Bipartisan Debt Commission Gives Preliminary Backing to Lamborn Bill to Cut NPR Funding

Press Release

The presidential debt reduction commission has given preliminary support to Congressman Doug Lamborn's (CO-05) proposal to eliminate federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the parent organization for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.

The recommendation is one of 58 specific spending cuts recommended by the commission's two co-chairs in what is known at the "chairmen's mark," meaning that it is a draft that has not been approved by the 18 members of the commission.

"I am encouraged to see the co-chairs agree that NPR can stand on its own. In a world of 500-channel cable TV and cell phone internet access, government-funded broadcasting is completely unnecessary. The government has no business being a broadcaster, especially when there is a thriving private market.

"The challenge in front of us will require a bipartisan effort, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to rein in out-of-control spending. The Obama administration's trillion dollar annual deficits are unsustainable. I view cutting a program that can survive without federal funding as one of the easier votes this Congress will take in the coming months."-- Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05)

In June, Lamborn introduced H.R. 5538, a bill that would cut all federal taxpayer funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) after 2012.

In 2010, taxpayers subsidized CPB to the tune of $420 million. CPB has requested $608 million for their next funding cycle that begins in 2013. CPB is a non-profit that receives about 15 percent of its funding from taxpayers.

If enacted, this bill would save taxpayers about $450 million each year

Source