On the recordMarch 17, 2011
I thank the gentlelady. I want to make five basic points. Number one, there are no savings to the taxpayer in this bill. It simply passes on higher costs and fewer choices to local stations. Second, it is not going to stop NPR, which will go on in New York and Los Angeles and even Portland, Oregon. What it will cripple is what happens in smaller local stations around the country who rely on NPR and other public broadcasting entities for their content. My good friend from Tennessee just went through all the steps that are necessary to produce local content. That is complex and it is expensive. That is why they voluntarily buy ``Morning Edition'' or ``Prairie Home Companion'' or ``Car Talk.'' NPR never said it didn't need the money. They are relying on a discredited video that was exposed by Glenn Beck's Web site, of all places. Our friends should talk to the thousands of volunteers at home who rely upon public broadcasting resources to provide the content that Americans love. Reject this travesty.
