Congress Decides to Cut Money to PBS & NPR

to cut over $1 billion in public broadcasting services in the United Statesas an attempt to lower the debt of the United States.

was passed down to Congress where it was approved. This bill includes cutting $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which is what funds public services such as PBS and NPR.

The cut is partly due to the huge bill Congress recently passed. That big bill cut taxes and is expected to add about $3 trillion of debt for the US.

This cut in public broadcasting was part of a larger project of “recissions”. A recission is an effort to take back sums of funding that were already approved. The sums of money that are coming back are then used to help pay off the U.S.’s debt or to fund other programs such as military programs.

The impact of this bill can be astounding.Both NPR and PBS have well-known programs. PBS is known for its educational programs targeted for the rising youth with programs such as the all-time classic, “Sesame Street”, and childhood favorite, “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood”.

More importantly, the public services also serve as the main source of local news and emergency information in rural areas of the nation. Cuts to the CPB would severely impact small stations in rural areas in a negative way. Many of these stations rely almost solely on US government support, and without the funding, many would be forced to shut down.

However, this is not the end for NPR and PBS. Even without the government funding, these groups have enough support from other sources that could keep the programs running.

For example, PBS stays stable by not just generating revenue, but also attracting grants and donations from viewers. Especially, with shows like “Sesame Street”, grants are easily attracted to the program.