CPB Praises Congressional Funding Decision

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Patricia Harrison

Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), made the following statement regarding the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, passing the House and Senate:

"We greatly appreciate Congress' bipartisan support in providing $475 million - a $10 million increase - for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's FY2023 advance appropriation; $20 million for the public broadcasting interconnection system; and $29.5 million for the Department of Education's Ready to Learn program, which supports educational public media content for our nation's youngest learners.

The federal appropriation supports more than 1,500 local public media stations and the valued services that address their communities' educational, informational and public safety needs. Since the COVID pandemic started, Americans have turned to public media in record numbers to access innovative educational services that support at-home learning, for trusted journalism to help understand uncertain times, and to utilize local stations' workforce development resources to discover in-demand jobs and career opportunities.

CPB will continue to steward these dollars on behalf of the public media system so that every American has access to content and services that keep them informed, connected and safe. We are grateful to Congress for these critical investments in our nation's public media system."