[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 109 (Thursday, July 19, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H5014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. There is a battle under way about the very existence 
of public broadcasting. We thought we were past this when, 15 months 
ago, the House Republican leadership targeted NPR and tried to defund 
the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
  Luckily, last year, 170 million people--who don't just listen to or 
watch public broadcasting, but depend on it--unleashed an unprecedented 
show of support. As a result, the Republican leadership walked back.
  One good thing about last year's budget was a requirement to have a 
study about alternatives to funding public broadcasting so that people 
would have hard facts for this year's budget discussion. Well, that 
study is in, and it clearly shows that there is no viable alternative 
to Federal funding for public broadcasting.
  Many of the proposals that have been suggested would actually result 
in less money overall for public broadcasting in the long term. Yet the 
House appropriations bill, marked up yesterday, would slash funding 
now, defund NPR Federal support, and end public broadcasting as we know 
it within 2 years.
  I had dinner with Ken Burns last night, and we discussed this. He 
pointed out that his five or six projects in the pipeline would never 
be seen if this budget goes forward. So enjoy his program about the 
Dust Bowl this November because you will never be able to see the 
Roosevelts, Jackie Robinson, Vietnam, Hemingway. All will never be 
finished or seen if the Republican budget proposal is approved.
  The problem is that Governor Romney--who has singled out public 
broadcasting as one of five projects that he would defund--and the 
Republicans listened to a tiny fraction of the American public that is 
even a minority in their own party. Polls show that two-thirds of 
Republicans surveyed would either keep Federal funding for broadcasting 
as it is or increase it.
  What resonates with Republican primary voters is not what America 
wants, needs, or believes. The unprecedented threat comes at exactly 
the time Americans need public broadcasting the most. NPR news, the 
object of greatest Republican scorn, is the most trusted brand in 
American news media.
  PBS shows like ``Sesame Street'' have helped three generations of 
parents raise their children with effective, commercial-free 
educational programming.

                              {time}  1010

  Locally owned news is becoming only a memory for most America as 
large corporations buy up local stations and newspapers. There's no 
money to be made by commercial stations that cater to the special needs 
of rural and small town America. Luckily, public broadcasting is there 
because their mission is to serve, not make money.
  We must stop this attack on the critical service, especially for 
rural and small-town America. It's time for the 170 million Americans 
who depend on public broadcasting every month to again fight back and 
for Congress to finally listen.
  The radical proposal to slash public broadcasting, defund NPR, and 
terminate public broadcasting as we know it, is a powerful symbol of 
how far out of step the Republican leadership is from the country 
they're supposed to represent.
  There's no reason to make public broadcasting a partisan issue. 
Public broadcasting has broad support from Republicans, Independents, 
and Democrats alike. That's why PBS and its member stations were named 
number one in public trust and a ``excellent'' use of taxpayer dollars 
for the 9th consecutive year.
  It's time for people who believe in public broadcasting to stand up 
to this extremism and settle the question once and for all about the 
future of public broadcasting. Unless we fight now, there may be 
nothing left to protect.

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