Harris, The House of Representatives just voted to cut $1.1 billion for public broadcasting — cuts that are being described as a "crisis," a "punch to the gut," and a potential "death sentence" by public media executives.1,2 Defunding public radio and TV is all part of Trump's war on independent media, because he knows that the free press is one of the biggest obstacles to any authoritarian regime. Now it's up to the U.S. Senate to decide whether these cuts are finalized, and the vote could happen any time. Demand Progress has mobilized tens of thousands of people to help stop these cuts, but this could be our last chance to help save public radio and television. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.
Local public radio and television stations across the country rely on the federal government for as much as half of their budget.3 The public radio and television CEO in Scranton, Pennsylvania, said, "If the rescission package passes the Senate, I'll need to fill at least a $1.2 million budget gap immediately. It will devastate the programs and services our community relies on."4 It's the same story in hundreds of communities across the country. Thankfully, we've gotten some good news from the U.S. Senate, where two Republicans already said they will oppose the bill as currently written.5 Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said she will not vote for these cuts, emphasizing the importance of "warning systems for natural disasters, power outages, boil water advisories, and other alerts" for her constituents.6 Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins says she's a no on the cuts as currently written as well.7 We just need two more Republicans to vote no on these cuts, and more than enough GOP senators have expressed concerns to get us over the finish line. Demand Progress Action is working to flood Capitol Hill with petition signatures and phone calls to help stop these cuts, but the deadline for the vote is July 18. Now is the time to chip in and help us mobilize the grassroots support to save public broadcasting.8 With gratitude, The team at Demand Progress Action Sources: Contributions to ActBlue Civics and Demand Progress Action are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on Instagram or Twitter. Receiving too many emails from Demand Progress? You can opt to pause emails from Demand Progress for a month. And of course you can unsubscribe from this list at any time. |
Saturday, June 21, 2025
“Death sentence” for public broadcasting?
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