Save NPR and PBS from funding cuts!

On May 1st, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to cease all federal funding of NPR and PBS, even though the funding agency, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, is not subject to the President’s authority. He called the broadcasters “biased” and “woke propaganda.” In April, the Trump administration asked Congress to starve local National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations by demanding $1.1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the entity that disburses funding to public media organizations and local stations throughout the U.S. While this amount is a small percentage of the overall budgets of NPR and PBS, most of the federal funding goes to local member stations to keep news departments afloat and able to produce local programming. These funding cuts are part of a larger effort to dismantle the nation’s public broadcasting system, spearheaded by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Taylor Greene chairs the DOGE subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and seeks to end all funding for public broadcasting. Her committee began hearings under the moniker “Anti-American Airwaves.” Congress has budgeted for the 1000 or so NPR-affiliate stations and 336 local PBS stations to receive about a half-billion dollars in public funding in 2025 and 2026, which accounts for less than 1/100th of a percent of the federal budget. 98% of Americans live within range of one of the more than 1000 public radio stations, providing important local news coverage when such coverage is declining in mainstream media. In addition, many NPR stations are the only source of emergency bulletins, and in some rural areas with limited broadband access, are the only sources of news at all. I urge you to oppose any cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, including Trump's demand to cut funding for NPR and PBS. Money for NPR and PBS is well-spent on valuable news, information, and educational programming for the American public, especially in rural and underserved areas.