Congress
Bipartisan co-chairs to lead House Public Broadcasting Caucus
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“The bipartisan nature of this leadership team reflects the bipartisan nature of public support for federal funding of public broadcasting,” said APTS President Pat Butler.
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“The bipartisan nature of this leadership team reflects the bipartisan nature of public support for federal funding of public broadcasting,” said APTS President Pat Butler.
Pat Harrison visited the Hill to explain why public media deserves federal support.
Past votes may indicate how legislators weighing in on CPB’s appropriation will address the White House’s proposed end to federal funding.
Three powerful congressional chairmen who support public broadcasting will continue in their key roles in both the House and Senate.
Attendees at the APTS Public Media Summit gave a preview of their talking points.
The bill also would allow the FCC to give stations extensions past the 39-month repacking deadline.
The requested $25.7 million in funding for RTL remains unresolved and will be taken up in separate legislation.
The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation Monday.
Public broadcasters say Ryan has always been willing to hear from them despite his feelings about federal funding of the system.
The joint resolution approves the blueprint for the $3.8 trillion 2016 federal budget.
Though its chances of advancing in Congress are considered slim, the proposed budget put forth this week by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan would zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Ryan said in the budget document released Tuesday that federal subsidies for CPB and the National Endowment for the Humanities could “no longer be justified.”
“The activities and content funded by these agencies go beyond the core mission of the federal government,” the document reads. “These agencies can raise funds from private-sector patrons, which will also free them from any risk of political interference.”
The proposed budget does not stipulate whether the zeroed-out funding would apply to the already appropriated two-year funding cycle, or whether it would be implemented after the forward-funded cycle. Patrick Butler, president of the Association of Public Television Stations, said the proposal was expected. Ryan’s staffers told Butler a few weeks ago that the proposed budget would include zeroed-out funding.
A government-wide spending bill containing more than $1 trillion in appropriations, including $445 million for CPB through fiscal year 2016, passed the Senate Thursday by a wide margin on its way to President Obama’s desk. The Senate voted 72-26 for the measure after it cleared the House the previous day. Republicans cast all of the dissenting votes. In addition to CPB funding, the bill allocates $2 million for rural noncom stations that qualify for CPB’s Community Service Grants. Federal aid for CPB has remained relatively stable over the past three years, though appropriations took a hit with the automatic spending cuts that took effect in March 2013.
The House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over CPB is pushing once more for eliminating government funding to public broadcasting in its fiscal year 2014 budget proposal, according to the New York Times.
The House Appropriations Committee has proposed cutting funding to the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities by 49 percent for fiscal year 2014.
Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., today introduced his Ready to Compete Act to the U.S. House of Representatives.
In the past week, members of Congress have sent two bipartisan letters in support of public broadcasting initiatives to subcommittee chairs in advance of the next round of budget proposals.
This is CPB’s account of its history of annual appropriations since its founding in more than 40 years ago. Figures shown represent millions of dollars (for example, $5.0 = $5 million). More recent figures may be posted by CPB. Fiscal Year
Admin. Request
House Allocation
Senate Allocation
Appropriation
1969
$9.0
(b)
$6.0
$5.0
1970
$15.0
(b)
$15.0
$15.0
1971
$22.0
(b)
$27.0
$23.0
1972
$35.0
$35.0
$35.0
$35.0
1973
$45.0
$45.0
$45.0
$35.0
1974
$45.0
(b)
$55.0
$50.0
1975
$60.0
$60.0
$65.0
$62.0
1976
$70.0
$78.5
$78.5
$78.5
TQ (a)
$17.0
$17.5
$17.5
$17.5
1977
$70.0
$96.7
$103.0
$103.0
1978
$80.0
$107.1
$121.1
$119.2
1979
$90.0
$120.2
$140.0
$120.2
1980
$120.0
$145.0
$172.0
$152.0
1981
$162.0
$162.0
$162.0
$162.0
1982
$172.0
$172.0
$172.0
$172.0
1983
$172.0
$172.0
$172.0
$137.0
1984
$110.0
$110.0
$130.0
$137.5
1985
$85.0
$130.0
$130.0
$150.5
1986
$75.0
$130.0
$130.0
