Ready to Compete Act would add to Ready to Learn program

Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth of Kentucky has introduced H.R. 5477, the Ready To Compete Act, that would fund pubTV’s Ready to Learn and Ready to Teach (which encompasses PBS’s popular TeacherLine). It also adds two new programs: Ready to Achieve, a national, on-demand digital media service that would allow pubTV stations to share content in a central location; and Ready to Earn, to support educational digital content and services for adults, including GED preparation and workforce training. In a statement, Lonna Thompson, interim president and CEO of the Association for Public Television Stations, said, “Education has been, and continues to be, at the core of the mission of public television. Local public television stations, which are some of the last locally owned and operated media outlets in this country, will now have an opportunity to expand upon this mission.”