WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has proposed level funding of $535 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal year 2027 and $60 million for public media stations’ interconnection system for fiscal year 2025.
This yielded cheers from America’s Public Television Stations.
“America’s Public Television Stations are grateful for the bipartisan support of the Senate Appropriations Committee for this continued investment in the work of public television,” said APTS President/CEO Patrick Butler. “We are pleased by this recognition of the critical role our local stations play in their communities and the essential services they provide all Americans in education, public safety and civic leadership. Public television provides the only preschool education there is for more than half of America’s children.”
APTS awaits further word on funding for Ready To Learn, a competitive grant program at the Department of Education that supports the creation and distribution of educational media content to millions of children across America. “This program has been proven to help close the achievement gap between children from low-income families and their more affluent peers,” Butler said. “We remain hopeful that Ready To Learn’s essential work will continue to be supported through full funding.”
Butler added that APTS is hopeful that the bipartisan, bicameral congressional support for public television will result in the final FY 2025 appropriations bills including the Senate funding levels.
