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Public broadcasting critics: Congress shouldn’t fund NPR, PBS

Feb 08, 2022

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Congress must address its budget by February 18 to avert a shutdown. When it does that, all discretionary spending is up for debate. That debate frequently includes calls to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS.

Proponents of defunding the CPB generally complain about the cost and the content.

Congress allocates about $445 million annually, or 0.015% of the total annual budget, to the CPB. According to the CPB, that amount breaks down to about $1.35 per American. 

“This amendment is simply about priorities and how American funds can be better spent to house, clothe and feed disadvantaged Americans,” late Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) said on the Senate Floor in 1992 in defense of a bill to change CPB’s funding levels. 

Some Republicans also argue CPB should not get public money, saying the content it funds is biased. For the past decade, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) has introduced legislation to defund the CPB.

“NPR and PBS have increasingly turned into a mouthpiece for the left,” Lamborn wrote in a news release about his current legislation.

Supporters of public broadcasting say CPB ensures all Americans, even people in rural areas, have access to educational television.

“These stations provide trusted local journalism and high-quality educational programming—and they play a crucial role in public safety,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said in defense of the CPB.

BEFORE LEARNING IN SCHOOL, SO MANY OF US LEARNED ON THE STREET…

SESAME STREET THAT IS.

IT’S NOT JUST SESAME STREET.

AND IT’S NOT JUST KIDS.

PUBLIC TELEVISION HAS INFORMED…

AND ENLIGHTENED AMERICA FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS.

FROM GREAT PERFORMANCES 

TO NATURE 

 BUT WITH HUNDREDS OF CABLE CHANNELS AND STREAMING NETWORKS – 

DO WE REALLY NEED PUBLIC TELEVISION?

AND MORE IMPORTANTLY – 

SHOULD YOUR HARD-EARNED TAX DOLLARS PAY FOR PART OF IT?

LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT.

SENATOR TED CRUZ ACCUSED PBS’ SESAME STREET OF ‘government PROPAGANDA’ LAST YEAR.

IT LED SNL TO SPOOF CRUZ

TAKE SOTSaturday Night Live 

<<”For 50 years I stood by as Sesame Street taught our children dangerous ideas like numbers and kindness, but when Big Bird told children to get vaccinated against a deadly disease, I said enough.“>>

Annie Andersen: THE BATTLE OVER PUBLIC TELEVISION IS NOTHING NEW. 

IN 1972, JUST THREE YEARS AFTER ITS CREATION, THEN-PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON VETOED A BILL TO FUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING.

AND THE DEBATE HAS CONTINUED FOR DECADES

THE DIVIDE IS MOSTLY ALONG PARTY LINES

TAKE SOT- FROM C-SPAN VIDEO (Sen. Bob Dole (R) KS)

<<”This amendment is simply about priorities and how American funds can be better spent to house, clothe and feed disadvantaged Americans.”>>

TAKE SOT-  (SEN. DANIEL INOUYE (D- HAWAII)

<..This is an education bill Mr. President  It does. more for education than any other service that we have provided in this Congress.”>>

CRITICS HAVE ONE OF TWO COMPLAINTS… THE COST AND THE CONTENT.

 CONGRESS ALLOCATES 445 MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY. 

THAT’S ABOUT A DOLLAR THIRTY-FIVE FOR EVERY AMERICAN OR ABOUT POINT ZERO ONE FIVE PERCENT OF THE TOTAL BUDGET.

 THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING FUNNELS 95 PERCENT OF ITS CASH TO ITS STATIONS. MOST NOTEDLY, P-B-S AND N-P-R. 

THEIR GOAL TO PROVIDE INFORMATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE ESPECIALLY TO THOSE IN RURAL AREAS WHERE PROGRAMMING IS LIMITED… COMMERCIAL-FREE.

AND IN RETURN, ALL THE STATIONS ARE REQUIRED TO MEET EDITORIAL STANDARDS WITH NEWS AND SPONSORS. 

BUT COLORADO REPUBLICAN DOUG LAMBORN ARGUES THEIR BIAS IS EVIDENT…. WRITING, “NPR and PBS have increasingly turned into a mouthpiece for the left…

AND FOR MORE THAN A DECADE NOW, LAMBORN HAS INTRODUCED LEGISLATION TO DEFUND PUBLIC BROADCASTING.  

TAKE SOT Rep. Doug LAMBORN

<<”eliminate taxpayer subsidies for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”>>

 Annie Andersen: IF LAMBORN IS SUCCESSFUL, THE 330 PBS MEMBER STATIONS WOULD LOSE 14 PERCENT OF ITS BUDGET, AND THE MORE THAN A THOUSAND NPR MEMBER STATIONS WILL LOSE ABOUT 8 PERCENT … FORCING LISTENERS TO LISTEN TO MORE PLEDGE DRIVES. 

ARE AMERICANS GETTING THEIR MONEY’S WORTH? 

LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

STRAIGHT FROM DC I’M AA 

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