House restores $100 million to public broadcasting
Sometimes peer pressure works in our favor. Let’s hope the trend for using peer pressure for good keeps going.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Big Bird and National Public Radio won a reprieve Thursday as the House restored $100 million that had been proposed as a budget cut for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The 284-140 vote demonstrated the enduring political strength of public broadcasting, whose supporters rallied behind popular programs such as “Sesame Street,” “Postcards From Buster” and “The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer.”
The Public Broadcasting Service undertook a high-profile campaign to rescind the proposed cut. Lawmakers were flooded with letters and phone calls.
PBS still might end up with less money than in its current budget. The legislation would eliminate a $23 million for the Ready to Learn program, which subsidizes children’s educational programming and distributes learning materials.
Public broadcasting advocates say $82 million is set to be cut for satellite upgrades and a program to help public TV stations switch to digital technology. Restoring the money would mean dipping into dollars intended for stations and programming, they say.
Opponents of the cut said public broadcasting provides programming not available elsewhere.
“Do we want to live in a society where pop culture dictates all that is offered on the airwaves,” said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-New York.
Full story at CNN.com.
tags: House of Representatives, NPR, CNN, PBS
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