Communiqué
UPDATE: Friday July 11, 9:30 am – Trump threatens GOP Senators “Defund PBS & NPR or lose my support.” Senate action imminent.
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Friday, July 11, 9:30 am
Yesterday, President Trump took to his social media platform to address GOP Senators on the future of PBS and NPR:
Meanwhile, Senators are indicating that they will likely hold an initial procedural vote next Tuesday, July 15 on H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025. Passage of the procedural vote kicks off 10 hours of debate, which will lead to “vote-a-rama” — a series of votes on an undetermined number of amendments. Once they move through amendments, the Senate will hold a final vote on the package.
We urge you to continue calling your lawmakers to ask Senators to oppose the rescission bill or take public media out of the package. The nation is mere votes away from defunding local public media stations like WOUB, many of which will not remain in service without this federal support.
Use this link to contact your Senators.
Thank you for your ongoing support of WOUB Public Media.
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Update
Monday, July 7, 12:30 pm
The Senate returns from the July 4th recess, and there are now 11 days before the rescission proposal expires on July 18, 2025. This morning, reports indicated that the Senate intends to vote on the package next week, and that several Senators are considering amendments. If passed by a majority in amended form, the package would have to return to the House and be approved by another floor vote by 11:59pm ET on July 18 to take effect.
While we do not know the exact timing for next week, the next 11 days are critical for communicating to the Senate how this rescission will harm WOUB and our community, and to ask Senators to oppose rescission or take public media out of the package. You can send your Senator a message now at this link.
If the package passes in an amended form, we’ll need to pivot quickly to communicating the impacts of any amendments to the public media rescission to the House.
As always – we thank you for your support of WOUB Public Media.
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Update
Tuesday, July 1, 3:00 pm
Earlier today, the Senate passed the reconciliation package by a vote of 51-50. This package contains President Trump’s signature legislative priorities including more funding for border control and defense in addition to several tax cuts and changes to entitlement programs.
Because significant changes were made from the House-passed legislation, the bill now moves back to the House for its consideration. It appears increasingly likely the House will end their recess early and reconvene tomorrow. The President has set a goal of trying to complete the legislation by July 4th.
Should the reconciliation package be signed into law later this week, it is likely the Senate will move quickly to take up the rescissions package after July 4th.
Under the law, Congress has a deadline to act on the package by Friday, July 18 before it loses its special privilege of Senate passage by a simple majority.
If these cuts go through, local public television and radio stations across the country and the communities they serve – some of the last locally operated media organizations in our country – could face devastating consequences. Federal funding enables stations to reach nearly every American household, regardless of income or geography, with life-saving emergency alerts, local journalism, research-backed educational content for children, and countless community resources for teachers, students and jobseekers.
This week, we’re making sure our Senators hear loud and clear: Americans depend on public media and support the federal funding that makes their work possible. Next week, we shift into even higher gear as we enter the final two-week window to influence this legislation. As soon as the Senate reconvenes, we’ll need you to call your Senators and help ensure public media stays in the picture. You can send your message now.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. If federal funding is rescinded, people across the country could immediately lose access to essential services – especially in rural and Native American communities – which face the greatest risk of losing their local stations and access to local media altogether.
Thank you for standing with your stations when it matters most. We’re nearing the final stretch of this fight, and we thank you for doing your part.
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Update
Friday, June 27, 1:00 pm
Congress has until July 18 to pass the rescissions package, and the Senate could take it up as early as July 7. The Senate has an anticipated recess next week (June 30-July 4).
During Wednesday’s Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the rescission proposal, Members on both sides of the dais raised concerns about its impact on their public media stations, particularly those serving rural communities, and on their life-saving emergency alerting services.
Appropriations Committee Chair Senator Susan Collins did not indicate how the rescission proposal will proceed. Following the hearing, it was reported that she intends to put forward a substitute package with significant changes. We are monitoring this process closely and will keep you updated should a substitution be introduced.
If it’s changed in the Senate, this proposal would need to go back to the House for consideration.
Again, please make sure you have signed up for Protect My Public Media (here) to receive the latest updates and alerts.
