Senate & House Approve Massive Cuts To CPB
• In the wee hours of Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate approved the Trump administration’s $9 billion rescission package aimed at clawing back money already allocated for public radio and television — a major step toward winding down nearly six decades of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which acts as a conduit for federal money to NPR, PBS and their member stations. CPB stands to lose $1.1 billion meant to fund it through the next two years, while the bill also cuts $7.9 billion in other programs. Democrats have warned that the cuts will devastate local stations — especially in rural areas — that depend much more on federal funding than NPR or PBS themselves.
The 51-48 vote was largely along party lines, with Democrats voting against the bill and all but two Republicans — Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski voting in favor. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) was not present at the vote due to hospitalization. VP JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.
In a statement issued immediately after the vote, NPR CEO Katherine Maher said, “Nearly 3-in-4 Americans say they rely on their public radio stations for alerts and news for their public safety,” adding, “We call on the House of Representatives to reject this elimination of public media funding, which directly harms their communities and constituents, and could very well place lives at risk.”
In a separate statement, Kate Riley, President & CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, said the organization was “devastated that the Senate voted to eliminate federal funding to the local public television stations throughout this country that provide essential lifesaving public safety services, proven educational services and community connections to their communities every day for free.”
Update: Late Thursday evening, the House passed a bill to slash $9 billion in federal spending early Friday and sent it to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. The vote was 216-213, with two Republicans — Mike Turner (Ohio) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania) — opposing it.
