WASHINGTON, D.C.—The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies has recommended zeroing out public media funding in its FY 2024 appropriations bill, according to America’s Public Television Stations (APTS).
The bill reported out of the subcommittee today would provide no funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), effective in FY 2026, a cut of $535 million from the current appropriation.
There is also no funding for system interconnection and infrastructure for FY 2024, a cut of $60 million from current levels.
The APTS said that the bill does not include information on funding for Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports the creation and distribution of educational media content to millions of children across America.
“This is a dark day for America’s Public Television Stations,” said APTS president and CEO Patrick Butler, “and we are only one of the casualties of a severe cutback that would also affect other important national institutions.”
“We understand the need for fiscal responsibility in the federal budget, and we are proud of the fact that America’s public television stations do so much for our communities and our country with an investment that constitutes less than one-hundredth of one percent of the federal budget – the very definition of fiscal responsibility,” Butler added, noting that ““We’re the only preschool education there is for 60 percent of America’s children. We’re indispensable partners in national, state and local public safety and homeland security communications, from early earthquake warnings in California to Amber Alerts everywhere to presidential communications in times of national emergency. And we’re the only media institutions in the country telling the story of heartland America: its history, culture and civic affairs.”
“We remain hopeful that the strong bipartisan support for public media, both in Congress and among the American people, will ultimately result in full funding for CPB, system interconnection and infrastructure, and Ready To Learn as the appropriations process moves forward,” Butler concluded.
Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-Texas), is chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The Subcommittee chair is Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.).
