Trump Administration Again Proposes Cutting Federal Funding For Public Media

Budget Cut Proposed Again

The TRUMP administration's preliminary proposal for its Fiscal 2021 budget shows once again the elimination of federal funding for the CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING over a two year period.

The proposal would eliminate all but $30 million of each year's funding for CPB, which helps fund public radio and TV news and programming initiatives, in FY 2021 and FY 2022; the $30 million would represent the cost of closing down the funding and is similar to President TRUMP's proposals in the last three budgets, aiming at taking funding away from public radio and television and claiming that private fundraising has ended the need for federal funds. "Services such as PBS and NPR, which receive funding from CPB, could make up the shortfall by increasing revenues from corporate sponsors, foundations, and members," the budget plan states. "In addition, alternatives to PBS and NPR programming have grown substantially since CPB was first established in 1967, greatly reducing the need for publicly funded programming options." CPB received $445 million for FY 2020, and has requested the same amount for FY 2021 with increases for the following two years.

Also in the crosshairs for TRUMP's budget are the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS and NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES, both of which also face the elimination of federal funding. In both cases, the administration claims that the arts and humanities are "not considered core Federal responsibilities" and should rely on private donations.

In response to the budget proposal, CPB President/CEO PATRICIA HARRISON said, “We look forward to working with Congress in the continued pursuit of our statutory public service mission of supporting educational, informational and diverse content that addresses the needs of our nation’s citizens -- a mission the American people overwhelmingly trust in and support.

“The federal appropriation to CPB is the foundation of our uniquely American, public-private partnership that supports our nation’s public media system --  a system of more than 1,500 locally controlled and operated public television and radio stations across the country. This seed money pays invaluable dividends to millions of Americans and their families in the form of content and resources that educate, inform and inspire.

“Through public media initiatives such as American Graduate and Ready To Learn, stations provide high-quality educational content and community engagement that helps Americans prepare for success in school and career. As the most trusted news source in America, local public media stations offer journalism that elevates local stories to a national audience. Further, public media stations’ infrastructure provides critical communications functions during local and national emergencies to first responders and emergency management officials."

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