Your view: Should public broadcasting receive federal funding?
The congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) is proposing to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides government funding to PBS and NPR.
(Photo courtesy of the federal government)
The Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn of Colorado is circulating a letter within the House to get support to adopt a measure defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides federal funding for the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio, the two primary public broadcasting outlets in the US.
According to an article from the Denver Post, Lamborn says the government cannot afford its $445 million appropriation to the CPB the organization is requesting for federal fiscal year 2015. “As you know, the country is more than $15 trillion in debt and at the end of this year the government is expected to reach its legal borrowing limit once again,” the letter said according to the Post. “We are fortunate that in today’s media landscape, consumers have many news and entertainment choices, unlike when the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act to create and fund CPB was passed. And public media outlets are thriving.”
The CPB funds 1,300 public television and radio stations nationwide, including 20 in Lamborn’s home state. Lamborn has denied that this is about ideology. The Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina is also gathering signatures on a similar letter in the Senate.
What do you think? What role does public broadcasting play for you? Should federal funding continue? If lawmakers decide to cut off funding, what affect would this have on public broadcasting?
Join in the conversation. Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.