Rep. Fossella Calls for Restoring Full Funding to PBS

Fossella Opposes $115 Million Reduction in Funding for Public Television

[Washington, DC] – Congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY13) today urged House leaders to restore $115 million in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). Last year, Fossella was one of only 87 Republicans to vote for an amendment that restored $100 million in federal funding for the CPB.

The funding cut passed a House subcommittee this week and is expected to be voted on by the full Appropriations Committee next week. If enacted, funding for the CPB would be slashed to $380 million, a 23-percent reduction. The President’s budget proposed a cut of more than $200 million.

“It’s impossible to find an individual who did not grow up learning the alphabet or how to count from programs like Sesame Street,” Fossella said. “It is programming that parents feel comfortable allowing their children to watch and that children remember their entire lives. While tight fiscal times require us to make difficult choices, I believe there is more to lose than gain by slashing CPB funding by $115 million. Such a cut would negatively affect PBS programming in Staten Island and Brooklyn and potentially leave our children without access to some of the most effective educational shows on television today.

Fossella expressed his support for fully funding the CPB in a letter today to House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader John Boehner.

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