[Updated/Amended]: What? Newspaper says PR man Balsera nominated to PD Commission that no longer exists

LATEST UPDATE, VIA LEN BALDYGA (January 22):

United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State [undated]

The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy was reauthorized by the Congress and the President under H.R. 4310, Section 1280, signed into law on January 3, 2012. The Commission authorization is retroactive to October 1, 2010, and continues through to October 1, 2015. At this time, the Commission is in the process of restarting operations. Check back for updates. The Commission's website, email, Twitter, and Facebook accounts will be updated after the office is staffed and operations restart.


Since 1948, the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) had been charged with appraising U.S. Government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics and to increase the understanding of and support for these same activities. The ACPD accomplished this through reports and symposiums that provided honest appraisals and informed discourse on these efforts.

What? Newspaper says PR man Balsera nominated to PD Commission that according to the State Department homepage [AM January 20] no longer existed -- but that evidently has just been reauthorized (thank you Bill Kiehl [see his informative comment to this posting]).

Balsera nominated to U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy - The Miami Herald, 1.19.13: "Freddy Balsera, founder of a Coral Gables public relations firm, has been nominated by President Obama to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.

'I am proud to nominate such impressive individuals to these important roles, and I am grateful they have agreed to lend their considerable talents to this Administration,' said Obama in announcing the nomination of Balsera and others to key administration posts.

Prior to founding his company in 1999, Balsera worked for the Miami-Dade Mayor’s Office handling intergovernmental relations and media relations duties. Balsera currently serves on the board of the YMCA of Greater Miami and was elected to the Miami Dade College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2008, he worked with the Obama-Biden Transition Team as part of the agency review panel for the Federal Communications Commission."

Image from article, with caption: (L to R) Freddy Balsera hugs President Barack Obama in a visit to Miami on June 2012.

[Added to original posting Jan 20, 2013: Please note that the nomination of Mr. Balsera dates back to late 2011]

What????

The U.S. Advisory Commission has been closed, according to the State Department. See:

"The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy has not been reauthorized by the Congress. As a result, the Commission concluded its business on December 16, 2011, and the office has been closed. The Commission's website, email, Twitter, and Facebook accounts will not be monitored or updated."

--United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State