Advocates for funding public media are warning that the elimination of $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have its biggest impact on rural communities.
In a 216-213 vote Friday morning that mostly followed party lines, the House approved "H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025," which was passed by the Senate early Thursday morning. Two Republicans, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Michael R. Turner (Ohio) voted against it. The bill also eliminates $8 billion in foreign aid.
PBS President Paula Kerger concurred. “These cuts will significantly impact all of our stations, but will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas. Many of our stations which provide access to free unique local programming and emergency alerts will now be forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead,” she said.
NPR CEO Maher says radio stations have already started firing people and NPR itself will have to address the issue in three to six months.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) July 19, 2025
Good. Accountability is happening.
The wokeness of NPR is costing people their jobs. Hopefully, NPR will see substantial layoffs too. pic.twitter.com/m9R5mXvCb1
President Trump praised the vote to defund “atrocious NPR and public broadcasting, where billions of dollars a year were wasted,” adding that “Republicans have tried doing this for 40 years, and failed….but no more. This is big!!!”