Overview: On June 3, President Trump sent a request to Congress to rescind $9.4 billion allocated by the federal government as part of a congressional budget bill that was passed in March. This request included a recission of about $1.1 billion for public media to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The cuts would pull back approved federal funding to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. The House voted, 214-212, on June 12 to pull back this funding, which sends the measure to the Senate, where a majority vote would rescind federal funding for NPR and PBS. A Senate vote is expected in July.
Why It Matters: The cuts would weaken public media as an institution in the United States and make it more difficult for the public to access free and reliable news. Any cuts to public media would disproportionately impact local and rural communities across the country, which rely more heavily on federal funding than other financial sources. In our media ecosystem, misinformation and disinformation are increasingly crowding out reliable news in “news deserts” across the country that have grown as news organizations become smaller or shut down. NPR and PBS provide reliable and accurate information to these areas—including lifesaving information during emergencies.
Where PEN America stands on the rescission request: The House’s vote to gut federal funding for NPR and PBS is a politically motivated move that betrays the millions of Americans who rely on public media. If enacted, this rescission package would devastate local stations, particularly in rural areas where NPR and PBS are often the only trusted sources of news, emergency information, and educational programming. This isn’t about fiscal responsibility, as federal funding for public media costs each American just $1.60 annually. Instead, it’s about gutting independent journalism that doesn’t align with the administration’s preferred viewpoint and Congress enabling dangerous executive overreach. The Senate must uphold its responsibility to preserve independent journalism, particularly at the local level. We urge senators to reject this package and protect the vital role public media plays in communities across the country.
FAQs:
- What would happen to NPR and PBS if this passes? According to Paula Kerger, PBS’s chief executive and president, the cuts would “have a devastating impact on PBS and local member stations, particularly smaller and rural stations that rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets.” NPR Chief Executive and President Katherine Maher added “if rescission passes and local stations go dark, millions of Americans will no longer have access to locally owned, independent, nonprofit media and will bear the risk of living in a news desert, missing their emergency alerts, and hearing silence where classical, jazz and local artists currently play.”
- What is this rescission request? Every year, Congress appropriates funding for federal spending, which is approved by the president. Once approved, the government is expected to spend those congressionally-allocated funds. A seldom used process allows the president to send a request to Congress to cancel previously approved appropriations that have not been obligated.
- What does the rescission process look like? Under the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (CBA), the president must send a request to Congress for specific funds to be clawed back that have already been approved. Once the president has made this request, Congress has 45 days to approve or ignore the request, during which the president can withhold funds. If Congress votes to approve the rescission of funds, the spending is canceled. If Congress ignores it, the president must spend the money. A simple majority in both the House and Senate is required to approve the recission request. Under the CBA, debate on the rescission is limited to 10 hours, after which a simple majority in the Senate can advance the motion to a vote, as opposed to the usual 60 votes needed to end debate and advance to a vote.
- Has a rescission been invoked before? Rescission has been used before, but rarely. CBA has only been used twice, once successfully by George H.W. Bush in 1992, and unsuccessfully by Trump in 2018. More broadly, $92 billion in rescissions have been requested since 1974, with lawmakers agreeing to claw back roughly a quarter of that.
- Why is Trump targeting public media for rescission? Trump and many conservatives have accused public media of having a liberal bias, with some Republicans such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene labeling NPR and PBS as “radical, left-wing echo chambers.” The cuts also come as part of DOGE’s efforts to stop so-called “waste, fraud, and abuse” in government and some have targeted these funds as part of an effort to reduce spending overall. PEN America believes this is politically motivated to suppress independent fact-based journalism
- How can I help? Tell your member of Congress to protect the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and to reject this rescission package. Enter your voter registration address here to look up your Member of Congress to send a letter today. In addition, Protect My Public Media is an action network advocating for public media.
