WASHINGTON – July 17, 2025 – Kate Riley, President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, made the following statement on the U.S. Senate vote to approve H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, which will completely defund public media in our country.
“America’s Public Television Stations are devastated that the Senate voted to eliminate federal funding to the local public television stations throughout this country that provide essential lifesaving public safety services, proven educational services and community connections to their communities every day for free. This elimination of federal funding will decimate public media and put local stations at risk of going dark, cutting off service to communities that rely on them -- many of which have no other access to locally controlled media.
“After over 50 years of federal support for public broadcasting, the Senate has now voted to eliminate this exceptional public-private partnership that has educated generations of children, protected countless lives, and connected and celebrated communities large and small throughout this nation.
“As the rescissions package moves back to the House for its final consideration, we urge the House to oppose the package and the elimination of public media. If this package passes the House, all funding to local stations will be cut off starting October 1, 2025 and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will shut down.
“Federal funding is essential to ensuring that all Americans have universal access to the exceptional public services that local stations provide regardless of zip code or income level. This includes the over 160 locally operated and controlled public television stations that serve communities small and large throughout this country. All of this is now in jeopardy.
“This destructive rescission of Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding – the substantial majority of which goes to local stations per statutory formula – will result in immediate and serious cuts to stations’ local services and in some cases the total closure of stations, particularly in rural communities. Public broadcasting is a lifeline in hundreds of communities where there is no other source of local media.
“This rescission of previously appropriated federal funding for public broadcasting defies the will of the American people and will devastate the public safety, educational and local service missions of public media stations – services that the American public values, trusts and relies on every day.
“The federal investment in public media enables us to provide the delivery of geo-targeted wireless emergency alerts to cell phones, and the only nationwide situational awareness tool used by public safety officials to track and monitor the effectiveness of those alerts. Americans will be less safe if public media funding is rescinded.
“We support families in preparing their kids for success in school and life with free, universally accessible, proven educational content, including for the over 50 percent of U.S. kids that don’t attend formal preschool. These are services that American families rely upon every day. In fact, according to a recent YouGov survey, 82% of voters, including 72% of Trump voters, said they valued PBS for its children’s programming and educational tools. American children will have less educational content to help them learn if public media funding is rescinded.
“And we connect communities, celebrating their hometown heroes and local history, while coming together to address present day issues and charting a course for a bright future. American history and stories will go untold if public media funding is rescinded.
“These services are essential for the American people and worthy of the federal investment, which amounts to about $1.60 per person per year and less than one 1/100th of a percent of the federal budget.
“Federal funding for public media is irreplaceable and essential to local public media stations and the existence of the public media system as a whole.
“Public media has earned the broad support of the American people, across the political spectrum, including 65% of people who voted for President Trump who think public television is either adequately funded or underfunded, according to a recent YouGov survey.
“America’s Public Television Stations strongly urges the House of Representatives to reject this devastating proposal and ensure that local public media stations throughout the country can continue their essential missions of public safety, education and community connections.”
###
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