On the recordMarch 2, 2011
There is a lot of rhetoric one hears in the House about what the American public wants or what the American public thinks. Well, this week survey research came out commissioned by the Public Broadcasting System and conducted by a bipartisan survey research team from Hart Research and American Viewpoint that is powerful evidence that while Americans are concerned about the budget and budget deficits, public broadcasting is a higher priority. Support for public broadcasting transcends party affiliation. More than two-thirds of all voters oppose elimination of Federal funding for public broadcasting as approved by my Republican friends. What is most interesting, nearly eight in 10 voters believe that PBS should receive the same amount of government funding or more than it currently receives. It's not just Democrats. Ninety-two percent favor the same amount or more. It's not just Independents. Seventy-five percent favor the same amount or more. Two-thirds of Republicans favor the same or more money for public broadcasting. There's still time to climb off the ledge. The Senate should stand tall and the House should reverse itself.
