CPB distributes that funding to NPR and PBS and their member stations across the country.
The Democratic senators’ letter notes the “vast majority” of CPB money is allocated to local public radio and television stations.
Trump has called NPR and PBS “THE RADICAL LEFT ‘MONSTERS'” and denounced their news coverage and cultural programming.
She said the loss of funding for local stations in her home state would be “devastating.”
NPR and a group of local stations sued the administration, arguing the order was unconstitutional.
29 Senate Democrats are warning that public media should be “protected, not decimated” as GOP congressional leaders promise to move quickly to approve President Trump’s proposal to cut off all federal funding for the media for the next two years. “.
Senators argue that the proposed clawback of funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) “would have detrimental effects on local stations, which rely on this funding to provide critical services to millions of Americans across the country,” in a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune. “.
The endeavor takes place one day after the Trump administration formally asked Congress to approve a rescissions bill worth $9.4 billion. The plan calls for cutting public broadcasting by $11 billion and foreign aid by $83 billion. The funding is disbursed by CPB to NPR, PBS, and their affiliated stations nationwide. In March, Trump signed a government funding bill that included approval from Congress for the public-private entity’s next two years of funding.
Though some Republicans on Capitol Hill have voiced concerns about some of the cuts to State Department programs, the majority of them say they support the package. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine and the Senate Appropriations Chair, told reporters she could not support the proposed cuts to PEPFAR, a public health program established by President George W. Bush will talk about HIV/AIDS. John Thune, the Senate majority leader, however, stated that the package would soon be put to a vote. It takes 45 days for Congress to take action under the rescission rules. Next week, the House is expected to hold its first vote. The package can then be approved by the Senate with a simple majority. It is uncertain whether four Republican votes will be needed to block the package because the GOP has a 53-seat majority in the upper house.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson told reporters Wednesday that these cuts are common sense. “There is no reason for any media organization to be singled out to receive federal funds,” he said, criticizing both NPR and PBS’s news coverage as ideologically biased. We have moved into a new era. “.”.
The House will vote on the package next week, according to GOP leaders. Senior Republicans told NPR they thought the bill would be approved.
In their letter, the Democratic senators point out that local public television and radio stations receive the “vast majority” of CPB funding. The cuts, according to them, “will have an immediate and significant impact for stations in rural communities that heavily rely on CPB funding to provide critical services and could likely result in the elimination of programming or outright closure of stations in areas already faced with limited connectivity.”. Thune is urged to continue providing CPB with “full funding.”.
Trump has criticized the news coverage and cultural programming of NPR and PBS, calling them “THE RADICAL LEFT ‘MONSTERS’.”. On Tuesday, NPR CEO Katherine Maher made a suggestion that if Congress approves the rescissions package, the network may think about suing. If that were to occur, NPR would not discuss its legal plan.
Maher issued a statement saying, “The proposal violates the Public Broadcasting Act, the First Amendment, and the Due Process Clause because it is explicitly viewpoint-based and intended to control and punish content.”.
Under the leadership of Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N, no Senate Republican signed the letter. Y. along with D-Mass Ed Markey. however, Alaska GOP Sen. Earlier this month, Lisa Murkowski wrote an editorial in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner expressing her support for public media. In her home state, she said it would be “devastating” if local stations lost their funding. “..”.
“In addition to the loss of local programming in many Alaskan communities, there would be significant disruptions to warning systems for power outages, boil water advisories, natural disasters, and other alerts. What some may consider a pointless expenditure has turned out to be a vital tool that saves lives in Alaska,” Murkowski wrote.
104 House Democrats, led by Rep. Dan Goldman wrote to the top Democratic and Republican members of the House spending committee that is in charge of CPB on Tuesday. The lawmakers wrote that “many localities would struggle to receive timely, reliable local news and educational content without federal support for public broadcasting, especially remote and rural communities that commercial newsrooms are increasingly less likely to invest in.”.
Last month, Trump took a separate step to defund public broadcasting by issuing an executive order directing CPB to cease providing funding to PBS and NPR. The administration was sued by NPR and several local stations, who claimed the order was unconstitutional. PBS and one of its Minnesota member stations separately sued to overturn the order.
In their testimony before a House oversight panel, the heads of NPR and PBS insisted that CPB funding cuts would disproportionately affect rural stations, where there are no other private media outlets available to cover both national news and significant local stories like natural disasters. The leaders resisted the attempt to recoup the funding after the rescissions package was delivered to Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
