(WASHINGTON)— PEN America released the following statement today in response to a vote in the House to remove funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit that receives congressional appropriations to support NPR and PBS. The $9.4 billion rescission request includes about $1.1 billion in federal funding cuts for public media, cuts that would disproportionately impact local and rural communities across the country. The rescission package now moves to the Senate.
“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,” said Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director at PEN America. “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 role public media plays in communities across the country.”
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057