Senate Deals Major Blow to Public Broadcasting, Axes $1.1 Billion from NPR and PBS Funding

In a pivotal vote, the U.S. Senate has approved a measure to rescind $1.1 billion in allocated funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), directly impacting public radio and television stations across the nation, including NPR and PBS. This move, part of President Trump’s broader rescissions package, threatens the financial stability of public media for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

The critical vote, concluded with a 51-48 margin, saw all 51 “yes” votes cast by Republican senators. Notably, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) broke ranks to vote against the measure. The substantial funding cut includes approximately $60 million specifically earmarked for vital infrastructure, such as replacing and upgrading the public broadcasting interconnection system, a backend network essential for public media operations.

Immediate Impact and Warnings from CPB

Patricia Harrison, CEO of the CPB, voiced grave concerns about the potential fallout. “Without federal funding, many local public radio and television stations will be forced to shut down,” Harrison warned. She highlighted the broader consequences, emphasizing a reduction in high-quality educational resources for children, less trustworthy local and national information for millions of Americans, and a critical risk to essential emergency alert systems that serve as a lifeline during crises.

The public broadcasting cuts are part of a larger $9.4 billion rescissions package that also targets the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This Senate approval sets the stage for a final legislative showdown in the House of Representatives, which had previously passed an earlier version of the package.

Legislative Battles and Partisan Divide

Attempts by Democrats to preserve public broadcasting funding were unsuccessful. An amendment proposed by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) to protect the funding failed in a 52-47 vote, with Sen. Murkowski being the sole Republican to support it due to her concerns about emergency alert capabilities during disasters. Murkowski also put forward a separate amendment “to restore CPB funding while barring any federal money from going to NPR,” which was also defeated.

The votes drew strong condemnation from Democrats. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) criticized Republicans for “rubber-stamping [Trump’s] cruel and callous cuts,” arguing that the move would “silence rural broadcasters” and strip communities of crucial emergency infrastructure and trusted educational programming. He accused Republicans of “bending the knee to wannabe King Donald.”

Conversely, the White House had previously called for an end to federal funding for NPR and PBS in April, alleging they “spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.'” This stance was echoed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during the debate, who stated that public broadcasting “has long been overtaken by partisan activists.” Cruz asserted that “NPR and PBS have revealed their left-wing bias time and time again,” suggesting taxpayers should not subsidize what he termed “left-wing propaganda.”

Public Media Organizations React

America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), a leading membership organization for public stations, expressed profound disappointment. They stated they were “devastated that the Senate voted to eliminate federal funding to the local public television stations throughout this country.” APTS warned that this defunding “will decimate public media and put local stations at risk of going dark,” severing vital services for communities, especially those with limited access to other locally controlled media.

The group has issued an urgent plea to the House of Representatives to reject the package before the cuts take effect. If passed by the House, all funding to local stations would cease on October 1, 2025, potentially leading to the shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting itself.

The CPB distributes over 70 percent of its funding to approximately 1,500 public radio and TV stations nationwide. While these stations also rely on sponsorships, donations, and grants, and pay fees to NPR and PBS, federal funding remains a cornerstone of their operational budget. In fiscal year 2025, the CPB’s $545 million budget was allocated primarily to TV programming (66.9%) and radio programming (22.3%), with the remainder for administration and support.

Critical Role of Emergency Alert Systems at Risk

A significant point of contention has been the potential impact on public safety. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) highlighted the critical role public broadcasting stations play in emergency alerts. She noted that these stations are designed to broadcast through disasters, even on backup generators, ensuring alerts reach people without internet access.

PBS WARN and Public Radio Satellite System

• The PBS WARN system enables all public television stations to transmit Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) via their transmitters, providing a “hardened, redundant” alternate path for cellular companies’ connection. This system is crucial when other communication infrastructures fail. From January 1 to December 31, 2024, PBS WARN transmitted over 11,000 WEAs issued by federal, state, and local authorities, a 30% increase from the previous year.
• NPR manages the Public Radio Satellite System, which directly receives the national Emergency Alert System feed from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), enabling the transmission of Presidential emergency alerts to local public radio stations.

Katherine Maher, CEO of NPR, underscored this concern, citing an NPR-commissioned survey revealing that over 75 percent of both Republicans and Democrats depend on public radio for emergency alerts and public safety news. Maher urged the House of Representatives to reject the funding elimination, emphasizing that such a cut “directly harms their communities and constituents, and could very well place lives at risk.”