Four Days to Defund NPR and PBS

The clock is ticking on our tax dollars going to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). They aren’t risking closing, unfortunately, but they are on the verge of facing the exact same pressures as every other television network out there: the ability to pay their own bills by attracting an audience and advertiser or donor dollars. The President’s rescissions package is awaiting passage by Congress to cut a modest $9.4 billion from the federal budget, with most of the funds coming from USAID and the remainder from PBS and NPR. The catch is, it has to pass by Friday.

A rescission letter only requires a majority vote for passage, meaning there is no filibuster in the Senate. But they come with an expiration date: 45 days after being submitted. That ends Friday. If they don’t pass, they die, and the money they were attempting to claw back will have to be spent. 

If it sounds stupid, that’s only because it is, but this is how government works.