Congress is closing in on a major decision about public media funding, threatening the future of PBS, NPR, and hundreds of local stations that rely on federal support to stay on the air.
Early Thursday morning, the Senate passed the rescissions package, a bill that would eliminate $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The package also contains deep cuts to international aid programs, including $7.9 billion aimed at combating issues like famine and disease.
Passed by a 51-48 vote, the bill now returns to the House for final approval before being sent to President Trump’s desk. If enacted, the cuts would take effect in October, placing hundreds of local PBS and NPR stations at risk, particularly in rural and low-income communities.
“Federal funding for the public broadcasting system is irreplaceable,” Patricia de Stacy Harrison, President and CEO of CPB, wrote in a press release. “Public media serves all — families and individuals, in rural and urban communities — free of charge and commercial-free.”
The bill comes in the wake of Trump’s May 1 executive order, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media.” The order called for CPB to cease funding to PBS and NPR and argued “neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.”
While popular national programs like PBS News Hour and Nature may be able to seek alternative funding through sponsorships or syndication, it’s the local stations that stand to lose the most, according to The New York Times.
More than 70% of the CPB’s federal funding goes directly to over 1,500 local stations, supporting core operations like programming, staffing, and community outreach.
While federal funding accounts for about 15% of PBS’s overall budget, many small and rural stations rely on it for a much larger share of their operating costs. Without this support, many stations face staff layoffs, program cancellations, or even complete shutdowns.
“Losing this critical money makes it far more likely the lights will go out on local, independent media in counties across the country,” PBS warned in a fact sheet.
For many Americans, public broadcasting is more than a source of entertainment. Nearly 60% of PBS viewers live in rural areas where local news coverage and media choices are limited.
In Kansas, Smoky Hills PBS reaches more than 1.2 million people. Nearly half of its budget comes from federal dollars. General Manager Betsy Schwien said the impact would be felt far beyond the screen.
“This isn’t just about TV. It’s about access — to educational programming, to local coverage, and to reliable information for rural and underserved areas,” Schwein wrote. “This isn’t just funding – it’s a lifeline for learning, something we have taken pride in providing Kansans for decades.”
For Tribal Nations, the consequences could be even more devastating. Native Public Media, a station based in Flagstaff, Ariz., supports a network of 59 radio and three television stations. Roughly three dozen of those stations could go dark if the cuts become law, according to Loris Taylor, president and CEO.
“When a station goes dark, the entire community loses not just the signal but also the service, safety, connection, and the voice that Tribal media uniquely provides,” Taylor wrote in a recent op-ed.
Public broadcasting also plays a major role in education. PBS reported that 90% of parents believe PBS KIDS helps prepare their children for success in school. These educational resources — often free and locally produced — are essential tools in many homes and classrooms.
In Arizona, where 82% of 4-year-olds do not attend formal preschool, Sen. Ruben Gallego said public television often fills that educational gap.
“For many families, public television is one of their only early childhood education tools,” Gallego said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
Despite partisan divides in Washington, public broadcasting continues to enjoy broad bipartisan support. In Oklahoma, 70% of residents say their local PBS station provides excellent value to the community, including 52% of Republicans. In Maine, 87% of residents — including 71% of Republicans and 70% of Trump voters — believe PBS funding is either too low or just right.
If the proposed cuts go through, stations’ two largest expenses — maintaining infrastructure and producing local content — would likely be the first casualties. This could drastically reduce the amount of locally relevant programming and hamper stations’ abilities to provide critical emergency information.
For smaller stations, especially those in rural areas where alternative funding options are scarce, the stakes are high.
“Without PBS and local member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis,” PBS wrote in a June 12 statement.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of only two Republican senators who opposed the rescission, warning that cutting funding for public broadcasting could negatively impact radio stations that are often the only source of information during natural disasters.
“If you don’t like what’s going on within NPR, we can address that, but you don’t need to gut the entire corporation for public broadcasting,” Murkowski said. “It’s not just your news — it’s your tsunami alert, it’s your volcano alert, it’s your educational programming.”
The House is scheduled to vote on the funding cuts by Friday, July 18 — a decision that will determine the fate of public media across the country.
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