The Senate Appropriations Committee proposed $535 million for CPB in its fiscal year 2025 appropriations bill.
If approved, the appropriations would continue funding CPB at current levels in fiscal year 2027. CPB’s federal appropriation is forward funded two years in advance.
The Senate committee also proposed level funding for public media interconnection and infrastructure at $60 million for fiscal year 2025.
America’s Public Television Stations, which advocates on behalf of public media, is waiting on details about FY25 appropriations for Ready To Learn, a grant program supporting children’s media that’s led by the Department of Education. RTL received $31 million this year.
The Senate’s proposal follows a July 10 bill from the House Appropriations Committee that zeroed out CPB’s appropriation for FY2027. That appropriations bill, which proposed spending for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, also eliminated CPB’s funds for interconnection and infrastructure and omitted Ready To Learn.
APTS President Pat Butler commended the Senate for reversing course on CPB funding, saying he is “pleased by this recognition of the critical role our local stations play in their communities.”
“We are hopeful that the bipartisan, bicameral congressional support for public television will result in the final FY 2025 appropriations bills including the Senate funding levels,” Butler said.
This year, the Biden administration proposed $595 million for CPB’s appropriation in FY27. Biden’s FY25 budget also included $60 million for the interconnection system and infrastructure and $31 million for Ready To Learn.
Separately, the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee in June recommended $40 million in funding for the Next Generation Warning System for FY25. NGWS, which provides grants to stations to upgrade their emergency alert technology, is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.