WASHINGTON – July 18, 2025 – Kate Riley, President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, made the following statement on the U.S. House of Representatives vote to approve H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, which will completely defund public media in our country.
“Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to eliminate federal funding to the local public television stations throughout this country, defying the will of the American people.
"These local stations are beloved and trusted by the vast majority of Americans who rely on the essential lifesaving public safety information, proven educational services and local community connections these stations provide every day for free, regardless of zip code or income level.
“This elimination of federal funding — over 70% would go to local stations — will decimate public media and force many local stations to go dark, cutting off essential service to communities that rely on them — many of which have no other access to free, locally controlled media — especially those communities in rural areas.
“The proponents of this legislation were myopically focused on defunding NPR and PBS, but what this bill will actually do is devastate independent local stations — some of which are not even members of NPR and PBS and don't air their programming.
"Rescinding previously appropriated funding for the local stations that provide essential services to their communities is an affront to the American people who consistently identify public television as the best investment the government makes, after only national defense and food and drug safety.
“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.
“After over 50 years of federal support for public broadcasting, Congress 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.
“Only public television has a nationwide broadcast infrastructure — reaching 97% of all Americans — that serves as a pathway for distribution of Wireless Emergency Alerts, enables us to provide the only nationwide situational awareness tool used by public safety officials to track and monitor the effectiveness of those alerts, and allows us to partner with first responders on public safety initiatives from Florida to Alaska, helping keep Americans safe every day. Americans will be less safe due to this rescission of public media funding.
“Only public television educates the more than half of America’s children who do not attend preschool and provides tens of thousands of State standards-aligned digital learning objects — for free — for use in K-12 classrooms and in millions of American homes. 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 fewer free education resources to help them learn due to this rescission of public media funding.
“And only public television tells the story of hometown heroes and local history through thousands of hours of locally and nationally produced documentary and public affairs programming, while connecting communities to address present day issues and charting a course for a bright future. American history and stories will go untold now due to this rescission of public media funding.
“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.
“This destructive rescission of Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding – the substantial majority of which goes to local stations – will result in the end of all funding to local stations starting October 1, 2025 and the total closure of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“America’s Public Television Stations will do everything is our power to restore this critical funding, ensure the survival of local public media stations throughout the country and continue the federal investment in their essential missions of public safety, education and community connections.”
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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 civic leadership to the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Stacey Karp
202-654-4222
skarp@apts.org