Republicans: Stop funding PBS and Nat'l Endowment for the Arts

[Abbey Normal]

Cut all PBS funding, Republicans urge
Last Updated Thu, 20 Oct 2005 1746 EDT
CBC Arts

There is a new call from Republican circles to pull all federal funding to PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts.

As the White House scrambles to find ways to pay for an expensive war in Iraq and the rebuilding of New Orleans, public broadcasting is once again being offered up as an expense the American public can possibly do without.

PBS television and radio receives $400 million US annually in federal support.

The Republican Study Committee, a conservative group within the caucus, recommended on Wednesday that it all be cut. The U.S. deficit for 2005 has been projected to hit $314 billion and another $200 billion might be necessary to rebuild New Orleans and other Katrina-hit areas.

The Republican group is seeking ways to cut spending by $102 billion this year. The National Endowment for the Arts, which subsidizes ballet companies, opera and the visual arts also is being targeted.

It hands out $125 million a year in government money and a growing number of Republicans are talking about killing it. One report says that the endowment often ends up funding artists who are doing work that is questionable in its value and appropriateness.

The endowment amended its funding policies over the past nine years to promote more traditional arts, after an earlier attempt to cut all its funding.

Congress overruled a proposal made by a House committee in June to cut all government funding to PBS over a four-year period. However, support for shows such as Sesame Street and Masterpiece Theatre has been reduced.

PBS is currently 85 per cent supported by other sources, mainly subscribers.

Republicans have criticized the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which operates PBS, for "liberal bias" in its programming. "Eliminating the federal share of CPB funding would free up $400 million this year," said Gov. Haley Barbour, a Mississippi Republican who needs to build schools in hurricane areas. "That is enough money to build 40 elementary schools."

A spending bill currently before the Congress and Senate is proposing cuts to programs for middle- and low-income people, including Medicaid and a plan to cover heating costs this winter.

Brad Woodhouse, spokesman for the Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities, a group that opposes budget cuts, said the effort has nothing to do with Katrina and everything to do with Republican efforts to salvage tax cuts enacted by President Bush

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/10/20/Arts/artscuts_051020.html?ref=rss

 

[dmp]

I'm fine with the idea.

 

[no1tovote4]

Uh-oh! Expect little kids with signs about Republicans trying to kill Big Bird!

 

[theim]

You know, for all the bitching liberals do about how "the government practically, like, owns the media and tells them what to say, man"; you would think that a Government-funded TV network wouldn't be high on their favorites list. God they are so damn confusing.

 

[Hagbard Celine]

You guys can joke all you want, but I love PBS. It has a lot of quality news as well as educational and entertainment programming. A lot better than what aires on other privately owned stations. Who doesn't like this old house or frontline or nova? It sucks that a public good like PBS has to suffer to pay for a war.

 

[insein]

You guys can joke all you want, but I love PBS. It has a lot of quality news as well as educational and entertainment programming. A lot better than what aires on other privately owned stations. Who doesn't like this old house or frontline or nova? It sucks that a public good like PBS has to suffer to pay for a war.

Ha! Sorry that last part cracked me up.

If its so damn good they you need not worry. IT will remain alive with "support from Viewers like You."

 

[Hobbit]

Ya see, this is what you get when you jump on the bandwagon of bashing the majority party into the ground. Biting the hand that feeds you, ya know?

 

[Hagbard Celine]

Ya see, this is what you get when you jump on the bandwagon of bashing the majority party into the ground. Biting the hand that feeds you, ya know?

Are you talking to me or someone else?

 

[The ClayTaurus]

Ya see, this is what you get when you jump on the bandwagon of bashing the majority party into the ground. Biting the hand that feeds you, ya know?

Why not change the voice of PBS instead of just obliterating it?

 

[no1tovote4]

Why not change the voice of PBS instead of just obliterating it?

Why assume that it should be the federal government that should fund it? You could get your city government to help fund it in your area if you feel government owned media so important.

 

[The ClayTaurus]

Why assume that it should be the federal government that should fund it? You could get your city government to help fund it in your area if you feel government owned media so important.

Good point; I was just referring to the insinuation that PBS is getting the axe because it doesn't agree with the current administration.

 

[Adam's Apple]

I'm fine with the idea.

Me too. If these programs are to be continued, funding should come from the private sector, not the government. If these programs have enough fan support to make private funding worthwhile, all I can say is more power to them.

 

[Mr. P]

Uh-oh! Expect little kids with signs about Republicans trying to kill Big Bird!

Ya know, this is a “between a rock and a hard place” for me.

First, I don’t think the Government should be funding PBS or the Arts.

Then again, I know that Big Bird & the street (and more) have probably done more for young kids than most first grade public school teachers ever have, and for far less cost.

 

[Annie]

But I don't believe the Republicans will lead the way, they can't even get together on something as simple and direct as this. Links at site:

October 20, 2005
Senator Coburn Issues a Statement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate tonight defeated an amendment by Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) by a vote of 15 to 82 that would have blocked funding for two extravagant projects in Alaska and directed $125 million from those projects to the repair of the Twin Spans Bridge over Lake Pontachartrain which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The Coburn amendment was offered to H.R. 3058, the Transportation, Treasury, HUD, Judiciary and District of Columbia Appropriations Act.

