KVNF's Senior Reporter Lisa Young spoke with U.S Senator John Hickenlooper on threat to remove funding for public media. The interview took place on Tuesday, July 15.
Senator Hickenlooper noted that over $1 billion dollars could be removed from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Congress already approved the funding for the private, nonprofit agency for the next two fiscal years.
He said the de-funding would decimate the federal support for public broadcasting that is vital for rural Americans.
" I look at the types of, of rural communities that are dependent on public broadcasting to get their news, to get emergency alerts, you know, floods or wildfires, those types of communities are the most vulnerable. This is a big part of their of their funding. It's not just 5 or 6 or 7%. It can be 20% or 30%. That's really putting us in harm's way," said the Colorado lawmaker.
For more on the proposed cuts here's the latest from NPR : Will Congress cut funds to NPR/PBS and foreign aid this week?
