House GOP Set to Defund NPR in Wake of Juan Williams Firing

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Yahoo

House GOP Set to Defund NPR in Wake of Juan Williams Firing
Mark Whittington Mark Whittington – 19 mins ago

The House Republicans are preparing to strip NPR of its federal funding. Unlike abortive attempts to deny funding to public broadcasting in the 1990s, prospects of success are brighter thanks to the budget deficit and the firing of Juan Williams.

Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado, is crafting legislation that would defund NPR. However, it is not a task that is as easy is it looks.

"Still, cutting off federal money just to NPR is a complicated task. There isn't any congressional appropriation that says 'Funds for NPR.' Instead, federal money goes to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which received $420 million from the government in 2010. About $90 million of that went to public radio. The corporation gave part of that $90 million to NPR, and part of it to local public radio stations, which turned around and used the money to buy NPR programming. NPR has also gotten money from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Departments of Education and Commerce."

NPR claims that only about $3 million of its total annual budget comes from the federal government. Lamborn believes it is much higher, in the "tens of millions of dollars" range.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110114/bs_ac/7610676_house_gop_set_to_defund_npr_in_wake_of_juan_williams_firing

[yellowcanine]

1. They could regret this. A lot of Republicans listen to NPR.

[PatrynXX]

15. when I think NPR I don't think PBS

So not really sure where this tea party guy is going with this. (well clearly he is tea party)

because my late grandpa loved NPR. He was quite Republican but old school. Very nice. I'm not sure how he'd take it to see Tea Party folks wanting to take his party over.

and speaking of violent rhetoric. both my dad and brother both believe civil war part two is coming. So where do they think there'll be a second war?

[rosesaylavee]

2. But wouldn't the Senate have to agree to this?

[AngryAmish]

11. Yes and no.

All funding bills have to start in the house, so if it does not get started there then it is defunded.

BUT

All of these things are done by conference committee. It could be agreed to in conference and they would be stuck if they passed the conference bill.

I think. DU parliamentarians, please step up.

[immoderate]

12. It will probably be restored in conference.

Republicans can vote against it before they vote for it.

--imm

[emulatorloo]

3. Tupical Republican Move. Play to their base, never mind that NPR is mostly listener funded.

[Lance_Boyle]

14. Individual NPR affiliates are mostly listener funded.

NPR itself is not.

[Angry Dragon]

4. Let's have more of that censorship that the republicans

are so against.........

[Iliyah]

5. Where are

the jobs?????

This jerks are doing everything possible to destroy the work force. Juan Williams is also a jerk.

[Plucketeer]

6. Those thrifty Rethugs!

Between the showboat moves of eliminating paper clips and fancier office furniture in congress and defunding NPR as trend-setters, they're liable to lessen the national debt by a whopping billion bucks come 2012!


GOP JOBS PLAN

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Swell, more fundraisers . . . . .

[Judi Lynn]

8. Juan Williams will be thrilled to learn he has an avenger.

http://www.csindy.com.nyud.net:8090/imager/and-successor-doug-lamborn-no-love-lost/b/story/1311700/8983/3881_cover-23362.gif http://www.biblica.com.nyud.net:8090/images/press/congressman-doug-lamborn.jpg

http://image3.examiner.com.nyud.net:8090/images/blog/EXID5890/images/jimdemint.jpg

Honduras's interim President Roberto Micheletti, second from right, poses for pictures with Republican Doug Lamborn of Colorado, left, Republican Peter Roskam of Illinois, second from left, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, third front left and Republican Aaron Schock of Illinois, after a meeting at the presidential house in Tegucigalpa, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009.The U.S. senator and the three congressmen met with Micheletti in defiance of official Washington policy barring contact with the architects of the military coup that ousted the nation's president Manuel Zelaya.

[DBoon]

9. Republicans sure love those right wing dictators

Good old Jesse Helms was best buddies with Roberto Dubuisson, nicknamed "Blowtorch Bob" for his favorite way of murdering opponents

[DFW]

10. I wish I had $3 million to give to NPR

I'm almost never in the States, but when I am, I listen to KERA in Dallas. NPR is absolutely wonderful
radio programming. I'll increase what contributions I can make if the Radical Right manages to try to
strangle them financially. Too bad we don't have our own Rupert Murdoch. All we have is ourselves.

[benld74]

13. Heck, he's making MORE money NOW. They did him a BIG favor!!!

[Blue Owl]

16. Guess NPR didn't carry enough water for the GOP

Hey, they sure tried...

[nonoxy9]

17. More hypocrisy from the people screaming "First Amendment!"

[totodeinhere]

18. Not really. There is nothing in the First Amendment that says that government is

obligated to fund media outlets.

