Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson today joined with the majority of his colleagues in turning back a feared cut to public broadcasting.

Rep. Johnson, R-Urbana, said the amendment will help ensure the valuable free flow of information that is vital to our country’s well-being.

The amendment offered by Reps. David Obey, Jim Leach and Nita Lowey restores at least $100 million in cuts that have been made to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by the House Appropriations Committee. The amendment passed 284-140, a much bigger margin of victory than had originally been anticipated.

“As a lifelong resident of this district, my entire family has grown up with the benefits of public television,” Rep. Johnson said. “I’ve been working in the U.S. Congress for the past 41/2 years to make sure these programs are fully funded and today’s vote indicates some of that work paid off.”

Rep. Johnson is a member of the House Public Broadcasting Caucus, which advocates for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the positive impact its operations have on communities across the country.

By statute, almost 90 percent of funding for the corporation is distributed directly to local public radio and television stations through Community Service Grants.

WILL in Urbana receives approximately 25 percent of its budget through this program to operate its AM, FM and television stations.

WEIU in Charleston, which serves a 13-county area, would have lost 50 percent of its budget.

Illinois State University in Normal would have lost $80,000 in annual funding.
Other rural stations and those serving minority populations across the state and nation could have lost between 15 and 85 percent of their budgets. Many communities in fact would simply lose their last locally owned, locally controlled media outlet.

"Over 30 million people a week listen to NPR. More than 82 million people watch PBS a week. The kind of cuts were intolerable. Our offices in Washington, Champaign, Bloomington, Charleston and Mt. Carmel all received scores of calls, emails and letters in the last week urging me to vote for the restoration of this money. It was not only the right thing to do for my constituents. It’s the right thing to do to help ensure the wide dissemination of information that is fundamental to our society and system of government.”

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