[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12197]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC BROADCASTING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I listened to my friend from Virginia. I 
respect his opinion; but with all due respect, I think we've got a more 
fundamental problem than the calendar. The Republican leadership 
refuses to allow a conference committee on the budget between the House 
and the Senate to reconcile our differences. We can be here 24 hours a 
day, 7 days a week; but if the Republican leadership refuses to allow 
the process to work, we're not going to get anywhere. And that's where 
we are right now.
  My friends on the Appropriations Committee refuse to deal with the 
budget level that was passed into law 2 years ago that fixed us on a 
course. They have a level of funding that is literally slashing and 
burning Federal spending. The latest manifestation of this battle is 
putting in jeopardy the very existence of public broadcasting.
  I would have hoped that we were past that when the last Congress 
targeted NPR and tried to defund the Corporation for Public 
Broadcasting. Luckily, the 170 million Americans who don't just listen 
or watch public broadcasting, but depend on it, unleashed an 
unprecedented show of support. As a result, the Republican leadership 
walked it back.
  One good thing about that budget battle 2 years ago was that it 
called for a study to look for alternatives for the 14 percent of 
Federal money that supports public broadcasting. The study is in and it 
clearly shows there's no viable alternative to those 14 cents on the 
dollar.
  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, we're told, is going to eliminate 
Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding.
  Last summer, I had a fascinating conversation with my friend Ken 
Burns, who pointed out that his six projects in the pipeline would 
never have been made, let alone be seen, without funding for the 
Corporation for Public Broadcasting. So I hope you enjoyed his show 
last fall about the Dust Bowl, because if the Republicans have their 
way, you will never see his programs about the Roosevelts, Jackie 
Robinson, Vietnam, or Hemingway.
  Remember how well it worked for Governor Romney when he singled out 
broadcasting as one of the five projects that he would defund? The 
Republicans, sadly, pander to a tiny fraction of the American public 
that is even a minority in their own party. Polls show two-thirds of 
Republicans surveyed would either keep funding for public broadcasting 
where it is or increase it. What resonates with some Republican primary 
voters is not what America wants, needs, or believes.
  The unprecedented threat comes at exactly the time when America needs 
public broadcasting the most. ``NPR News,'' the object of the 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 
program.
  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 inform and serve, not just make money.
  We must stop the attack on this 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, to terminate public broadcasting as we know 
it is a powerful signal 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, which Republicans 
including Barry Goldwater, helped launch, into 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 an excellent use of tax dollars for 10 
years in a row.
  It's time for the 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 defend.

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