Overview

• Congress approved the measure by a tiebreaking Senate vote and subsequent House passage on July 18, retracting $1.1 billion in federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over fiscal 2026 and 2027.
• Republicans portrayed the action as a stand against partisan programming, with Senator Ted Cruz saying taxpayers should not be forced to fund “left-wing propaganda.”
• CPB President Patricia Harrison warned that the loss of federal dollars could force hundreds of local public radio and television stations—particularly in rural areas—to close once the cuts take effect.
• Senators Lisa Murkowski and Amy Klobuchar emphasized that defunding public media risks disrupting national and local emergency alert systems that rely on NPR and PBS stations.
• Public broadcasters rely variably on CPB funds: NPR receives about 1% of its budget from federal grants, while PBS depends on those appropriations for roughly 15% of its revenue.