There’s likely no chance Congress will vote to provide federal funding for local public broadcasting stations until the next session, when a potential flip to Democratic control in at least one of the two Congressional bodies could be seen.
This continued on Tuesday, with the House Appropriations Committee deciding not to restore government dollars directed toward secular non-commercial radio and TV stations in its FY 2026 appropriations bill. The President/CEO of America’s Public Television Stations lamented the latest zero-sum motives of Republicans.
Kate Riley blasted the committee for its inability “to extend a desperately needed lifeline to local communities that are already experiencing the negative effects of the devastating rescission of federal funding for local public media stations.”
In what has become standard for Riley, the APTS leader issued a lengthy statement reinforcing the reasons why Americans consume public media and why it is so important to many across the U.S., with many “now confronting the loss of essential services that only local public television stations provide — from critical public safety services to proven education resources and essential local community connections and information.”
Minus federal funding, Riley said, local stations “have been forced to eliminate or reduce local programs, including local history programs, community event coverage, agricultural programming and local public affairs programming” in addition to eliminating or lowering local educational resources for their communities. “The loss of federal funding is already preventing stations from installing new transmitters and making desperately needed infrastructure investments in areas prone to severe weather which threatens the reliable delivery of critical lifesaving public safety messages,” she added.
Despite the lack of funding for local stations in the bill, APTS “appreciates that a number of Members of Congress spoke about the important role local public media stations play in their communities, and their support for restoring funding for these local stations … we urge Congress to respect the will of the American people, who have spoken loud and clear, and restore funding for local public broadcasting stations in the final FY 2026 appropriations bill.”
