White House supports continued NPR funding
March 17, 2011 | 06:53 PM | Filed in: Budget
Although the House of Representatives voted today to prohibit federal funding of National Public Radio and the use of federal funds by public radio stations to buy content, the Obama administration said the need to fund rural radio stations is a key reason for its opposition to the bill.
The House vote was 228 to 192.
A statement of administration policy from the White House Office of Management and Budget said that the president's budget proposed targeted reductions in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), but contended that cuts to CPB should be kept to a "reasonable level."
"The vast majority of CPB’s funding for public radio goes to more than 700 stations across the country, many of them local stations serving communities that rely on them for access to news and public safety information," the administration said. "Undercutting funding for these radio stations, notably ones in rural areas where such outlets are already scarce, would result in communities losing valuable programming, and some stations could be forced to shut down altogether."
Conservative House Republicans have cited bias against Republicans and the need to cut the deficit as reasons to end funding for public broadcasting.
The House vote was 228 to 192.
A statement of administration policy from the White House Office of Management and Budget said that the president's budget proposed targeted reductions in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), but contended that cuts to CPB should be kept to a "reasonable level."
"The vast majority of CPB’s funding for public radio goes to more than 700 stations across the country, many of them local stations serving communities that rely on them for access to news and public safety information," the administration said. "Undercutting funding for these radio stations, notably ones in rural areas where such outlets are already scarce, would result in communities losing valuable programming, and some stations could be forced to shut down altogether."
Conservative House Republicans have cited bias against Republicans and the need to cut the deficit as reasons to end funding for public broadcasting.
