Title: To prohibit Federal funding of National Public Radio and the use of Federal funds to acquire radio content.
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
This bill prohibits federal funding to organizations incorporated to: (1) make radio programs available for broadcast over noncommercial educational radio broadcast stations, networks, and systems; (2) cooperate with foreign broadcasting systems and networks in international radio programming and broadcasting; (3) assist and support such noncommercial educational radio broadcasting pursuant to the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967; (4) pay dues to such organizations; or (5) acquire radio programs by or for the use of a public broadcast radio station.
The Communications Act of 1934 is amended to remove provisions that require the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to use a percentage of funds from the Public Broadcasting Fund to make grants for: (1) the production of public radio programs by independent producers and production entities and public telecommunications entities or by producers of national children's educational programming or programs addressing the needs and interests of minorities, or (2) the acquisition of such programs by public telecommunications entities. The bill also eliminates a requirement that a percentage of the amounts that the CPB distributes to public radio stations be used solely for acquiring or producing programming that is distributed nationally and is designed for a national audience.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 726 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 726

  To prohibit Federal funding of National Public Radio and the use of 
                Federal funds to acquire radio content.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 30, 2017

 Mr. Lamborn introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit Federal funding of National Public Radio and the use of 
                Federal funds to acquire radio content.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL FUNDING OF NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO AND 
              RADIO CONTENT ACQUISITION.

    (a) In General.--No Federal funds may be made available--
            (1) to an organization that is incorporated as of the date 
        of the enactment of this Act for each of the purposes described 
        in subsection (c), or to any successor organization;
            (2) for payment of dues to an organization described in 
        paragraph (1); or
            (3) for the acquisition of radio programs (including 
        programs to be distributed or disseminated over the Internet) 
        by or for the use of a radio broadcast station that is a public 
        broadcast station (as defined in section 397(6) of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 397(6))).
    (b) Rules of Construction.--
            (1) Other purposes.--Paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection 
        (a) shall not be construed to prohibit the making available of 
        Federal funds to any entity, including an entity that engages 
        in the payment described in such paragraph (2) or the 
        acquisition described in such paragraph (3), for purposes other 
        than such payment or acquisition.
            (2) Radio content acquisition by broadcasting board of 
        governors or defense media activity.--Subsection (a)(3) shall 
        not be construed to apply to the acquisition of radio programs 
        by the Broadcasting Board of Governors or the Defense Media 
        Activity.
    (c) Purposes Described.--The purposes described in this subsection 
are the following:
            (1) To propose, plan and develop, to acquire, purchase and 
        lease, to prepare, produce and record, and to distribute, 
        license and otherwise make available radio programs to be 
        broadcast over noncommercial educational radio broadcast 
        stations, networks and systems.
            (2) To engage in research study activities with respect to 
        noncommercial educational radio programming and broadcasting.
            (3) To lease, purchase, acquire and own, to order, have, 
        use and contract for, and to otherwise obtain, arrange for and 
        provide technical equipment and facilities for the production, 
        recording and distribution of radio programs for broadcast over 
        noncommercial educational radio stations, networks and systems.
            (4) To establish and maintain one or more service or 
        services for the production, duplication, promotion and 
        circulation of radio programs on tape, cassettes, records or 
        any other means or mechanism suitable for noncommercial 
        educational transmission and broadcast thereof.
            (5) To cooperate and participate with foreign broadcasting 
        systems and networks in all aspects of international radio 
        programming and broadcasting.
            (6) To develop, prepare and publish information, data, 
        reports and other materials in support of or relating to 
        noncommercial educational radio programming and broadcasting.
            (7) To otherwise forward and advance the development, 
        production, distribution and use of noncommercial educational 
        radio programs, materials and services, and to assist and 
        support noncommercial educational radio broadcasting pursuant 
        to the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, as it may from time to 
        time be amended.
    (d) Federal Funds Defined.--
            (1) In general.--In this section, the term ``Federal 
        funds'' means, with respect to receipt by a non-Federal entity 
        from the Federal Government, the following:
                    (A) Grants.
                    (B) Loans.
                    (C) Property.
                    (D) Cooperative agreements.
                    (E) Direct appropriations.
            (2) Grants or subgrants from non-federal entity.--Such term 
        also includes grants or subgrants from Federal funds made 
        available to a non-Federal entity.
    (e) Changes to Funding Formula.--Section 396(k)(3)(A) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 396(k)(3)(A)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (iii), by striking ``fiscal year'' and all 
        that follows and inserting ``fiscal year, such amounts shall be 
        available for distribution among the licensees and permittees 
        of public radio stations pursuant to paragraph (6)(B).''; and
            (2) in clause (v)(II), by striking ``clause (ii)(II) and 
        (III)'' and inserting ``clause (iii)''.
    (f) Conforming Amendments.--Section 396 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 396) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (g)(2)--
                    (A) in the matter before clause (i) of subparagraph 
                (B), by inserting ``(except for the acquisition of 
                radio programs)'' after ``public telecommunications 
                services''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``(except for 
                the acquisition of radio programs)'' after ``public 
                telecommunications services'';
            (2) in subsection (k)--
                    (A) in the 1st sentence of paragraph (3)(B)(i)--
                            (i) by striking ``and subparagraph 
                        (A)(iii)(II)''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``or radio'';
                    (B) in the 3rd sentence of paragraph (6)(B), by 
                striking ``paragraph (3)(A)(iii)(I)'' and inserting 
                ``paragraph (3)(A)(iii)''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (7)--
                            (i) by striking ``(iii)(I)'' and inserting 
                        ``(iii)''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``(except for the 
                        acquisition of radio programming)'' before the 
                        period at the end; and
            (3) in subsection (l)(4)--
                    (A) in the matter before clause (i) of subparagraph 
                (B), by striking ``(iii)(II)'' and inserting ``(iii)'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``subsection 
                (k)(3)(A)(iii)(III)'' and inserting ``subsection 
                (k)(3)(A)(iii)''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``subsection 
                (k)(3)(A) (ii)(III) or (iii)(II)'' and inserting 
                ``subsection (k)(3)(A)(ii)(II) or subsection 
                (k)(3)(A)(iii)''.
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