House members’ recent vote to eliminate federal funds for National Public Radio sends a strong message that Congress is serious about cutting spending. With trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see under President Obama, we must begin to cut all unnecessary spending. When the federal government gets its spending under control, the small businesses and entrepreneurs of our country will begin investing again with confidence. That, ultimately, will lead to the creation of private-sector jobs Americans are looking for.
The House passed H.R. 1076, which I sponsored, in the aftermath of the release of an undercover video in which one of NPR’s vice presidents admits the news outlet would be better off in the long run without taxpayer money.
For years, public broadcasters have cried foul at even the most modest attempts to reduce their taxpayer subsidies, making exaggerated claims that fiscal conservatives are looking to kill Big Bird and Elmo.
I have long believed that NPR produces high-quality programming that does not need the crutch of taxpayer dollars. Now we have seen on camera, Ron Schiller, NPR’s senior vice president for development, agreeing with me. And it’s not only Schiller.
According to local press reports, the general manager of a PBS affiliate in New Mexico agrees that her station will not go off the air without federal funds. She concedes her station, which she says gets about 10 percent of its revenues from the federal government, may simply lose the ability to provide “extras” in the community.
In light of this candor, there can be no question that these stations can survive, and even thrive, in the free market. Taxpayer dollars are not essential to their operations.
This fiscal year, Congress appropriated $430 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR’s parent organization. In the next fiscal year, that amount is set to climb by $15 million.
At a time when our federal debt is increasing by $54,373 every second, and the government is borrowing more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends, we must cut all nonessential government spending.
If that money stayed in the private sector, instead of being taxed away or borrowed by government, investors could create the private-sector jobs Americans want. We can save a program, or we can save our country.
In that same undercover video, Schiller accuses Tea Party members of hijacking the Republican Party with a racist agenda. This is a disturbing and deeply offensive accusation coming from anyone, but especially coming from the vice president of a supposedly unbiased news outlet.
However, it’s not NPR’s liberal bias that offends me as much as the fact that my tax dollars are funding it. Within NPR, some bizarrely claim that efforts to cut federal funding are aimed at controlling and influencing the editorial content of NPR. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I believe removing federal funding from NPR would give it more, not less, editorial freedom than it currently enjoys.
A little belt tightening, as other Americans have had to face, would not hurt either. PBS President Paula Kerger earns $632,233 in annual compensation. Kevin Klose, president emeritus of NPR, received more than $1.2 million in compensation, according to the organization’s IRS 990 tax returns.
NPR’s support from the private sector is robust and committed.Should it become National Private Radio, it might actually experience a net gain in revenues. Back in 1995 and ’96 when it experienced a similar defunding threat, donations surged.
Also, it is worth noting that NPR, in a recent news release, claims to enjoy record audiences, at a time when other news outlets are losing audiences.
The evidence is overwhelming and the video is condemning. NPR does not need taxpayer dollars. Just like the rest of America has done in this recession, NPR can, and must, learn to live without the crutch of taxpayer dollars. For his own good, it’s time to push Big Bird out of the nest so he can fly on his own.
Rep. Doug Lamborn is a Colorado Republican.
