Key Panel Cuts Nearly $100 Million from Public Broadcasting Budget
Washington, DC – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting suffered a substantial blow Tuesday when the House Appropriations Committee cut public television and radio budgets by more than 17% for the 2007 fiscal year and flatly refused to fund CPB for 2009.
The committee earmarked $400 million for CPB within the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill for FY 2007—a reduction of nearly $100 million. The proposed budget actually restores some funds to the bill for CPB, whose FY 2007 cap was initially set at $380 million by the subcommittee who passed the bill along last week.
Posing a considerable threat to vital PBS and NPR programs, cuts may take effect as soon as Oct. 1 with key congressional approvals and eliminate education resources such as the "Ready to Learn" literacy program and "Ready to Learn" online resource for teachers.
Public broadcasting entities in rural areas are especially vulnerable. Dozens of such operations rely on federal funds and would be forced out of service.
Moreover, the panel voted against subsidizing public broadcasting's federally mandated conversion to digital television, forcing CPB to shift funds away from other programs to meet new DTV requirements.
CPB president and chief executive Patricia Harrison said the proposed cuts undermine public broadcasting's ability to "both offer essential educational services and provide a backbone for a national emergency alert system."
The FY 2007 cuts and committee's refusal to act on a CPB budget for 2009 appear to be the latest knocks from conservatives who believe that public broadcasting has a liberal bias. CPB is generally funded two years in advance, ideally in order to nip political partiality in the bud.
Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who successfully led efforts to head off such cuts last year, sees history repeating itself, according to the Boston Globe. "PBS is right at the top of (conservative Republicans') hit list, always has been and always will be—until they can destroy it," he reportedly said.
Republicans maintain, however, that these spending cuts are necessary to balance sheets elsewhere. GOP committee spokesman John Scofield cited Pell grant funding, among other areas, as funding priorities.
"We had to make some difficult choices that are the reflection of a tight budget," Scofield said.
John Lawson, president of the Association of Public Television criticized the appropriations bill, saying the proposed cuts are "targeted to inflict maximum damage" and display a "blatant disregard for the millions of Americans who voiced their support of public broadcasting to Congress last year."
"Many of these members decry indecency on television, but voted to eliminate funding for noncommercial, educational programming for kids," Lawson said. "They call for improving education and teacher quality but zero out funding that uses technology to bring professional development to teachers."
The full House of Representatives now tackles CPB's funding fate, with the Senate expected to begin considering its own version of the bill in July.
J. Bolden