $45 million off the USIA budget request. The State Department, which supplies policy guidance to USIA, said the committee’s measure would mean a drastic reduction of all USIA activities.
The VOA, which is a part of USIA, lengthened its religious program and added Jewish content beginning last Dec. 12 after strong representations were made in Congress for Yiddish programs to be beamed to the Soviet Union to encourage Jews there to maintain their culture.
Yiddish broadcasts are not included in VOA programs but an official said special features of Jewish interest are broadcast in Russian to the Soviet Union from time to time apart from the religious program. Among the features was a half-hour Passover program on the first seder night.
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