Congress Passes $535M Appropriation For Public Media

Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), issued the following statement after the House and Senate passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024. 

The bill provides $535 million for CPB in Fiscal Year 2026, upholding the two-year advance appropriation for public media. Further, for FY 2024, the bill provides $60 million for the public media interconnection system and digital infrastructure; $31 million for the Ready To Learn program at the Department of Education; and $40 million for the Next Generation Warning System grant program at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“We appreciate the House and Senate’s affirmation of the great value delivered to the American people through our nation’s public media. Our trusted, nonpartisan, educational and informational content, provided to all Americans for free and commercial free, helps inspire all citizens from our youngest to lifelong learners, and in the process, strengthens our civil society.

Harrison

“CPB stewards these taxpayer dollars with care, making strategic investments in educational research, public safety, and innovative technology, ensuring public media connects to audiences in all the ways they choose to access media.

“We are especially grateful that Congress has recognized the importance of CPB’s two-year advance appropriation, providing a firewall that keeps public media nonpartisan and independent.

“In addition, the nation’s children, parents, teachers, and caregivers will benefit from funding for the Ready To Learn program, which supports national, safe, research-based children’s content to every household, rural and urban. Local public media stations extend this educational content deep into underserved communities through local partnerships, providing resources to parents, teachers, and caregivers who want the best for their young learners.

“Sustained funding of the interconnection system and other digital infrastructure enables public media to use innovative technology to deliver content efficiently and economically, and the Next Generation Warning System grant program helps local stations to replace and upgrade critical transmission equipment, strengthening the resiliency of our national and local public alerting system.

In addition to the general funding, the budget includes $60 million for the public broadcasting interconnection system, which disseminates content across the public media system, including public safety and alerting messages.