Communiqué

UPDATE: Wednesday June 11, 5:04 pm – House rules procedural vote to defund public media and WOUB passes 213 to 207

Posted on: Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Update:

Wednesday, June 11 5:04 pm

The House held a vote today at 4:15pm ET to open debate on H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025. The procedural vote passed 213 to 207. It is expected the vote on the final measure will occur tomorrow, and we will attempt to provide an update when the vote is scheduled. Several lawmakers have expressed concern about this package, and we continue to encourage outreach to lawmaker offices.

For rescission to proceed, the House must pass the bill by a majority, at which point it will move to the Senate for consideration.

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Update:

Wednesday, June 11 10:30 am

The House opened today at 10:00am ET, and the first and only vote scheduled today will be at 4:15pm ET. This House daily schedule indicates that the rule for H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, will be considered.

A procedural vote on the rule must occur before a vote on the final measure.

Several Members of Congress have expressed concerns over the last week about the reconciliation bill and the provisions contained within, but we do not expect this to affect their vote on the rule. Once the rule passes, debate will begin on H.R. 4 and we expect a final vote on the bill sometime tomorrow, Thursday June 12.

As mentioned before, for rescission to proceed the House must pass the bill by a majority, at which point it will move to the Senate for consideration. As noted last week, the Senate Parliamentarian has established July 18, 2025, as the deadline by which the proposal must pass the House and Senate to take effect.

If you have not already communicated to your lawmaker what the impact of rescission would be on WOUB, please do so immediately so that they can understand how their vote would affect their community and their constituents’ access to trusted, local news, educational programming, lifesaving emergency alerts, and noncommercial music that brings people together.

If you have reached out recently to your lawmaker, please consider doing it again with another message or call.

To call your lawmaker, follow this link.

To send your lawmaker an email, follow this link.

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Update:

Tuesday June 10, 9:00 pm

The House Rules Committee met today to consider H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, and passed a closed rule with no amendments, sending the rescission package to the complete House floor for a vote. We anticipate knowing more Wednesday morning about the specific timing on the schedule for the rescission vote on the House floor.

While some amendments were filed in the committee, including two amendments filed by Public Broadcasting Co-Chair Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX) to take the public media rescission out of the bill, no amendment was made in order — meaning, no amendments will be considered on the floor.

The process on the floor will consist of two votes: a vote on the rule to consider the measure, and the final vote on H.R. 4. The House will vote up or down with both public media and PEPFAR included in the package. Early indications suggest the procedural vote will occur on Wednesday, with the vote on the bill to occur on Wednesday or Thursday.

For rescission to proceed, the House must pass the bill by a majority, at which point it will move to the Senate for consideration. The Senate Parliamentarian has established July 18, 2025, as the deadline by which the proposal must pass the House and Senate to take effect.

Between now and Thursday, June 12, it is critical for lawmakers to hear from the public. Please consider calling or writing and expressing your support for WOUB. Members of Congress have expressed concern with the rescission proposal, and it is vital that they understand the public is behind them in opposing this harmful legislation.

If you have reached out recently to your lawmaker, please consider doing it again with another message or call.

To call your lawmaker, follow this link.

To send your lawmaker an email, follow this link.

As always, thank you for your support of WOUB Public Media.

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It’s official: The White House has asked Congress to claw back previously approved federal funding for public media, threatening the existence of WOUB and public media stations across the country.

While Congress has 45 days to consider the proposal sent on Tuesday June 3, the House is expected to act swiftly, possibly within days. If lawmakers fail to approve it — or can’t get the votes to pass it — the funding will be restored.

Federal funding makes up 25% of WOUB’s operating budget. Another 16% of WOUB’s indirect costs are covered by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (Infrastructure, music copyright, interconnection equipment, etc.). Without it, life-saving emergency alerts, proven educational resources for families, trusted local journalism/storytelling, enriching cultural programs, local sports and music programs, and the national content you’ve come to rely on could be eliminated.

If Congress decides to defund public media, small rural stations across the country could be forced off-air entirely, leaving some areas without access to community information and life-saving emergency alerts.

Multiple studies, including a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, have concluded that there is no viable substitute for federal funding. If lost, the impact would be devastating. The stakes have never been higher.

Our partner, Protect My Public Media, is mobilizing public media supporters to safeguard public media’s future. It will take every supporter speaking up to protect the funding — only about $1.60 per person each year — that ensures public media remains available to everyone. With the House potentially acting soon, calling Congress now is more important than ever. Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org to make your voice heard before it’s too late.

To call your lawmaker, follow this link.

To send your lawmaker an email, follow this link.

As always, thank you for your support of WOUB Public Media.