WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 24, 2025 – The House Appropriations Committee today recommended level funding of $40 million for fiscal year 2026 for the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) which provides critical investment in public broadcasting’s public safety infrastructure.
“America’s Public Television Stations are grateful that the committee recognizes the essential role that public television plays in the nation’s civil defense, public safety and homeland security. The committee’s approval of continued funding of $40 million for the Next Generation Warning System will help ensure public broadcasters are able to continue to meet their public safety missions and provide the highest level of resilient and reliable public safety and homeland security services to communities throughout the country,” said Kate Riley, President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations.
“Civil defense, public safety and homeland security are foundational elements of public television’s mission to serve the American people. Public broadcasting stations reach 99% of the American population, and we are the only local media in many areas, making our work in alert and warning critical to the safety of people and communities throughout the country.
“Public television’s digital infrastructure provides the backbone for emergency alert, public safety, first responder, and homeland security services in many states and communities, including many local stations that serve as their states’ primary Emergency Alert Service (EAS) hub for severe weather and AMBER alerts.
“In addition, public television is one of two technologically diverse pathways that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state and local public safety officials use to send Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) messages to cell phone subscribers. The encrypted messages ride over the public television broadcast spectrum and infrastructure directly to cell phone providers who in turn send them to their subscribers. Sending these messages over the public broadcasting pathway ensures they can reach every corner of the country, even if internet service is compromised or unavailable. These geo-targeted messages can reach subscribers wherever they are in the event of an emergency.
“Public television stations have also pioneered technology that enables public safety officials to communicate with each other over the broadcast spectrum and we have worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to demonstrate the effectiveness of these ground-breaking services in flood control and evacuation, rural school shooting scenarios, large crowd management, over-water emergency communications and other lifesaving applications where broadband or cellular service are not fully functional.
“Public television stations have also partnered with the California Office of Emergency Services to reduce the early earthquake warning standard from 30 seconds to less than 3 seconds. We’ve built a Statewide Emergency Communications Network with the State of Tennessee, public media stations in Florida created an emergency network that delivers up-to-the minute weather and news reports during severe weather events in Florida and South Carolina, and we’ve pursued many other alert and warning initiatives across America.
“These lifesaving public safety services depend on reliable and resilient public broadcasting infrastructure. In addition to the essential funding for local stations through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Next Generation Warning System program helps local stations, particularly those serving rural and underserved areas, replace the aging infrastructure that endangers this public safety mission. In addition, this program supports infrastructure needed for enhancements to alert and warning and other public safety communications systems to ensure resilience and the ability to meet the evolving nature of public safety challenges.
“We appreciate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Mark Amodei (R-NV), Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK), Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and the entire committee’s continuing bipartisan support for the public safety work of local public television stations. We look forward to working with the full House Congress to ensure that this critical funding moves forward through the appropriations process.”
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About APTS
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and community connections to their local areas and the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Stacey Karp
202-654-4222
skarp@apts.org