We’ve long been advocates of ending taxpayer subsidies to public radio and television, but it wasn’t until recently that the issue generated a media firestorm. Given the bickering initiated by pundits on both sides of the aisle, Republican efforts to defund National Public Radio (NPR) have been accused of being purely political. The House actually held a voted today on a measure to end all federal funding for NPR, which collects funds from the quasi-governmental Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) as well as the Departments of Commerce, Education and the National Education Association. The vote, as expected, failed on an almost straight party line (239-171).
I can’t vouch for the motivation of Republican leaders, but I can, however, assure you that there is a sound non-political argument for ending federal funding for the CPB. I’ve blogged about this issue before, but I’ll reiterate a few of the reasons why NTU supports a move to end taxpayer-subsidized public broadcasting:
- CPB is a private, non-profit entity, but taxpayers still bear the burden of 13%-15% of its budget;
- Federal funding has risen 26% over the past decade;
- Taxpayers will fork out $430 million for CPB in 2011;
- The original purpose of federal funding has become virtually obsolete since 99% of Americans have access to broadcasting services.
As you may recall, we sent a letter of support to Representative Doug Lamborn (R-CO) for his legislation to end all funding for CPB. Senator Jim DeMint has said he plans to introduce a similar bill after the Thanksgiving recess, so that will get the issue moving along in the Senate as well. While defunding legislation is unlikely to pass this year, it stands a much stronger chance in the new Congress.
Lawmakers must act now to eliminate the deficit and begin to trim down our $13+ trillion debt. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, public broadcasting is an ideal place to start.