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Update
Thursday, June 26, 4:30 pm
The June 25 Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the rescission proposal sought to delve deeply into the details and highlighted important constitutional concerns with the Congressional authority required to pass appropriations, as well as the Senate rules around that process. During the nearly three-hour-long hearing, Members on both sides of the dais raised concerns about the impact of rescission on their public media stations, particularly those serving rural communities, and the impact on emergency alerting services.
OMB Director Russell Vought intimated that other federal support may be able to fund emergency alerting needs or rural or tribal stations, but offered no specifics or plans as to how that support would be provided if rescission passes. WOUB remains of the opinion that there is no substitute for federal funding for public media. We encourage you to do the same.
Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Susan Collins offered no insight during the hearing on the path forward for the rescission proposal in the Senate, but was reported to say after the hearing that she intends to put forward a substitute amendment with significant changes.
We still anticipate the rescissions package to arrive on the Senate floor after the July 4th recess, but that is subject to change.
Please make sure you have signed up for Protect My Public Media (here) to receive the latest updates and alerts.
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We recommend the following roadmap of action for the next few weeks. Please note, this is subject to change if the Senate cancels its recess and proceeds directly to rescission, or if the package is amended. Next week, please engage your Senators through your community events or with a direct meeting in the state to help them understand the impact of rescission on the state. You can also speak with your Boards, community leaders and station supporters, and ask them to speak with the Senate to urge opposition. This week is also a good opportunity for local op-eds and forums to highlight the importance of public media in the state. If the Senate moves toward a vote on the bill after the July 4th recess, we expect to call again for broad public support.
Update
Wednesday, June 25, 7:10 pm
***Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Reporter Scott Neuman with reporting from NPR Congressional Correspondent Deirdre Walsh. It was edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editors Gerry Holmes and Vickie Walton-James. Under NPR’s protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly. (Full NPR story here.)
The vast majority of the $9.4 billion in cuts requested by the White House are to foreign aid programs addressing global public health, international disaster assistance and hunger relief.
But the package also includes a cut of nearly $1.1 billion in funding for 2026 and 2027 for CPB. The private nonprofit sends most of that money to local public television and radio stations across the country. PBS receives about 15% of its annual revenue through CPB, while NPR gets about 1% directly. Indirectly, NPR also receives some of the money going to member stations, who pay the network to air its programs.
The rescissions measure narrowly passed the House earlier this month, 214 to 212, with two key Republican lawmakers switching their votes from “no” to “yes” at the last minute to get it over the finish line. The House held a hearing earlier this year at which many Republicans accused PBS and NPR of being woke and biased against conservative viewpoints.
On Wednesday, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the panel’s top Democrat, questioned the legality of the White House’s request. Under the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, both chambers of Congress must approve such a request by a simple majority within 45 days of its submission—in this case, by July 18.
The cuts to CPB would “rip away funding that supports over 1500 local public TV and radio stations,” Murray said.
“Rural communities will be the hardest hit, not to mention our kids,” she said, adding that the cuts threaten “free, high-quality programming that is thoughtfully developed to get our kids thinking and to grow their curiosity.”
NPR in a statement said: “There is no substitute for the direct support and nationwide infrastructure and services funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that enable these noncommercial stations to serve their communities.” In a statement after the House vote this month, PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said: “Our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress, support we have earned by providing services that cannot be replaced by commercial media.”
With Democrats united against the bill, the White House can afford to lose no more than three Republican votes. Yet, several Republicans on the committee voiced doubts about the choice before them. (*WOUB note: this also happened in the House prior to Republican’s flipping their vote.)
Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell voiced concern over cutting foreign aid programs. He noted that “at a very low cost” the U.S. had “built some pretty good relationships, particularly in countries in the Middle East that certainly wouldn’t be described as democratic.”
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Update
Wednesday, June 25, 12:10 pm
An additional panel has been added to the hearing that includes The Honorable Eric S. Schmitt (R) Missouri and The Honorable Brian E. Schatz (D) Hawai’i. As we mentioned before, this hearing is intended to be an opportunity for Senators to familiarize themselves with and debate what is in the package.
The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold the hearing today starting at 2:30pm ET to debate and discuss H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025 – the Senate version of the package that passed the House.
