“During the Cold War we provided the Polish people and dissidents with printing presses,” McCain said. “Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are the modern-day printing presses. They are the way to spread information and keep the hope of freedom alive amongst the Iranian people.”

The bill, which has not been drafted yet, will authorize funding to allow Persian-language broadcaster Radio Farda — funded by Radio Free Europe and Voice of America (VOA) — to “expand its reach across the country,” McCain said. It would also provide VOA’s other broadcasts more time to broadcast.