1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

Vote NO — do not defund NPR/PBS. I am a constituent and I vote every election. It is clear that most Republicans think that stripping the federal government down to its core is a mandate and that removing the very minimal support assigned to NPR/PBS follows that philosophy. This is misguided. If you remove this tie, there is a 100 percent chance that NPR/PBS will find funding, but the government will have NO say in how they manage their news or content. Unknown to those who only criticize public broadcast but do not use the service, CPB is for everyone and follows the best of journalistic standards, and the best in broadcast standards. It's a shining example of what we can do together. It is short-sighted to jettison this. But you go ahead and do another foolish thing and wait for the unintended consequences to strike back. Your desire to monetize everything will be the death of the common good and the birth of the wild wild west way of life. You are replacing policy decisions with personal likes and dislikes. That is NOT governance. This is pettiness. Consider what happens when you defund FEMA and weather services during periods of climate emergencies. … But I am an eternal optimist so I ask you once again. Please keep the .01 percent budget item for public broadcasting. This line item represents 70 percent of the funding used to keep broadcast service open in areas of our country that are underserved by corporate media. Congress creates these problems without looking beyond talking points. When the public airwaves were sold, so were the common good of news in remote places. Money is mammon unless used for the public good. Vote NO — do not defund NPR/PBS.