Why Stopping NPR Funding Doesn’t Save One Taxpayer Penny

The government funds the Corporation for Pubic Broadcasting, an entity that decides where the the money goes. If it is prohibited from giving the money NPR, it will go to other producers; but the amount of taxpayer dollars allocated will be the same.  Congressman Justin Amish of Michigan voted “present” for the NPR vote, and he explains why to Greta Van Susteren. (via Think Progress).

The federal government does not subsidize NPR directly. Instead, the government funds the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a government entity, which has discretion to provide funding to whichever private radio producers it chooses. H R 1076 does not actually save taxpayer dollars; it merely blocks CPB from exercising its discretion to send funding to NPR. The funds CPB does not send to NPR under the bill are returned to CPB to be spent subsidizing other private radio producers. I offered an amendment in the Rules Committee to require that any funds not sent to NPR be redirected to pay down the deficit, but the amendment was ruled out of order. Therefore, public broadcasting will not see any reduction in federal funding even if this bill becomes law.

This is all about conservatives not understanding NPR, or even how it’s funded. Or if they understand how it’s funded, they are knee-jerking on the false belief that NPR is about promoting liberalism. They are ostensibly doing something in the name of the taxpayer, when all they are really doing is playing a political game to satisfy their base.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.