Restore Funding for Public Broadcasting

RESTORE FUNDING FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING -- (House of Representatives - June 23, 2005)

(Mr. MEEKS of New York asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to urge the House to restore full funding for public broadcasting. The Republican House appropriators' unwise decision to cut funding totaling 45 percent is offensive to the millions of Americans who rely on PBS for news and information. Parents depend on PBS to provide their children with wholesome programming that is educational and free of charge. But not only children benefit from PBS. Their programs and services also educate adults and engage people in the sciences, history and arts; and inform viewers and listeners of local and world events. As a result, PBS programming helps Americans engage as literate citizens of their respective communities.

The Republican Party who preaches about family values and morality is turning its back on millions of Americans who seek decent, wholesome programming free from the smut and violence that has infested the airwaves. Only the GOP would assassinate Big Bird, Elmo and Barney with one vicious swipe of their mean-spirited, budget-cutting sword.

It is time that my friends on the other side of the aisle match their values rhetoric with their actions and restore full funding for our families by giving PBS the Federal moneys it justly deserves.

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