“The American people expect their elected officials to make sacrifices in a time of war, rising deficits, and disaster recovery. Unfortunately, many members of Congress are more committed to protecting a system that allows them to fund extravagant projects at the expense of the common good. Our refusal to prioritize spending and exercise restraint has created a rumble among the American people. Tonight’s vote will only cause that rumble to grow,” Dr. Coburn said.

The Coburn amendment would have blocked funding for a $223 million bridge to a town in Alaska with a population of 50 people. At $4.46 million per person, the cost of the bridge alone would be enough to buy every island resident their own personal Lear jet. The Coburn amendment also would have blocked funding for a $229 million bridge that would connect Anchorage, Alaska to hundreds of square miles of unpopulated wetlands.

The Coburn amendment would have then diverted $125 million in savings from those projects to repair the Interstate 10 Twin Spans Bridge in Louisiana, a 5.4 mile stretch of I-10 over Lake Pontchartrain which connects New Orleans with the city of Slidell. The Twin Spans serve as a major route into New Orleans for interstate commerce and working commuters.

Dr. Coburn offered another amendment to block funding for three special projects; $200,000 for an animal facility in Westerly, Rhode Island; $500,000 for a sculpture park in Seattle; and $950,000 for a parking facility for a private museum in Omaha, Nebraska. The Senate voted to table, or kill, the amendment by a vote of 13 to 86.

The Senate did accept three Coburn amendments. One amendment required that all earmarks be included in the bill’s conference report. This amendment helps lift the veil of secrecy that conceals the process of inserting special projects into appropriations bills. Similar amendments have been attached to the Agriculture, Military Construction and Department of Defense Appropriations bills.

Another amendment limits the amount HUD can spend on conferences to $3 million. Last year the Department spent $13.9 million on conferences.

The other Coburn amendment that was accepted requires the Community Development Block Grant Program run by HUD to cease violating a law that requires them report on their rate of improper payments.
Posted by Andrew Roth at October 20, 2005

 

[insein]

“The American people expect their elected officials to make sacrifices in a time of war, rising deficits, and disaster recovery. Unfortunately, many members of Congress are more committed to protecting a system that allows them to fund extravagant projects at the expense of the common good. Our refusal to prioritize spending and exercise restraint has created a rumble among the American people. Tonight’s vote will only cause that rumble to grow,” Dr. Coburn said

Couldnt agree with you more senator. Never heard of this guy before but he sounds like a sharp tack. Maybe other senators should listen to him if they want to be reelected in their Red states.

 

[LuvRPgrl]

Ya know, this is a “between a rock and a hard place” for me.

First, I don’t think the Government should be funding PBS or the Arts.

Then again, I know that Big Bird & the street (and more) have probably done more for young kids than most first grade public school teachers ever have, and for far less cost.

I feel quite confident that PBS makes a considerable sum off big bird and sesame street paraphanalia.

 

[Mr. P]

I feel quite confident that PBS makes a considerable sum off big bird and sesame street paraphanalia.

I'm sure they make something, no problem with that.

 

[Hobbit]

To clarify my earlier statement, I'm simply pointing out that if PBS had shown a little less...actually, make that a LOT less bias, maybe they would still be seen as a valuable public asset rather than just another of a dozen "Bash Bush" stations. Maybe then, they could keep their money.

 

[insein]

To clarify my earlier statement, I'm simply pointing out that if PBS had shown a little less...actually, make that a LOT less bias, maybe they would still be seen as a valuable public asset rather than just another of a dozen "Bash Bush" stations. Maybe then, they could keep their money.

I don't believe that. Why are we paying to fund a TV station that few people watch and for people to perform plays that no one would goto otherwise?

PBS could be the most pro conservative TV station in the land and i would still ask, why are we paying for it? If the station is that good to the people, then they can survive on commercial revenue. Sesame Street is a huge commodity and they would make billions in the commercial world. I just dont see how its "good for the people" to be paying for a public tv station when at least half the people dont like to watch that TV station.

As for the performing arts, bah. If you cant sell tickets to your crappy plays then tough luck. $200 million dollars for people to do a play when no one watches it is a complete waste of money.

This is a good start but congress needs to get more serious about cutting the fat.

 

[KarlMarx]

You guys can joke all you want, but I love PBS. It has a lot of quality news as well as educational and entertainment programming. A lot better than what aires on other privately owned stations. Who doesn't like this old house or frontline or nova? It sucks that a public good like PBS has to suffer to pay for a war.

Fine, if you like it so much, you ought to be willing to pay for it instead of expecting every taxpayer to foot the bill for you.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was a good idea when was first conceived, back in 1967 or so. Back then, there were the "big 3" networks, and cable television was little more than local stations from other cities.

That has all changed now. We have many educational and cultural channels (History Channel, The Learning Channel, The Science Channel, CSPAN, BBC America, A&E, the History International Channel....), the argument for a publicly funded network isn't as convincing today.

Besides, you are the first to complain about the budget and the enormous amount of fiscal spending when it is used to impugn Republicans, but the first to cry "foul" when the Republicans actually try to do something about the government's runaway spending!