Four House lawmakers, two Democrats and two Republicans, will co-chair the Congressional Public Broadcasting Caucus this session.
“The bipartisan nature of this leadership team reflects the bipartisan nature of public support for federal funding of public broadcasting,” said Pat Butler, president of America’s Public Television Stations.
The caucus, which has more than 100 members, sponsors briefings on public broadcasting issues, circulates “Dear Colleague” letters expressing support for federal funding and backs other legislative and regulatory initiatives to help public broadcasters.
One of the co-chairs, Oregon Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer, founded the caucus more than 20 years ago. Joining him as co-chairs are Michigan Republican Fred Upton, who serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee; Kentucky Democrat John Yarmuth, chair of the Budget Committee; and Nevada Republican Mark Amodei, a member of the Appropriations Committee.
“I majored in journalism and I understand the importance of supporting public broadcasting for communities around the country,” Upton said in an announcement Monday. “It is simply good public policy.”
“Congress should be working to increase federal investment and expand the important services public broadcasting provides,” Yarmuth said.
“Without federal support for public broadcasting, many localities would struggle to survive — particularly those in rural communities like mine,” said Amodei.