Public Broadcasting

The House approved a Trump administration plan to rescind $9 billion in previously allocated funds, including $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The Senate voted to approve the $9 billion rescission package early Thursday.

The Senate voted by a razor-thin margin late Tuesday to advance debate on a package of funding cuts requested by President Trump that would claw back $1.1 billion previously allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The Trump administration has asked Congress to rescind funds for public broadcasting and foreign aid. Congress has until the end of the week to approve the bill, which is sponsored by Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt.

Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee pushed back against the Trump administration's bid to rescind federal funding for public broadcasting and international aid programs. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt spoke in favor of revoking funding.

This week, the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations — of which Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran is a member — will hold a hearing on legislation to rescind federal funding for public broadcasting stations like KCUR and Classical KC.

A narrow majority of the House voted to rescind existing funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, sending the proposal to the U.S. Senate. If approved, this bill represents an existential threat to the future of KCUR, NPR, and hundreds of local stations around the country.

The U.S. House voted Thursday on a rescission bill to claw back money for foreign aid programs, along with the next two years of funding for the public media system. The measure now goes to the Senate.

Kansas City’s noncommercial stations provide critical pipelines for new, local artists and music to be discovered. But if Congress rescinds federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public radio stations such as KCUR, Classical KC, KKFI, Kansas Public Radio and 90.9 The Bridge would have diminished capacity to deliver the same quality and variety of music.

The rescission request by President Trump reflects a heightened threat to existing and future federal funding for NPR, PBS and local public media stations. Both KCUR and Classical KC would take an immediate financial hit if Congress approves the request.

President Trump is asking lawmakers to claw back the $1.1 billion in federal subsidies for public broadcasting that Congress approved earlier this year. Such a funding cut would directly impact local public media stations like KCUR.

NPR, Aspen Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio, and KSUT Public Radio file suit against President Donald Trump's unlawful Executive Order targeting federal funds for NPR and PBS