[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 25, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PUBLIC BROADCASTING FUNDING

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                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 25, 2012

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I understand that these are tough 
budget times and we have to make a lot of cuts if we're going to 
balance the budget. However, I also believe that we have to make every 
possible effort to retain adequate levels of funding for public 
broadcasting.
  This March, I signed letters to two Appropriations Subcommittees in 
an attempt to protect funding for public broadcasting. For decades, the 
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has aired educational 
programs and helped our children to learn to read, to understand basic 
math, and to engage in the study of science. It would be a shame to 
deny the next generation beneficial programs like Reading Rainbow, 
Sesame Street, and Bill Nye the Science Guy because of budget problems.
  Public broadcasting is more than education though. Even as newspapers 
are sputtering, trying to compete with the internet, 38 million people 
still listen to National Public Radio (NPR) every week. In Alaska, many 
communities rely on public broadcasting. The majority of our state can 
be described as remote and many Alaskans get their news exclusively 
from a single radio or television station. Fourteen stations, nearly 
half of those in Alaska, are critically dependent on federal funding 
and would likely close their doors if they lost that money. This would 
effectively strand numerous Alaskan communities, leaving them cut off 
from any form of news or even emergency communications.
  I support the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Public 
Radio, and the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program. Funding 
these programs is not just good for the country, it is vital.

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