1. United States
2. Ill.
3. Letter

Please prevent serious and lasting harm to our local public media stations. I urge you to support removing the proposal to rescind $1.1 billion in already-approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from the rescissions package. This funding supports the vital services provided by local public radio and television stations in communities of all sizes. Every public media station would feel the impact and be forced to cut back on local journalism and programming, educational content and outreach for children and workers, and life-saving emergency communications. But rural and tribal stations would be hit hardest. For many of these stations, federal funding accounts for the largest share of their budgets, and there simply aren’t enough local resources to replace it. Without this support, they face the very real risk of shutting down entirely, leaving entire regions without critical resources. Public media reaches nearly every American, and local stations remain among the last locally operated media sources serving communities, especially in areas with unreliable broadband or populations too small to attract commercial media. For about $1.60 per person annually, this investment ensures access to essential services. These stations are irreplaceable. Rescinding these funds would make our communities less safe, less informed, and less connected. Please protect public media and the millions of Americans in your state who rely on it every day by removing this harmful proposal from the package and rejecting any effort to defund public media.