Over 100 Democratic lawmakers are pushing for Congress to restore $535 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the current federal budget. The two-year advance funding for public radio and television has been removed from the budget package by congressional Republicans, along with an additional $60 million for the public broadcasting interconnection system, which disseminates content across the public media system, including public safety and alerting messages.

In a letter sent to their House Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), 103 Democratic lawmakers say that without federal support, many local communities will lose the only reliable local news and educational content they have. And the situation is even more critical in remote and rural communities.

“In states such as Alaska, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Texas, rural public radio stations are often the only weekly or daily news source in their communities,” the House members wrote. “Even in places with other daily or weekly news sources, those outlets may not be directing resources toward original or locally based stories, leaving it to public stations to fill the gap.”

The House Democrats, led by Congressional Public Broadcasting Caucus Co-Chair Dan Goldman (NY-10), alongside Reps. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) and Doris Matsui (D-CA), also emphasize the role that the public broadcasting infrastructure plays in many states’ emergency response networks. They say between Jan. 1, 2023, and Jan. 1, 2024, nearly 8,500 Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) were issued by federal, state and local authorities and transmitted over the PBS Warning, Alert, and Response Network (PBS WARN) system.

And on the radio, NPR and the Public Radio Satellite System enable local public radio stations to issue text and image alerts, and other information to mobile phones, connected car smart dashboards, HD radios, and online streams. Lawmakers point out that public radio has been named as a resource in at least 20 states’ emergency plans.

“Without public media, the federal and state governments would have to decide between funding replacement emergency alerting systems or forgo ensuring that all residents have access to life-saving information,” they write. “For rural communities, large expanses and low population density would raise substantial financial barriers.”

The letter comes as the Trump administration continues to push for an end of federal dollars going to public radio and television. President Trump has formally asked Congress to rescind more than $1.1 billion in already-approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), with deeper cuts proposed for fiscal year 2026. The request, part of a proposed rescission package sent to Congress this week, would claw back $770 million from CPB’s FY2026 and FY2027 appropriations. The rescission request gives Congress 45 session days to act.

At the same, a legal fight is waging. NPR and three public radio stations — Aspen Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio and KSUT Public Radio, along with PBS, have filed lawsuits challenging President Trump’s May 1 Executive Order that would cut off all federal funding to the pubic media networks. They say it is a clear violation of First Amendment protections for freedoms of speech and of the press.

Republicans have publicly pushed for ending public media funding for years, but many privately have supported continued funding because it remains popular with many Americans. In a Pew survey released earlier this year, 43% think Congress should keep federal dollars rolling to NPR and PBS. That compares to 24% who say the time to end funding has come. The survey also found that even among Republicans, a majority weren’t ready to commit to ending funding.

View this article in Inside Radio.