You can watch the meeting online here.
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Update
Wednesday, June 25, 10:00 am
Today, June 25, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on a rescissions package that proposes taking back $1.1 billion in already-approved public media funding.
Several Senators have already raised serious concerns about the impact of these cuts. This is a critical moment to make sure your Senator hears directly from you, demonstrating just how much this service matters and increasing pressure to reconsider this harmful proposal.
Many across WOUB’s service area have asked how they can support us following the House’s passage of a rescissions package that would devastate public media as we know it.
Please consider calling your Senators to voice your support for Public Media and WOUB. Protect My Public Media has made it very easy to contact offices. Click here to call. We strongly encourage you to call. Emails may not be read in time. If calling isn’t possible, please send an email today via this link.
Today’s Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to begin at 2:30 pm ET. You can watch the meeting online here.
As always, we appreciate you and thank you for your support of WOUB Public Media and Public Media across the country.
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Update
Monday, June 23, 2:00 pm
Just a reminder that the The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday, June 25, at 2:30 pm ET on H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, which eliminates funding for The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
The members of The Senate Appropriations Committee can be found here.
As of this time, June 25 is a hearing; not a mark-up. If a mark-up is scheduled, it would likely be placed on another date with time for Appropriations Members to submit amendments. Alternatively, if the package is discharged to the floor (skipping a Committee vote), leadership may determine whether amendments will be considered on the floor. We do not have clarity yet on how the Senate intends to proceed after this June 25 hearing.
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Update
Wednesday, June 18, 5:30 pm
The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing next Wednesday, June 25, at 2:30 pm ET on H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025 – the package that passed the House last week.
It has been reported that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Chair of the Appropriations Committee, deferred to leadership as to whether a mark-up will occur in a subsequent hearing, in which amendments could be offered. The June 25 hearing is intended to be an opportunity for Senators to understand and debate what is in the package. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought is slated to testify.
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Update
Sunday, June 15, 10:00 pm
PBS released the following statement after the House of Representatives voted to claw back federal funding already appropriated to the public media system.
“The fight to protect public media does not end with this vote, and we will continue to make the case for our essential service in the days and weeks to come. If these cuts are finalized by the Senate, it will have a devastating impact on PBS and local member stations, particularly smaller and rural stations that rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets. Without PBS and local member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.
“Our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress, support we have earned by providing services that cannot be replaced by commercial media.
“During this process we have heard from millions of people from across the country who rely on PBS and local member stations for information and educational media that can’t be found anywhere else, and we know that the American people will continue to stand up in support of our work as we turn our attention to the Senate.”
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Update:
Thursday, June 12, 9:00 pm
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Despite hundreds of thousands of calls and emails from viewers and listeners like you, the House has passed a rescissions package that would claw back $1.1 billion in previously approved public media funding, starting in just a few months with FY26. This isn’t the outcome we hoped for, but the strength of our network’s opposition has been nothing short of remarkable. Through every challenge, you’ve stood up for WOUB Public Media and the essential services we provide. We are profoundly grateful for your continued support. Now we turn to the Senate – our last chance to stop these devastating cuts. The bill only needs 50 votes to become law. That means fewer barriers, faster action, and greater risk to WOUB and Public Media stations across the country. The Senate has the power to stop this, but only if we raise our voices, loudly and clearly, once again. We don’t yet know exactly when the Senate will take up the measure, but they have until July 18. When they consider the measure, swift action will be critical. We’ll share next steps as soon as we know more. If you want to make your voice heard now, you can send an email to your Senators. |
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Thank you for every action you’ve taken and for continuing to fight for a service that opens doors for children, informs and enriches the lives of Americans, and keeps our communities safe. Public media matters to Americans. And together, we’re proving just how much. |
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Update:
Thursday, June 12, 4:12 pm
WOUB and the millions of America’s who use and rely on Public Media across the country came up short this afternoon as only four Republicans joined all Democrats in attempting to defeat the proposed rescission package. The bill will now be sent to the Senate. The deadline for passage in the Senate is July 18, 2025 for the rescission to take effect.
