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On the Issues
Protecting Public Broadcasting
I believe that public broadcasting is an essential component of our democratic society and that we must work to protect its political independence and financial stability.
Congress established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in 1967 with the goal of fostering the creation of media outlets that are not dependent on advertising revenue and ratings for funding. CPB is a private nonprofit corporation that receives an annual appropriation from Congress, which is used to provide financial support to more than 1,000 public television and radio stations nationwide, accounting for about 15 percent of public broadcasting's total funding. By creating CPB as a private corporation instead of a government entity, Congress intended to insulate public broadcasting from government intrusion into programming content, a decision that has allowed broadcasters such as the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) to provide their audiences with independent programming and hard-hitting investigative journalism, and to devote airtime to underserved groups such as children and minorities.
With these principles in mind, I have been greatly dismayed by the Bush Administration's intent to gut the foundation of our nation's public broadcasting system. This is not the first time that CPB has come under attack from conservative opponents; in the mid-1990s, congressional Republicans led by former Rep. Newt Gingrich threatened to end federal support for CPB, but their high-profile effort ultimately failed in the face of intense public opposition.
Major Proposed Funding Cuts
For the eighth year in a row, the President's budget request calls for the elimination of the forward-funding mechanism which appropriates the CPB budget two years in advance, in order to allow public broadcasters plenty of lead time to plan, design, and create television programs and to provide them with editorial independence from day-to-day congressional scrutiny.
Also, the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget proposes the largest cut to public broadcasting in its 40-year history. Specifically, the budget request proposes a $200 million rescission from the amount already appropriated for FY 2009, and a $220 million rescission from the $420 million already appropriated for FY 2010. His budget also would eliminate the advanced funding for FY 2011 that gives CPB lead time to develop its programming and shields the agency from year-to-year politically motivated attacks. Taken together, these cuts would amount to a funding reduction of 50%.
In recent years, similar requests by the President have led to heated debates during the congressional appropriations process, as the Republican leadership has generally supported the President’s efforts, while Democrats and moderate Republicans have opposed them. Fortunately, aided by the advocacy of millions of American citizens, supporters of public broadcasting have been able to stave off the worst of the proposed cuts, and the return to Democratic control of the Congress puts us in a better position to ensure the financial stability of CPB.
As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, I have fought consistently to reject the President’s cuts and support full funding for our nation’s public broadcasting system. I will be advocating for full funding for CPB and other public broadcasting priorities as the FY 2009 appropriations process moves forward in the coming weeks.
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