CPB prepares for closeout while hoping Congress reverses course
Dru Sefton / Current
CPB is pursuing parallel strategies for both regaining funding and preparing to shut down after Congress voted to rescind its support for the next two fiscal years, CEO Patricia Harrison said Thursday.
The House approved early Friday a $9 billion rescission package that clawed back CPB’s forward-funded $535 million annual appropriations for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The House’s vote came after the Senate approved the package July 17.
CPB is doing “everything possible” to secure funding for FY26, Harrison said at a CPB board meeting Thursday, but is also preparing for the possibility of closeout or transition funding should Congress not reverse course.
“So it’s very difficult — hope on the one side, and sort of acceptance on the other,” Harrison said.
CPB will try to meet remaining funding obligations to public media grantees, Harrison said. CPB staff will meet Friday to discuss what the cuts mean for the nonprofit corporation. It will also host webinars to share updates with the system and answer questions.
CPB board members warned of the effects the loss of funding will have on rural stations during an at times emotional public portion of the nonprofit’s board meeting.
Chair Ruby Calvert said she is “endlessly optimistic” Congress can work with CPB and stations to maintain funding and implement improvements. But she warned that if the wrecking ball isn’t stopped, “many stations in small communities and rural areas will go dark over the next six months.”
Board member Diane Kaplan warned of the ramifications for small stations like those in her state of Alaska that can’t seek support from corporations and wealthy individuals.
“This is emergency time in my state, because right now if KSDP [in Sand Point] were to go off the air, there would be no information coming from that community about an earthquake, a tsunami, telling people where to go for safety or even telling them when the tsunami warning was lifted,” Kaplan said. “This is not a frill, and this is not a joke.”
