Posted on 06/23/2005 2:53:35 PM PDT by Jean S
WASHINGTON (AP) - Big Bird and National Public Radio won a reprieve Thursday as the House restored $100 million that had been proposed as a budget cut for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The 284-140 vote demonstrated the enduring political strength of public broadcasting, whose supporters rallied behind popular programs such as "Sesame Street," "Postcards From Buster" and "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer."
The Public Broadcasting Service undertook a high-profile campaign to rescind the proposed cut. Lawmakers were flooded with letters and phone calls.
The vote came as the House worked on a $142.5 billion spending bill for health, education and labor programs for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.
The Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee had cut $100 million from $400 million in previously enacted support. The committee also eliminated subsidies for educational programs and technological upgrades.
The corporation was set up by Congress in 1967 to shield public broadcasting from political influence. It distributes federal subsidies to PBS, National Public Radio and hundreds of public radio and television stations.
The corporation's chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, a GOP appointee, has made news recently with his contention that public broadcasting is too liberal.
Also Thursday, the corporation's board selected Patricia S. Harrison, a former Republican Party co-chairman, as president and chief executive.
Republicans who favored the cuts said federal subsidies provide only about 15 percent of the public broadcasting budget. The rest, they said, comes from private and corporate donors, as well as licensing and royalties from programming.
They said the $100 million cut would amount to only about 4 percent of all spending on public broadcasting.
"Big Bird and his friends can fly on their own," said Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla.
PBS still might end up with less money than in its current budget. The legislation would eliminate a $23 million for the Ready to Learn program, which subsidizes children's educational programming and distributes learning materials.
Public broadcasting advocates say $82 million is set to be cut for satellite upgrades and a program to help public TV stations switch to digital technology. Restoring the money would mean dipping into dollars intended for stations and programming, they say.
Opponents of the cut said public broadcasting provides programming not available elsewhere.
"Do we want to live in a society where pop culture dictates all that is offered on the airwaves," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.
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On the Net:
Public Broadcasting Service: http://www.pbs.org
Corporation for Public Broadcasting: http://www.cpb.org
AP-ES-06-23-05 1737EDT
Good lord. As if Sesame Street would just go away if not for government funding. The congress is just as bad as W on spending.
wimps
The House is getting to be as bad as the Senate these days. When did Tip O'Neal become Speaker again?
would someone please explain to me why I should keep voting for a bunch of spineless wimps?
What is the point of contolling the house, senate and White House if we can't even cut funding to National Knee Jerk Suck A*s Liberal Radio!
Love your 'Yellow pages' comment!
gutless wonders in Congress at it again.
Of course.
HAH!
Good golly, that's a lot of money then. Wow! What good is it to have a Republican majority if you can't even cut this sort of spending?
The only time Public Broadcasting has quality programming is during fund-raising drives. After they get your money, they put the garbage back on the air.
We the people...getting screwed again and again
Offer it again, but specifically target the 'news' division of PBS/NPR.
Its disgusting how the entire face of the cuts was all Big Bird and Dora, and all the edutainment programming that does have value.
Typical MSM trying to pretend like THATS where critics of the network think money is wasted. (which seems to have worked)
Your "Two-Party Cartel" again today shoving it to the conservatives. Again they will robs us of all of our money if you keep electing these fools. The ones that didn't vote for this should be out in the media DEMANDING why our money was taken away. Where is GW??? I forgot, he's out probably getting campaign money or maybe making signs that Islam is a religion of peace or ushering in a few more illegals.
Crap. PBS and NPR need to be kicked off the dole. Sink or swim.
They could have a box on the tax form that anyone who voluntarily wants to support the crap can support it.
Way overdue for another Boston Tea Party.
Gov't spending should be cut 50%.
Well, there's...
uh....
Come to think of it, I guess I can't!
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