[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H2794-H2795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        SAVE PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cunningham). Under a previous order of 
the House, the gentlewoman from Maryland [Mrs. Morella] is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for 
continued Federal funding for public broadcasting.
  PBS and NPR provide commercial-free entertainment and information 
that is always good for you, whatever your age.
  PBS and NPR provide commercial-free entertainment and information 
that always brings the best of all our American cultures, the 
brilliance of our science and technology, the clash of our political 
opinions, and the natural beauty of our world, wherever we live.
  PBS and NPR provide so much for so little: they cost only $1.09 per 
person. Americans overwhelmingly approve a Federal funding for public 
television and radio, with 87 percent in favor of continued support. 
Although the Federal allocation is small--currently $285.6 million--in 
the overall CPB budget, it is vital seed money that makes everything 
else possible.
  To deny funding to PBS and NPR would be to truly damage the quality 
of our lives and our children's lives. Free market forces would not 
sustain the effort required to create and keep a show like ``Sesame 
Street,'' which is watched by over 6 million preschoolers on an average 
of three times per week. Commercial stations refused to air ``Sesame 
Street'' when it was first developed. Can you imagine any network today 
airing the program for 2 hours straight without commercial 
interruption?
  An article in last week's Washington Post, reminded me just how 
important PBS is to quality programming for our children; for shows 
like ``Sesame Street,'' ``Mr. Roger's Neighborhood,'' and 
``Ghostwriter'' that make their lives richer not poorer. The Post story 
told this sad tale: ABC will cancel ``Cro,'' a Children's Television 
Network production on its Saturday morning schedule in favor of 
something entitled--I am not making this up--``Dumb and Dumber.''
  This choice bit of children's entertainment is a television version 
of a full-length cartoon movie of the same name, which consists of 
``toilet jokes and exposed bottoms,'' said the Post but offers vast 
opportunities for those 
[[Page H2795]] big profit, toy spinoffs. ``Cro,'' a show that treats 
science and technology through the eyes of an 11-year-old stone age 
child, it was decided, had no future at Toys `R Us so it had to go.
  Do we really for a minute believe that commercial and cable stations 
will do the right thing by our children and young people? My friends, 
our children's choices will go from dumb to dumber, from violent to 
more violent, if PBS goes!
  Much has been said and written about public broadcasting and elitism. 
What nonsense! What condescension! Eighty percent of all Americans--
your neighbors and mine--watch public television at least once a month 
and have access to literally the world of entertainment and the arts 
without leaving their family room couch.
  Comparisons have been made--and rightly so--between saving public 
television and radio and the campaign for public libraries, which was 
led by Andew Carnegie early in this century. His mission, to make sure 
every American had access to free books regardless of income level or 
place of residence, mirrors the contemporary mission of public 
television and radio to bring exposure to the world's greatest art, 
music, literature, and wonders to everyone. With your television and 
radio tuned to your PBS or NPR station you can sit in the front row at 
the Metropolitan Opera, watch the Bolshoi Ballet, or sit in your arm 
chair and travel the globe. It opens the world to all.
  We are blessed in the Washington area with access to several public 
broadcasting stations: WETA, MPT, WHMM, and WAMU. The market in which 
these stations operate is large and its supporters and fans generous at 
fundraising time. But this is not the case across the country. The loss 
of Federal funding to radio outlets in rural areas, for example, would 
be devastating--in many cases radio stations would have to drop NPR 
programming and that means losing ``Morning Edition,'' ``All Things 
Considered,'' and ``Talk of the Nation.''
  In many areas of the country, whole school systems rely on public 
broadcasting to supplement their curriculums. The president of Maryland 
Public Television has pointed out that ``as we enter the information 
age, every community in America needs its public television station as 
an on-ramp to the information superhighway and to fight for the public 
interest so that educational usage doesn't get pushed onto the shoulder 
by commercial interests.''
  Mr. Speaker, to cut off federal support for public broadcasting is to 
do irreparable damage to a system that provides all Americans, 
regardless of age, race, ethnicity, party affiliation, or geographic 
location with riches that once belonged only to a very small elite. 
Public broadcasting is for all of us.


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