WASHINGTON—Less than a week after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $495 million budget for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting for Fiscal Year 2022, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) is reintroducing a bill that would cut off all federal funding for the organization.
Rep. Lamborn announced his intentions in a blog on The Daily Signal, where he cites his primary reason for the bill as the belief that PBS, which is funded by CPB, is attempting to indoctrinate children with programming that promotes “social liberalism to children.” This is in response to a recent episode of the animated series “Arthur” that featured a same-sex wedding and was opposed by many conservatives as well as the state of Alabama, which chose not to air the episode.
“Enough is enough,” wrote Lamborn. “It is time to stop sending our hard-earned tax money to support programming that is objectionable to many Americans.”
Lamborn argues that the federal funds granted to CPB make up about 15% of the organization’s annual budget, claiming that they are already successful without taxpayer support and that the federal funding is simply for “budget flexibility.”
“From a constitutional standpoint, there is no reason that a single dollar should be given to subsidize a public media company, even if its programming did not contain objectionable material.”
While Lamborn says that he supports President Donald Trump’s efforts to zero out federal funds over time for the CPB, he believes that “Congress should act decisively and pass into law a measure for removing federal funding for all media conglomerates.”
Patrick Butler, president and CEO of America's Public Television Stations, gave the following statement to TV Technology in regards to Rep. Lamborn's bill:
"Over 70% of CPB funding goes to local public media stations. This federal investment is essential to local public television stations' public service missions of education, public safety and civic leadership, and to ensuring that everyone, everywhere has access to these essential services.
"The broad support for public media funding among both Republicans and Democrats in Congress reflects the overwhelming support of the American people, across the ideological spectrum, for our service in hundreds of communities across the country."
TV Technology has reached out to CPB for comment.
