WASHINGTON—The proposed $495 million budget for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting in Fiscal Year 2022 has been given the seal of approval by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. According to America’s Public Television Stations, this is the first budget increase for the CPB in a decade.
In addition, the House approved level funding of $20 million in FY 2020 for interconnect and infrastructure that supports public safety and homeland security missions, delivering programs to remote rural areas and more. There was also an increase of $2 million—to $30 million total—for Ready to Learn, a grant program at the Department of Education that supports the work of public television in early childhood education.
“While we have appreciated steady funding through 10 years of budgetary austerity, the purchasing power of this funding has steadily eroded over time,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS, in a statement, “and this increase will enable public television stations to educate more children, protect more lives and property, and enable more well-informed citizens to guide the world’s most important democracy.”
He continued: “The broad support for public media funding among both Republican and Democrats in Congress reflects the overwhelming support of the American people for our service in communities across the country, and we couldn’t be more proud of this vote of confidence in our work.”
