Republicans move to defund, dismantle Corporation for Public Broadcasting

• House Republicans want to dismantle and defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The move would pull millions from NPR and PBS, which they contend have left-leaning biases.
• The corporation distributes about $500 million a year to approximately 1,500 radio and tv stations.
• The CEOs of NPR and PBS both defended their organizations during a hearing on Capitol Hill.

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House Republicans are calling for the complete defunding and dismantling of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which would pull millions of dollars from NPR And PBS. The lawmakers contend American taxpayers should not be funding what they describe as left-leaning content.

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is using taxpayer dollars to actively suppress the truth, suppress diverse viewpoints, and produce some of the most outlandish, ludicrous content,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga, said at a DOGE subcommittee hearing Wednesday, March 26. “We believe that you all can hate us on your own dime.”

How do PBS and NPR receive public funding?

Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act in 1967 because it wanted to ensure all Americans had access to news content, including those who lived in rural areas.

The law created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit entity which is in charge of distributing approximately $500 million a year to more than 1,500 locally owned public radio and tv stations around the country, most of which are affiliates of NPR and PBS.

How do the broadcast organizations use the money?

NPR has a $300 million annual operating budget. Of that, $11.2 million comes from the federal government, and the rest comes from affiliate fees, donations and sponsorships. 

PBS did not give an exact amount, but said while most of its funding comes from donations, losing federal funds would have a tremendous negative impact on children’s programming like Clifford and Curious George in addition to its flagship broadcast, PBS News Hour. 

“PBS provides local member stations with high-quality educational content, distribution infrastructure, and other shared services so local member stations can focus on serving their communities,” PBS CEO Paula Kerger said in a statement. “That role, made possible in part by federal funding, is as important as ever.”

What does Congress say about NPR and PBS?

Republicans said they do not see the value.

“NPR and PBS have increasingly become radical left-wing echo chambers for a narrow audience of mostly wealthy, white, urban liberals and progressives who generally look down on and judge rural America,” Greene said. 

Democrats made a joke of some of the accusations against PBS and its iconic shows like Sesame Street. 

“The American people want to know: is Elmo now, or has he ever been a member of the communist party of the United States. Yes or no,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., asked Kerger.  

“No,” Kerger said.

“Are you sure Ms. Kerger because he’s obviously a red,” Garcia responded sarcastically.

“He also has a very dangerous message about sharing and helping each other. He’s indoctrinating our kids that sharing is caring,” Garcia continued. “[Republicans] and [Greene] should drop this attempt to silence media voices they don’t like.” 

.@RepRobertGarcia (D-CA): "The American people want to know, is Elmo now or has he ever been a member of the Communist Party of the United States?" pic.twitter.com/KZvjnMZqrs

— CSPAN (@cspan) March 26, 2025

How did NPR respond to Congressional claims?

NPR however had a more difficult time shaking off accusations of a liberal bias. For instance, former NPR editor Uri Berliner said he discovered that 87 members of NPR’s editorial team in Washington D.C. are registered Democrats, none are Republican. NPR’s CEO didn’t defend that.

“I would agree with you that that number is a concern if it is accurate,” CEO Katherine Maher conceded. “I do believe that we need to have journalists that represent the full breadth of American society so that we can report for all Americans.”

The FCC is also investigating NPR and PBS for their sponsorship practices. The Republican FCC Chairman said running advertisements may break federal statutes that govern their broadcasting licenses.