Don’t expect Maria Cantwell to vote to dump funding of public media.
While such opposition was to be expected from her, Cantwell’s views as ranking minority member of the Senate Commerce Committee and a senior member of the Finance Committee mean the Democratic from Washington state likely will play an important role in efforts to resist defunding of public broadcasting in the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.
She put out a statement Wednesday condemning the Trump administration for its package to “claw back” $1.1 billion in money that Congress already appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“President Trump’s rescission package is another attempt to defund more than 1,500 local broadcasting stations across the country, including 13 in the state of Washington,” Cantwell said in her statement.
“As a result, millions of Americans — particularly in rural communities — will be cut off from local newsrooms, lifesaving emergency alerts and programs they love.”
She called it a move to “pay for tax cuts for billionaires.”
“By clawing back our federal investment in non-partisan public broadcasting, the Trump administration and Republicans are not only undermining laws on the books, but also the irreplaceable role public broadcasting plays in our communities.”
She said the cost per American for public broadcasting is $1.60 a year, supporting 356 public TV and 1,190 public radio stations. Her statement listed the stations in Washington state that could be affected.
Last month President Trump ordered the federal government to stop funding National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, setting up a test of presidential authority.
“Which viewpoints NPR and PBS promote does not matter,” Trump wrote then. “What does matter is that neither entity presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.”
CPB, which disburses funds to NPR and PBS at the direction of Congress, responded by saying that it is not a federal executive agency subject to the president’s authority.
