[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 28, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PUBLIC TELEVISION IS IMPORTANT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, this week we are having a public media 
summit in our Nation's Capital, with representatives from independent 
television stations from across the country.
  Thirteen years ago, the prospects were not particularly encouraging. 
We had just had a takeover in the House of Representatives with people 
intent on reducing government spending, and public media was in the 
crosshairs. Today, 13 years later, the Federal funding is still flowing 
at record levels to America's public broadcasters. We noted the 
retirement of the head of America's Public Television Stations, Pat 
Butler, who helped guide us through these difficult times.
  Congress has enacted a new infrastructure investment program for 
public media nearly three times as large as the one it replaced. When 
COVID struck, the economy imploded. Congress provided $250 million in 
emergency financial assistance to America's public media. Our 
partnership for public radio and television includes our State 
governments, as well, who will commit a record $365 million to support 
public media.
  There are hundreds of advocates who will hit Capitol Hill to share 
the strong positive message of public broadcasting. In a way, this 
should be the easiest of lobbying assignments. Public broadcasting is 
the most trusted name in media; 180 million people watch or listen to 
it every week.
  The Senate passed the appropriation out of committee 24-2, at a 
funding level overwhelmingly approved last spring by Congress with the 
agreement with the President to avert a shutdown. It included 149 
Republicans. The benefits are powerful and almost universally 
supported, and it is not just news, but most point out that PBS and NPR 
are where even the critics go when they need to know what is actually 
going on.
  Part of our challenge now is that there are a handful of people who 
are holding the budget hostage, which is unfortunate, because there is 
overwhelming support in the House and the Senate if we are able to see 
our way clear. It is perplexing because funding for public media is 
overwhelmingly supported by rural and small-town America.
  There is always going to be public broadcasting in New York, San 
Francisco, Boston, or even Portland, Oregon, but there will not be as 
much and the programming won't be as good, but it will be there. 
However, that is not the case for rural and small-town America, in the 
mountain States, in the rural Midwest, in Alaska.
  That is why the late Republican dean of the House, Don Young, was 
such a fierce champion for public broadcasting in his State and 
nationally. He knew that it was more important in rural America where 
there are fewer choices, and it is more expensive. Federal support was 
critical.
  News, entertainment, culture, think of where we would be during COVID 
without the public educational component. It is also increasingly 
important for public safety. The network supplied by public 
broadcasting is the emergency communications for natural disasters, for 
efforts in terms of fires and floods. It is a system that we depend 
upon, and it is public broadcasting that provides the backbone. People 
literally depend on it for their lives.
  Let's hope, as the visitors from the public television stations visit 
Capitol Hill, meeting with our staff, providing this information, that 
people are receptive because this is an opportunity for us on a 
bipartisan basis to strengthen the ability of Americans to be able to 
learn, to be able to promote culture, education, and public safety. It 
is the best bargain for the taxpayer dollar, and I hope that we will be 
supportive.

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