[yellowcanine]

19. No but historically they have - right from the beginning newspapers got postal subsidies.

The founding fathers had no problem with it - as they weren't afraid of a free press and in fact considered it critical to have an informed citizenry. And this was a time when many newspapers made no attempt to be non partisan - in fact, many were openly partisan. It did not matter - they still got the postal subsidy.

Apparently the current crop of Republican politicians is afraid of a free press. I wonder why that is?

[robcon]

20. We don't need a government-funded radio network

Defunding is a good idea.

[Fumesucker]

22. I agree, corporations can give us all the news we need to know..

Just imagine all the things we would not have to worry about any more because we wouldn't hear of them, oil spills, global climate change, Citizens United ruling by the SCOTUS, Wikileaks, the list is practically endless.

[robcon]

23. What nonsense your post is. We are well-informed.

We've heard about all of them - and the press (TV, radio, print, internet) is desperate for scoops on those stories.

[Fumesucker]

24. Yes, Americans are soooooo well informed by the corporate press..

:eyes:

[CBHagman]

25. Missing the giant hamburger show on the History Channel?

Yeah, let's have less Frontline and Live from Lincoln Center and more Ice Road Truckers and Jersey Shore. And let's chop up a few more episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond so we can fit more commercials in! :sarcasm:

Seriously, I'm old enough to remember life before cable television and I can't believe how wantonly corporations have squandered what might have been a wonderful opportunity. TCM still hangs on as a worthy effort, but much of commercial television, both broadcast and cable, is either underwhelming or simply swill.

In the time I had cable, the price doubled and a number of channels eliminated their passable (or, in some cases, quality) programming in favor of the swill.

As for government-funded radio networks, it would be interesting to measure the relatively low cost of the CPB (which, after all, only provides part of public broadcasting's funding) against the billions that go to corporations in one form or another. The notion that the glorious free market just does its thing very well and on its own is a myth that deserves to die off.

[PSPS]

21. Big deal. NPR gets almost nothing in federal funds anyway. Just red meat for the 'baggers.

[Dover]

28. True, however what happens if it were to be cut loose from it's gov. strings?

What is the gov. ties positive effect/purpose relative to it being 100% privately funded instead?

This is not just for the "baggers". NPR has been in the GOP's sights for some time.

[Dover]

26. GOP goes after NPR -, Dems warm up Big Bird for bout

Published in Current, Nov. 29, 2010
By Dru Sefton and Karen Everhart

When Republican lawmakers moved their campaign to “defund NPR” from the court of public opinion to the halls of Congress on Nov. 18, their opening salvo was aimed squarely at the radio news organization based inside the Beltway.

Leading advocates of the cutbacks want to track and block the flow of federal aid from CPB, through public radio stations, to NPR.

For now, their rhetoric is aimed at NPR, not the bigger target of CPB and its aid to public TV, and derives strength from outrage over the radio network’s dismissal of news analyst Juan Williams.

By sidestepping a head-on conflict with public TV and its defenders led by much-loved Sesame Street characters, House Republican leaders are writing a new playbook for the renewed political attack on public broadcasting.

Fifteen years ago, the “Big Bird defense” rescued CPB funding by a 2-to-1 House majority during Newt Gingrich’s reign as House speaker (Current, June 27, 1995). “It was Big Bird that killed us,” former House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston (R-La.) acknowledged to Fox News last month.

The Nov. 18 vote on a bill by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) to cut aid to public radio was also a win for supporters of public broadcasting, though with a smaller margin, 239-171. However, future votes, after the new Congress is seated in January, will be affected by the Republicans’ 63-vote gain in November’s midterm election...cont'd

http://www.current.org/funding/funding1022.shtml

[boppers]

27. Too Late.

"In 2009, NPR revenues totaled $164 million, with the bulk of revenues coming from programming fees, grants, contributions and sponsorships.<14> According to the 2009 financial statement, about 40% of NPR revenues come from the fees it charges member stations to receive programming. Typically, NPR member stations raise funds through on-air pledge drives, corporate underwriting, and grants from state governments, universities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 2009, member stations derived 6% of their revenue from direct government funding, 10% of their revenue from federal funding in the form of CPB grants, and 14% of their revenue from universities.<14><15> NPR receives no direct funding from the federal government.<16> About 1.5% of NPR's revenues come from Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, the majority of NPR funding came from the federal government. Steps were taken during the 1980s to completely wean NPR from government support, but the 1983 funding crisis forced the network to make immediate changes. More money to fund the NPR network was raised from listeners, charitable foundations and corporations instead."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR

[glinda]

29. Our local MPR ran an Ad for Mining today! Woot! Complete takeover.