We have been here before. Six years ago, Republicans in Congress, led by Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs), introduced legislation to eliminate federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
They did not succeed then, but now that the GOP controls Congress and the Trump administration is looking to cut discretionary program spending in favor of a beefed-up military budget, the prospects of elimination are very real.
In late January, Rep. Lamborn introduced two bills that would permanently eliminate CPB and National Public Radio funding. He thinks the money could be “put to better use rebuilding our military and enhancing our national security.”
He pointed to a need to address our national debt that nears $20 trillion. When asked why he continues to focus on CPB and NPR and not other programs (The Denver Post, Feb 2.), he replied, “It’s just one of the ways we can deal with the spending problem in Washington.”
We could not disagree more; we suspect that he dislikes the flavor of some programs.
In Southwest Colorado, CPB supports 25 to 33 percent of the operating budgets of three public radio stations – KSJD, KSUT, and KDUR – we have come to rely on. These stations provide an amazing variety of music, news and information, public affairs, educational and cultural programming. Together, they reach more than 300,000 listeners in the Four Corners.
In Cortez, with fewer news outlets, KSJD’s newsgathering efforts are especially important, as are the cultural opportunities provided by its radio and online programming and by its performance venue, the Sunflower Theatre.
CPB’s FY16 budget of $445 million amounts to just one one-hundredth of a percent (.01) of the nation’s $3.899 trillion budget. That is a minuscule investment that costs each American $1.35 per year and leverages an average of $6 in other funding.
Public radio stations, with their membership drives and local underwriting efforts, already are doing what they can to complement the CPB support they receive. Its loss, and the national programming it provides, would be felt deeply across our rural region. Public broadcasting truly is part of what makes America great.
