Anna Eshoo: “I come to the floor this evening to protest the elimination of funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).…”

“I come to the floor this evening to protest the elimination of funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The Republicans are proposing to eliminate CPB's federal funding going forward. Without these funds, local stations would have to reduce or eliminate such valuable public programming as Sesame Street, the NewsHour and NOVA. Every month, more than 170 million Americans experience the benefits of public broadcasting through 368 public television stations and 934 public radio stations, several of which are located in the Bay Area. One example is San Francisco's KQED, which attracts more than 841,000 television viewers each week. Employing 275 full-time staff members and providing locally produced news programming, KQED has an important economic and cultural impact on the Bay Area community. From theater and ballet to music, thoughtful public discourse, science an children's programming, the programming found on public broadcasting has set a world standard. Public broadcasting is the best definition of educational television--it enriches our sense of the world and educates us.”