Crowley Outraged at Proposed $100 Million Cut in Public Broadcasting Funding

Crowley Outraged at Proposed $100 Million Cut in Public Broadcasting Funding
6/21/2005

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Joseph Crowley, Chief Deputy Whip, announced his strong opposition to a provision in the FY 2006 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill coming to the House floor this week that cuts funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by $100 million.

"These cuts would be absolutely devastating to the children's television network which has provided unparalleled excellence and value for decades," Crowley commented. "To put this in perspective, the current cost to keep Public Broadcasting running is just over $1 per person per year. For the services this provides including one of my children's favorites, "Sesame Street" and mind-expanding educational programming, we are doing a huge injustice to future generations."

The provision in the bill would eliminate $100 million in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, upon which it heavily relies. The Association of Public Television Stations has stated that these cuts are "so drastic that they will severely impact every public television and radio station's ability to provide educational, cultural and informational programming in local communities and throughout the nation."

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is the U.S.-taxpayer-funded agency that provides critical dollars to public broadcasting across the country. According to the nonpartisan Roper polling firm, Americans consider the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) the nation's "most trusted" among nationally-known organizations. They also believe that PBS is the second "most valuable" service taxpayers receive, outranked only by national defense. The same poll also found that a majority of Americans believes the system receives too little funding.

http://crowley.house.gov/news/record.asp?id=653