CPB Thanks Congress For Keeping Its Funding

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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has officially thanked the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators for ensuring that their funding remains intact for 2017.


Congress this week passed The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, which provides $445 million for CPB’s fiscal 2019 advance appropriation, $50 million for upgrading and replacing the public broadcasting interconnection system, and $25.741 million for the Department of Education’s Ready To Learn program.

CPB President/CEO Patricia Harrison said the legislation reaffirms that federal funding for public media is an investment that continues to deliver proven value and service to all Americans.

“For 50 years, public media has served as an important part of our country’s knowledge infrastructure—trusted, valued and depended upon by the American people,” she said. “Only through the federal appropriation can public media serve every American wherever they live, whatever their economic circumstance, free of charge and commercial free. On behalf of the millions of Americans who consume and connect with public media every day, CPB would like to thank Congress for its continued strong support. The federal appropriation provides the foundation of this unique public-private partnership, essential funding for the nearly 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations across the country. Federal funding ensures that public media serves rural, small town and urban communities alike, and makes possible stations’ service in early childhood education, public safety, connecting citizens to our history, and promoting civil discussions.”

Harrison added that the legislation further recognizes the need to upgrade and replace the aging public broadcasting interconnection system, which serves as the content delivery system for all public media stations. “CPB, as the steward of the federal appropriation, will ensure that these dollars are spent to achieve the most cost-effective and technologically advanced system possible on behalf of public media and the American people,” she said.