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CV NEWS FEED // CatholicVote endorsed the Trump administration’s proposal to end taxpayer funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), arguing the networks should rely on private support instead of federal dollars.
“Many liberal pundits insist that public broadcasting provides wonderful programming that the American people want,” CatholicVote Vice President Joshua Mercer said Tuesday. “If that’s the case, they don’t need taxpayer funding or the strings that come with it.”
“PBS and NPR have a long history and a strong fan base. They can easily survive with subscriptions or sponsorships,” Mercer added. “There’s no reason to continue borrowing money from China to keep media companies on the dole.”
The administration’s rescissions package, unveiled Monday, includes a proposal to cut $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds both NPR and PBS.
The plan is part of a broader $9.4 billion rollback in federal spending, which includes major reductions to the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
A Monday White House statement criticized the networks, citing examples of what it called “radical, woke propaganda” presented under the guise of journalism.
“For years, American taxpayers have been on the hook for subsidizing National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news,’” the statement read.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, who introduced similar legislation last month, said defunding the outlets is long overdue.
“Hardworking Americans are sick of footing the bill,” Jackson told Fox News. He said the “chronically biased” NPR and PBS have become “taxpayer-funded propaganda machines for the radical left.”
Concerns over political bias were spotlighted during a March hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee, which summoned the CEOs of NPR and PBS to testify.
When Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, asked whether NPR operated with political bias, CEO Katherine Maher responded, “I have never seen any instance of… political bias determining editorial decisions.” Republicans noted a prior report showing that all 87 of NPR’s editorial staff in the D.C. area were registered Democrats.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., voiced support for the administration’s plan.
“NPR and PBS have a right to publish their biased coverage—but they don’t have a right to spend taxpayer money on it,” he posted on X. “It’s time to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”
Meanwhile, NPR pushed back in a statement, warning that the funding cut would “have a devastating impact on American communities… that rely on public radio for trusted local and national news.”
NPR receives roughly 1% of its funding directly from the federal government, while member stations receive 8-10% from CPB. PBS and its stations rely on CPB for about 15% of their revenue.
The administration plans to formally submit the proposal to Congress on April 28, opening a 45-day window for lawmakers to either approve or reject the cuts.
