Stage One:
The FY 2007 budget season began when President Bush submitted his proposed budget in early February. In his budget, he asked for $201 million in cuts to public broadcasting below the previous year’s level. Congress takes the president’s budget as a suggested blueprint – however, the legislative branch ultimately controls budget authority.
The Senate chose not to follow the president’s plan and instead approved a budget resolution that contains $7 billion more than what President Bush requested. The House of Representatives hit a road block when budget talks stalled in early April due to dissension among moderate and conservative House Republicans. At this point, the outcome is unclear.
The next step in the process occurs when the appropriations subcommittees receive their official allotments, probably by the end of May.
Stage Two:
This spring, after weeks of wrangling, both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed their FY 2007 budget resolutions providing a blueprint of overall spending categories. This blueprint next goes to the Appropriations Committee, which sets allocations for each of the ten subcommittees. Each subcommittee divides its slice of the federal pie to fund programs under its jurisdiction. The Labor-HHS subcommittee funds CPB, CPB Digital, Interconnection, Ready To Learn, and Ready To Teach. The Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) subcommittee (known as the Science, State, Justice, and Commerce (SSJC) subcommittee in the House) funds the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP). The Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies subcommittee funds the Rural Digital Program.
FY 2006 and 2007 Funding Comparison
| in millions | FY06 Funding | FY07 House Proposed | FY07 Senate Proposed |
| CPB (FY09) | n/a | $0 | $400 |
| CPB (FY08) Appropriated in 2006 | $400 | $400 | $400 |
| CPB (FY07) Appropriated in 2005 | $400 | $400 | $400 |
| CPB Digital | $29.7 | $0* | $29.7 |
| Interconnection | $34.7 | $0* | $36 |
| PTFP | $21.8 | $0 | $22 |
| Ready To Learn | $24.3 | $0 | $24 |
| Ready To Teach | $10.9 | $0 | $10 |
| Rural Digital | $4.9 | $0 | $5 |
* Includes authorization to spend dollars from the overall CPB appropriation for digital and interconnection, reducing CPB funding for Community Service Grants and program support by the same amount.
House Action
The House faced a tough battle at the start of the year and was barely able to pass its FY 2007 budget resolution. Democrats and moderate Republicans joined together in urging leadership to include more discretionary funding. After weeks of debate, the budget passed with an additional $4-plus billion added to the Labor-HHS appropriations.
In mid-June 2006, the House Labor-HHS approved nearly $100 million in cuts to public television funding, including a $20 million rescission in FY07 CPB funding. After negotiations among the committee leadership, this $20 million was restored; however, none of the remaining cuts were restored. This bill was then moved to the full Appropriations committee, which approved the cuts to public television. The Labor-HHS bill has yet to move to the floor due to a controversial minimum wage increase amendment that was added in committee. It is unknown at this time when the bill will reach the House floor; however, it is speculated that the House will postpone action on the Labor-HHS bill until after the elections in November.
In late June 2006, the House approved the SSJC spending bill that included no FY 2007 funding for PTFP. The House also approved the Agriculture spending bill that included no FY 2007 funding for Rural Digital
Senate Action
Traditionally, the Senate waits to begin their appropriations markups until after the House has completed action. The Senate CJS subcommittee recently marked up its spending bill that includes $22 million for PTFP. On July 18, 2006, the Senate Labor-HHS subcommittee approved level funding for nearly all public television programs. In late June 2006, the Agriculture subcommittee and full Appropriations committee approved $5 million in funding for Rural Digital
Next Steps in the Appropriations Process
- Passage of FY 2007 Labor-HHS spending bill in the House
- Passage of FY 2007 Agriculture spending bill in the Senate
- Full Appropriations markup of FY 2007 Senate Labor-HHS bill, followed by passage on Senate floor
- Passage of FY 2007 CJS bill in the Senate
- House-Senate Conference on each bill, resulting in conference report
- Votes in both House and Senate approving individual conference reports
