Van Hollen Opposes Legislation to Defund NPR

Statement

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen issued the following statement on legislation to eliminate federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR):

"Today I stood in strong opposition to HR 1076, a bill to eliminate federal funding for NPR and prohibit local public radio stations from using federal funds to acquire programming content.

"National Public Radio provides 27 million Americans with access to high-quality, non-commercial programming every week. In many cases, NPR's network of 900 local public radio stations is the only way Americans can access this kind of news and information. For that reason, public opinion polls routinely show large majorities of Americans support federal funding for NPR -- and that breadth of support is consistently strong across the political spectrum.

"So what did we do here today? Create jobs? Exactly the opposite. Enactment of this bill would endanger 9,000 jobs at local public radio stations in communities across the country. Reduce the deficit? Hardly. CBO says this bill produces no savings. Honor the House Republican majority's commitment to 72 hours notice and transparent governance? This bill was introduced on Tuesday and is now being rushed to the floor 48 hours later without any hearings.

"This legislation won't create a single job. It doesn't reduce the deficit. The American people haven't asked for it, and they don't want it. And that is why I voted against this bill today."

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