$159.5
1987
$186.0
(b)
$238.0
$200.0
1988
$214.0
(b)
$214.0
$214.0
1989
$214.0
$214.0
$238.0
$228.0
1990
$214.0
$238.0
$248.0
$229.4
1991
$214.0
(b)
$245.0
$245.0
1992
$242.1
$242.1
$260.0
$251.1
1993
$259.6
$259.6
$275.0
$259.6
1994
$260.0
$253.3
$284.0
$275.0
1995
$275.0
$271.6
$310.0
$285.6
1996
$292.6
$292.6
$320.0
$275.0
1997
$292.6
(b)
$330.0
$260.0
1998
$296.4
$240.0
$260.0
$250.0
1999
$275.0
$250.0
$250.0
$250.0
2000
$325.0
$300.0
$300.0
$300.0
2001
$340.0
$340.0
$340.0
$340.0
2002
$350.0
$340.0
$350.0
$350.0
2003
$365.0
$365.0
$365.0
$362.8
2004
(c)
$365.0
$395.0
$377.8
2005
(c)
$380.0
$395.0
$386.8
2006
(c) (d)
$335.0
$400.0
$396.0
2007
(c) (d)
$400.0
$400.0
$400.0
2008
(c) (d)
$400.0
$400.0
$393.0
2009
(c) (d)
none
$400.0
$400.0
2010
(c) (d)
$420.0
$420.0
$420.0
2011
(c)
$430.0
$430.0
$429.1
2012
$440.0
$440.0
$450.0
$444.1
2013
$460.0
$460.0
$460.0
$445.0
2014
$451.0
none
$445.0
$445.0
Notes
(a) Transition Quarter funding, during which federal budget year changed from July to September.
A radio broadcaster-turned lawmaker who chairs a key House subcommittee with oversight of CPB delivered a pointed critique to public TV station execs about their prospects for preserving federal aid in the 113th Congress. During a Feb. 26 breakfast hosted by the Association of Public Television Stations at the Library of Congress, Oregon Rep. Greg Walden (R) warned a roomful of station executives that they face an uphill battle in rebuilding bipartisan support for the field. Republican views of public broadcasting are colored by negative baggage carried over from the 2010-11 political scandals over NPR, and the notion that increased competition from cable and digital channels has made public TV less relevant to television viewers, Walden said. The event, part of APTS’s annual Public Media Summit, celebrated Walden as a “Champion of Public Broadcasting,” and the lawmaker used the occasion to deliver what APTS President Patrick Butler later called “tough love.”
Walden referred to recommendations of a 2007 Government Accountability Office report on public TV’s financing to make his point.
CPB’s financial analysis on alternative funding sources for public broadcasting, prepared by consultants at Booz & Co. and delivered to Congress in June, has had little impact on lawmakers’ views about continuation of CPB’s annual federal appropriation to date, CPB staff reported during a Sept. 10 board meeting in Washington, D.C.
In the report, analysts for Booz examined a range of options for replacing CPB’s federal aid — from selling commercial advertising to tapping spectrum auction proceeds or selling pay-channel subscriptions, among others. They concluded that withdrawal of federal aid would have a “cascading debilitating effect,” starting first with stations serving rural areas and ultimately leading to collapse of the public broadcasting system. The dire predictions haven’t made much difference in swaying lawmakers on Capitol Hill, CPB’s government affairs staff reported to the board. “I think it’s fair to say that in the past two-and-a-half months there’s been a little change in the conversation regarding funding for public broadcasting, and the idea of commercials,” said Michael Levy, CPB executive vice president. CPB staff have been meeting with key Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate appropriations committees to discuss why a purely commercial model for public broadcasting is not a viable option. The Booz analysis predicted that public TV could earn more revenue from commercial advertising sales than it now does from underwriting, but the switch to ads would prompt a large portion of those who provide private support to the field — individual donors, foundations and underwriters — to withdraw their support, resulting in a net revenue loss.
Public broadcasters face multiple and serious uncertainties on Capitol Hill over the next few months. A spending bill approved by the House subcommittee with oversight of CPB’s appropriation proposes to phase out CPB funding over the next three years; it includes language restricting public radio stations from spending their CPB aid to support NPR in any way. Another election-season threat comes from GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who has repeatedly cited CPB as one of five agencies he’d extinguish. Sequestration, a byproduct of Congress’s inability to reach consensus on debt-reduction measures last summer, could also hit pubcasting, slicing 8 percent or more from the $445 million in federal funding that pubcasters anticipate for 2013. If sequestration occurs, the government could opt to hold back part of CPB’s 2013 appropriation — a move that would trigger a reduction in stations’ Community Service Grants.