MIAMI

Two decades after Congress established the U.S. Office of Cuba Broadcasting, lawmakers and experts still cannot seem to agree on the program's mission.

Should its TV and Radio Marti networks send the communist Caribbean island unbiased news about Cuba and the outside world? Or should their stories only support the U.S. government's policy toward Cuba, as they mostly do now?

The dispute is part of a larger debate over the U.S. government's foreign broadcasts, but nowhere is it more noticeable than with the Martis. The taxpayer-funded Cuba broadcasts, which receive US $34 million annually, belong to a network that includes the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Alhurra, among others. Most are run by veterans of top media outlets who are quick to defend their journalistic principles.

Still, the Martis' congressional charter states that the broadcasts must be operated "in a manner not inconsistent with the broad foreign policy of the United States." The other broadcasts have similar mandates.

U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, a longtime critic of the Martis and of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, recently called for an investigation into management of the broadcasts. He believes the Martis fail to show the diverse viewpoints within the U.S.

"I think you need to put that out for the Cuban people to understand," Delahunt said.

Jeff Trimble, executive director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the broadcasts, says the charter calls for promoting democracy, "through the journalistic mission. You have open information. ... It's not to do the short-term policy issues of any particular administration."

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami Republican and Marti supporter, says the broadcasts should back the American president's positions.

"It is not a 'Let's have all this diversity of thought,'" said Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American. "If we were to have a change in Cuba policy come November, you will see that reflected in the transmissions. The mission is clear: It's to advance our U.S.-Cuba policy."