House of Representatives Passes Funding for Public Media

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, July 29, 2021

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill, which contains funding for public media. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) President/CEO Patricia Harrison said, "We appreciate the House of Representatives' strong support of public media, providing $565 million for CPB's FY 2024 advance appropriation, ensuring that public media remains free and available to every American throughout the country, in rural and urban areas.

"As the country continues to address the impact of a global pandemic on every aspect of American life, public media is responding with content and services that support the increased educational, informational, and public safety needs of America's diverse communities.

"We are also grateful for the House's ongoing support of $20 million for the public broadcasting interconnection system, which allows for the distribution of content from producers to local stations and is part of our nation's emergency alert system. The $31.8 million provided for the Department of Education's Ready To Learn program enables the creation of accessible, educational public media content, on air, online and in the community, for children ages 2 to 8. Decades of research has shown Ready To Learn's success in helping our youngest learners prepare for and succeed in school.

"As the appropriations process continues, we look forward to working with Congress on funding decisions to support a healthy and vibrant public media system."