Senate appropriations bill advances without funds for CPB
Carol M. Highsmith / GPA Photo Archive
Efforts to secure an annual appropriation for CPB in the coming fiscal year suffered a setback Thursday in the Senate.
CPB CEO Patricia Harrison reacted to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s markup of the 2026 Labor and Health and Human Services appropriations bill, saying that the nonprofit was “deeply concerned” that the legislation does not include money for CPB in FY26.
Earlier this month, Congress approved the White House’s proposal to claw back CPB’s forward-funded $535 million annual appropriations for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
“Following Congress’ earlier rescission of previously approved funds, this decision to provide no funding to CPB in FY 2026 will cause irreparable harm, especially to small and rural public media stations,” Harrison said in a statement Thursday. “The absence of future funding eliminates CPB’s ability to fulfill our statutory mission—providing support to nearly 1,500 local public media stations and making needed investments that help stations serve their communities.”
America’s Public Television Stations CEO Kate Riley said in a Thursday news release that APTS remains hopeful that Congress will restore federal funding as the appropriations process moves forward.
“With this vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee missed an opportunity to extend a desperately needed lifeline to local public media stations that are already cutting essential services and staff and, in some cases, planning for their closure as a result of the rescissions of public media funding earlier this month,” Riley said.
“The impact of the elimination of this necessary public media funding for local stations, as we have warned all along, is real and imminent and it has already begun to dramatically impact the vital services that local stations provide to communities across our country,” she added.
At a CPB board meeting July 24, Harrison said CPB was doing “everything possible” to secure funding for FY26 but was also preparing for the possibility of closeout or transition funding should Congress not reverse course.
“CPB, consistent with its role as designated by Congress, will continue serving as a responsible financial steward of federal funding, to help local stations prepare for and adjust to the loss of federal support,” Harrison said in Thursday’s statement. “Our focus remains on supporting them through this transition and helping them navigate the challenges ahead.”
All these CPB folks talk of impending gloom and doom. “The sky is falling.” Yet, not one instance of any harm to anyone, other than the CPB folks loosing their jobs, has been brought to light. Give real–life examples of financial, human, or social impact to American taxpayers. Maybe then someone would listen.