[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12607-12608]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     PUBLIC RADIO RECOGNITION MONTH

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1002) expressing support for 
designation of April 2008 as ``Public Radio Recognition Month,'' as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1002

       Whereas the mission of public radio is to create a better 
     informed public that is challenged and invigorated by a 
     deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and 
     cultures;
       Whereas the programming content created and distributed by 
     public radio is based on 3 core values: qualities of mind, 
     qualities of heart, and qualities of craft, which exemplify 
     the inherent meaning of localism by placing value and 
     financial investment in local and regional assets to gather 
     and distribute a collection of programming that informs and 
     improves community;
       Whereas public radio is known for distinctive, award-
     winning programming that includes ``Morning Edition'', ``All 
     Things Considered'', ``A Prairie Home Companion'', 
     ``Marketplace'', ``Speaking of Faith'', and ``This American 
     Life'';
       Whereas America's more than 800 public radio stations serve 
     every State and every congressional district with news, 
     information, cultural, and music programming that are unique 
     to free radio;
       Whereas some 33,000,000 Americans listen to public radio 
     programming each week;
       Whereas the public radio audience has doubled in the past 
     15 years and has increased by some 70 percent in the past 
     decade;
       Whereas public radio stations are licensed by community 
     foundations, colleges, universities, school boards, 
     libraries, and other local nonprofit entities;
       Whereas public radio stations are locally licensed, locally 
     staffed, and locally programmed, and have tailored their 
     programming to meet the needs of local audiences;
       Whereas public radio stations on average receive more than 
     85 percent of their annual funding from local sources;
       Whereas public radio's public service finds expression 
     through a deep music discovery, education, and enrichment 
     experience for both its audience and the performers, singer-
     songwriters, musicians, lyricists, and composers, which 
     places the greatest emphasis on a valued partnership with 
     performers to bring all facets of music into the lives of its 
     audience in a way that is found nowhere else;
       Whereas public radio has preserved and enhanced the 
     archetypal musical formats of American music history, such as 
     jazz, classical, folk, bluegrass, the blues, and Celtic;
       Whereas public radio is responding to its commitment to 
     community-based and fact-based journalism with several 
     initiatives, including the Local News Initiative, a national 
     effort to increase public radio's service to communities 
     through investments in station capacity to provide in-depth, 
     serious, and balanced news, and Public Insight Journalism, a 
     pioneering concept that uses citizens to help cover the news 
     by sharing their observations, knowledge, and expertise;
       Whereas public radio has embraced digital broadcasting 
     technology because of its inherently inclusive nature and 
     potential to expand public service programming; and
       Whereas public radio exists to serve the public interest: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses support for the designation of a ``Public 
     Radio Recognition Month''; and
       (2) encourages the celebration of America's public radio 
     stations for their contributions to our Nation's communities 
     and enduring civic spirit.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
might consume.
  Mr. Speaker, public radio, of course, is one of the things that all 
of us spend a great deal of time listening to. As a matter of fact, 
there are many of us, and many people in America, who feel that if they 
don't get the opportunity to listen, to know what has taken place, to 
recognize what is going on in our country, then they are seriously 
deprived.
  Whereas the mission of public radio is to create a better informed 
public that is challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and 
appreciation of events, ideas and cultures; and whereas public radio is 
almost a mainstay in hundreds of thousands and perhaps even millions of 
Americans' homes. We wake up in the morning, many families go to bed at 
night, and public radio is the balance that they need to feel that the 
information they are receiving is not being commercialized, that it is 
information that is coming straight from wherever the purveyors have 
gotten it.