Kate Riley, President and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, made the following statement on the U.S. House of Representatives vote to approve a rescissions package defunding public media funding:
“America’s Public Television Stations are deeply disappointed that the House voted to completely defund the local public television stations throughout this country that provide exceptional lifesaving public safety services, proven educational services and community connections to their communities every day for free. The vast majority of these devastating cuts will be borne by local public media stations and the communities that rely on them — many of which have no other access to locally controlled media.
“Federal funding is essential to ensuring that all Americans have universal access to the exceptional public services that local stations provide regardless of zip code or income level. This includes the over 160 locally operated and controlled public television stations that serve communities small and large throughout this country. All of this will be in jeopardy if the rescissions package passes the Senate.
“This destructive rescission of Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding – the substantial majority of which goes to local stations – will result in immediate and serious cuts of stations’ local services and in some cases the total closure of stations, particularly in rural communities. Public broadcasting is a lifeline in hundreds of communities where there is no other source of local media.
“Rescinding previously appropriated federal funding for public broadcasting defies the will of the American people and threatens to devastate the public safety, educational and local service missions of public media stations – services that the American public values, trusts and relies on every day.
“The federal investment in public media enables us to provide the delivery of geo-targeted wireless emergency alerts to cell phones, and the only nationwide situational awareness tool used by public safety officials to track and monitor the effectiveness of those alerts.
“We support families in preparing their kids for success in school and life with free, universally accessible, proven educational content, including for the over 50 percent of U.S. kids that don’t attend formal preschool. These are services that American families rely upon every day. In fact, according to a recent YouGov survey, 82% of voters, including 72% of Trump voters, said they valued PBS for its children’s programming and educational tools.
“And we connect communities, celebrating their hometown heroes and local history, while coming together to address present day issues and charting a course for a bright future.
“These services are essential for the American people and worthy of the federal investment, which amounts to about $1.60 per person per year and less than one 1/100th of a percent of the federal budget.
“Federal funding for public media is irreplaceable and essential to local public media stations and the existence of the public media system as a whole.
“Public media has earned the broad support of the American people, across the political spectrum, including 65% of people who voted for President Trump who think public television is either adequately funded or underfunded, according to a recent YouGov survey.
“America’s Public Television Stations now look to the U.S. Senate to reflect the clear will of the American people and the long history of bipartisan support for our work, and continue the federal investment in local public television stations’ essential missions of public safety, education and community connections.”
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Update:
Thursday, June 12, 2:30 pm
Debate on the H.R. 4 package has begun in the House. You can view the proceedings via the House website.
We still expect the vote to begin around 3:15pm ET.
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Update:
Thursday, June 12, 12;45 pm
The House vote on the rescission proposal that would claw back public media funding is officially scheduled to take place this afternoon, at around 3 p.m. ET.
Yesterday, Politico reported that three Republican House members – Representatives Malliotakis (NY-11), Valadao (CA-22), and Bacon (NE-02) – have joined Public Broadcasting Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Amodei (NV-02) in opposing the bill. While this is an encouraging development, House leadership is expected to continue pressuring all members to support the package – including those who have expressed opposition. That’s why continued outreach remains essential.
Only a simple majority is required for the bill to pass. If it clears the House, it will move to the Senate for consideration.
With only hours remaining, this is the final window to mobilize calls to the House – especially to Members who have expressed concern about this proposal or may still be undecided.
To call your lawmaker, follow this link.
To send your lawmaker an email, follow this link.
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Update:
Wednesday, June 11, 8:50 pm
The House will hold the vote on H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, tomorrow, Thursday June 12, around 3:15pm ET to pass or reject the bill that rescinds $1.1 billion in funds previously approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The House will vote up or down with both public media and PEPFAR included in the package.
After that vote, if it passes, the bill 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.
Tomorrow is scheduled to be the last day of votes before the House departs for a week-long recess. Votes could potentially run later if more time is needed to wrap up all business.
As a reminder — if you have not already communicated to your lawmaker what the impact of rescission would be to your community, please do so immediately so that they can understand how their vote will affect you 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.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
To call your lawmaker, follow this link.
To send your lawmaker an email, follow this link.
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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 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.
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.