Sen. Mark Kelly: “Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues are pushing for cuts that will make our country ultimately, poorer, less educated, and less safe.”
Today, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Representative Morgan McGarvey (D-KY), and former NPR Product Manager Alex Curley joined Defend America Action for a press call on the devastating impact Republicans’ rescissions package will have on PBS, NPR, and rural and local public radio and TV stations nationwide. The cuts come on the heels of Republicans’ Big, Ugly Bill that showered billionaires and corporations with massive, permanent tax breaks, underscoring how Trump and Republicans continue to cut vital services to pay for tax handouts for their billionaire donors.
Speakers on the call highlighted how the proposed $1.1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would force local and rural stations across the country to either sharply reduce their programming and operations or close. They also discussed how these cuts would eliminate vital local news coverage in underserved communities, end educational programming that serves millions of children, and disrupt emergency alert systems during disasters.
“Last night here in the Senate, our Republican colleagues decided to forge ahead with these cuts, and this is at a time when we should be investing in the future of our economy, and that means helping kids, especially, but also helping families just try to get ahead. And, unfortunately, my Republican colleagues are pushing for cuts that will make our country ultimately, poorer, less educated, and less safe,” said Senator Mark Kelly. “And we should be building a country where, no matter where you live, what you earn, or how connected with internet, cell phone service, [or what] your zip code is, that you can get information and the support you need to stay safe, to stay healthy, and to stay informed. And we should be making more investments in education in our country, and not less. And for me, information is education.”
“Donald Trump is once again stabbing rural America in the back. It’s been less than two weeks since they passed a bill and signed it there at the White House that is going to gut health care for rural Americans. And then what are they doing two weeks later? This bill cuts public broadcasting funding and puts lives in danger in rural Kentucky,” said Congressman Morgan McGarvey. “This is the same situation that plays out from Alaska to Arizona, New Mexico to Texas to Kentucky, and every rural community in between. And why are they doing it? They’re doing it so that they can get the largest tax cut in the history of this country to the billionaire class, drive our country into trillions of dollars worth of debt, and put rural families at risk for everything from health care to warning systems from severe weather.”
“In September of last year, me, my wife, and our one year old son lived through Hurricane Helene. We lost power, lost water, lost internet, but most importantly, the storm knocked out all the cell phone towers in the Asheville area. That meant that we had no way of contacting anybody in the outside world, and the only way that we could get real information during that time was by turning on a radio, and listening to our local public radio station,” said Former NPR Product Manager Alex Curley. “When we talk about the rescissions package, which would force many public media stations to close, that’s the kind of isolation that we’d be subjecting rural communities to, especially those that rely on public media as their only source of local journalism.”
BACKGROUND
Republicans’ nearly $10 billion rescissions package will devastate local public broadcasting by forcing stations to close and eliminating vital children’s educational programming, emergency alert coverage, and local news in underserved communities – all to pay for massive tax handouts to billionaires. These cuts represent a direct attack on the information infrastructure that keeps American families safe, informed, and connected while the ultra-wealthy get richer.
- SILENCING LOCAL VOICES WHILE BILLIONAIRE TAXES GO DOWN: Trump and Republicans’ rescissions package will gut $1.1 billion from public broadcasting, forcing local stations to close their doors and eliminating vital community programming, all to pay for massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy.
- THE GOP RESCISSIONS PACKAGE WILL SLASH COMMUNITY MEDIA ACCESS: Republicans’ cuts will force up to 18 percent of NPR member stations to close, mostly in the Midwest, South, and Western U.S., leaving up to 30 percent of NPR listeners nationwide without access to programming. This devastating blow to local media will eliminate vital local news coverage in underserved communities, end educational programming that serves millions of children, disrupt emergency alert systems during disasters, and force local stations nationwide to close their doors.
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- This bill works to remove as much public broadcasting infrastructure as possible under the guise of “fiscal responsibility.” In reality, these cuts target the most vulnerable communities who rely on public broadcasting for essential services.
- REPUBLICANS’ PRIORITIES: CUT PROGRAMS THAT HELP FAMILIES, REWARD BILLIONAIRES: Just a few weeks ago, Republicans in Congress voted to cut health care for 17 million Americans and eliminate school meal access for more than 18 million kids – all to fund tax handouts for their wealthy donors and make private jets tax-deductible. This pattern reveals their true agenda: starve essential services that educate, inform, and protect American families in order to enrich the ultra-wealthy.
- Public broadcasting disproportionately serves rural communities, children, and underserved populations, and these cuts will impact:
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- 13 million children who rely on PBS educational programming.
- Rural communities that depend on local public radio for news and emergency alerts – 60% of PBS’s audience lives in rural communities
- Emergency alert systems that serve millions during natural disasters and emergencies
- Local newsrooms that provide coverage in communities abandoned by commercial media
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