                              {time}  1600

  They are not necessarily trying to shape ideas in one direction or 
another,

[[Page 12608]]

but to simply give information to people that they can use and take 
advantage of and make it a part of their everyday lives.
  So, based upon those facts and based upon that information, it is 
certainly my pleasure to express support for this legislation. I want 
to commend the gentleman from Oregon, Mr. Blumenauer, for introducing 
it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I too rise in support of the resolution. 
National Public Radio is important. KPBS in my hometown represents a 
voice that provides a plethora of information that would not otherwise 
be available.
  Some of the information that I hope they would provide would be to 
get to the true causes of our high oil prices. In San Diego, Public 
Broadcasting is playing a role in saying that $5 gas is unacceptable. 
Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, public radio is not yet making us aware 
of just why it is so high.
  The fact that over 2 billion acres are not available for exploration 
of oil and gas in California is part of the reason that last weekend I 
paid $5-plus for a gallon of gas in my home district. That, Madam 
Speaker, is in fact something that we need to take care of. We need to 
have public radio and all of our communications systems running on full 
bore.
  I do note, Madam Speaker, that this is an April resolution. This is a 
resolution that we are so far behind in the important business of the 
House, we are only getting to now celebrating April of 2008 for Public 
Broadcasting. I find it interesting that we were so busy, and yet we 
didn't have time to find out what were the real causes of high oil and 
gas prices, why America is importing half a trillion dollars a year of 
other people's oil and a similar growing amount of natural gas and 
other resources.
  So I would hope that when we get this April legislation off our 
plate, we would turn to the important issues of the day, certainly the 
incredibly high price of gas in my home district, caused by a lack of 
domestic exploration.
  And if we have just a little time, perhaps we could find out why in 
the midst of the sub-S meltdown, we discover that Members of this body 
and Members of the body on the other side of the dome were in fact 
getting special deals that saved themselves tens and hundreds of 
thousands of dollars on their home mortgages. These investigations need 
to happen, because we need to solve the problem of how America finds 
itself with financial meltdown. We need to find out what it is going to 
take to get American oil and high-paying American jobs flowing again.
  Madam Speaker, I would yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support for H. Res. 1002, a resolution that calls for the creation of a 
``Public Radio Recognition Month'' and celebrates public radio's 
contributions to our communities and civic spirit.
  National Public Radio is a nationwide network of more than 800 public 
radio stations charged with serving the public interest. Since its 
creation in 1970, NPR has become one of the nation's leading sources 
for insightful news coverage, high quality music and locally relevant 
cultural programming.
  The local focus of public radio strengthens communities and fosters a 
sense of local identity. With an average of 85 percent of its funding 
coming from local sources, public radio remains a homegrown enterprise.
  Public radio also provides vital services for our communities. In 
Minnesota, public radio stations serve as the backbone for our 
Emergency Alert System and the AMBER Alert system for child abductions.
  My district is home to Minnesota Public Radio, a 37-member network 
that has earned distinction as one of the nation's finest public radio 
systems. MPR, as it is known to its many members and listeners, serves 
nearly 800,000 listeners every day and reaches more than 14 million 
people nationally through its original programming. MPR's humble 
beginnings as a small radio station in Collegeville, Minnesota in 1967 
helped provide the initial leadership that created National Public 
Radio.
  MPR also home to one of the most acclaimed programs in public radio, 
Garrison Keillor's ``A Prairie Home Companion.'' Launched in 1974, the 
variety show has been entertaining audiences for nearly 35 years with 
Keillor's unique wit and his beloved cast of characters. The show 
continues to broadcast Saturday nights from its home in St. Paul's 
Fitzgerald Theater to more than 4 million listeners on MPR and 580 
other public radio stations around the world.
  Public radio is thriving in Minnesota and nationwide. Since 1993, the 
national audience for public radio has doubled to 33 million listeners 
per week. To accommodate this growth, MPR recently completed a $46 
million expansion of its St. Paul headquarters and launched ``The 
Current,'' a critically acclaimed service that showcases local talent 
along with news and classical music.
  With public radio poised to grow even more in the next decade, it is 
important to recognize the history of this important media outlet and 
encourage its future prosperity. Madam Speaker, as an avid listener of 
public radio, I look forward to seeing the creation of a ``Public Radio 
Recognition Month'' and encourage my colleagues to join me in 
supporting H. Res. 1002.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I would urge support of this 
resolution and yield back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Jones of Ohio). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the 
House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1002, as 
amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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