The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Federal Funding and Issues
Released: 2017-07-03T00:00:00

Background

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was incorporated in 1967 as a private nonprofit corporation under the authority of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 (P.L. 90-129). CPB funding promotes public television and radio stations and their programs. These CPB-funded stations reach virtually every household in the United States. CPB is the largest single source of funding for public television and radio programming.

Most CPB-funded television programs are distributed through the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), created in 1969 by CPB. CPB-funded radio programs are distributed primarily through National Public Radio (NPR), created in 1970 by CPB. Both PBS and NPR are private, not-for-profit corporations.

The number of radio and television public broadcasting stations supported by CPB increased from 270 in 1969 to 1,495 in 2016, of which 364 are television stations. Public broadcasting stations are run by universities, nonprofit community associations, state government agencies, and local school boards, all of which are licensed by the FCC.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

CPB is a nonprofit private corporation and is guided by a nine-member board of directors. These directors are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The directors serve for staggered six-year terms. The current chairman is Lori Gilbert, reappointed by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in August 2013. CPB's principal function is to receive and distribute the federal appropriation in accordance with the Public Broadcasting Act, supporting qualified public radio and television stations and funding national content. Seventy percent of the federal appropriation is used to provide Community Service Grants (or CSGs) to stations that meet specified eligibility criteria. CPB exercises minimum control of program content and other activities of local stations, and is prohibited from owning or operating any of the primary facilities used in broadcasting. In addition, it may not produce, disseminate, or schedule programs. The current president and CEO of CPB is Patricia de Stacy Harrison, appointed by the board of directors in June 2005.

Approximately 15% of public television and 10% of radio broadcasting funding comes from the federal appropriations that CPB distributes. However, among individual public broadcasting stations, the amount of federal dollars that contributes to a station's annual budget depends on the funds it receives from nonfederal sources; the number and extent of broadcast transmitters required to service its coverage area; the extent to which a station is serving rural areas and minority audiences; and whether or not it is a television or radio station.

While federal funding for CPB primarily comes from the Departments of Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bill as a separate entry under the "Related Agencies" section of that bill, it may receive other sources of funding from the federal government. For example, on September 8, 2015, CPB and PBS received a five-year Ready to Learn (RTL) grant from the Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement, which supports the development of educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children. According to the CPB, for the last year data are available, the RTL grant was funded for FY2016 at $25.741 million. The CPB received approximately $18 million, and Twin Cities Public Television received the rest of the grant. Under RTL, CPB receives the grant money and then partners with PBS for RTL content production.

Public Television: PBS

PBS was created by CPB in 1969 to operate and manage a nationwide (now satellite) program distribution system interconnecting all the local public television stations, and to provide a distribution channel for national programs to those public television stations. Although PBS does not produce programs for its members, it aggregates funding for the creation and acquisition of programs by and for the stations, and distributes programs through its satellite distribution system. Paula Kerger became the sixth and current president and CEO of PBS in March 2006.

Public Radio: NPR

For radio, a different division of responsibilities was established. CPB created National Public Radio (NPR) in 1970 as a news-gathering, production, and program-distribution company governed by its member public radio stations. Unlike its public television counterpart, NPR is authorized to produce radio programs for its members as well as to provide, acquire, and distribute radio programming through its satellite program distribution system. NPR Inc., located in Washington, DC, provides these administrative operations. On July 2014, Jarl Mohn became the current president and CEO of NPR.

After the firing of Juan Williams, a news analyst for NPR, in October 2010, NPR Inc. announced that its board of directors had accepted several recommendations to provide greater clarity and transparency for its code of ethics regarding NPR employees. These include reviewing and updating of policies and training with respect to the role of NPR journalists appearing on other media outlets, reviewing and defining their roles (including those of news analysts) in a changing news environment, and encouraging a broad range of viewpoints to reflect the diversity of NPR's national audiences. At the same time these recommendations were announced, Ellen Weiss, vice president of news for NPR, resigned; it was also announced that Vivian Schiller, then president and chief executive at NPR, would not receive a bonus for 2010. On March 9, 2011, Ms. Schiller resigned, over continued scrutiny and criticism over NPR's handling of an incident regarding Ronald Schiller (no relation) in a taped interview. These incidents brought intense scrutiny to NPR from public policymakers.

NPR currently employs 828 people, and has an operating budget of $193 million. There are 1,076 stations broadcasting NPR programming; of these 116 are non-NPR members. Approximately 42 million people listen to NPR stations weekly; 3.7 million users download NPR podcasts weekly.

Federal Funding

The Obama Administration requested a $445 million appropriation for CPB submitted in its FY2017 budget request. The vehicle that is used to provide appropriations to CPB is the Departments of Labor-Health and Human Services-Education bill. On June 9, 2016, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 29-1, S.Rept. 114-274 , the FY2017 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill. Among its provisions is $445 million for CPB in 2019. On May 5, 2017, President Trump signed P.L. 115-31 , the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, which maintained FY2017 funding for CPB through the rest of the fiscal year. On May 23, 2017, the Trump Administration released its FY2018 budget request. It calls for the elimination of federal funding for CPB for FY2018 and beyond; however, $30 million is requested for the orderly closeout of federal funding for CPB in FY2018. (For funding levels, see Table 1 .)

From the last year of available information, the U.S. public broadcasting system—comprised of the national public radio and television stations—reported total revenue of $3.05 billion in FY2015. According to CPB, for public broadcasting revenue by source, CPB funds made up 14.6% of the total; another 1.2% came from federal grants and contracts. The remaining 84.3% was raised from nonfederal sources (including individuals, businesses, foundations, state and local governments, and educational institutions). The largest single income source (31.0% in FY2015) came from membership.

Federal appropriations which go through CPB to the individual public radio and television stations generally are designated as unrestricted federal funds. CPB distributed $69.31 million in FY2014 funding to public radio stations that qualify for its Community Service Grant program. However, member stations also pay NPR fees for content and programming; some contend that federal grant money is supporting part of the revenue streams back to NPR Inc.

A history of CPB appropriations is presented in Table 1 . Additional information on both NPR and PBS funding may be obtained at their respective websites ( http://www.npr.org and http://www.pbs.org , respectively).

Legislative History: 111th-114th Congresses

There was significant legislative interest and activity regarding federal funding for CPB from the end of the 111 th Congress through the 112 th Congress. During the 111 th Congress, Representative Lamborn (CO) introduced H.R. 5538 , a bill that would have eliminated federal funding for CPB after FY2012. This bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. During the "lame duck" period of the 111 th Congress in November 2010, Representative Lamborn sought to have his bill considered for floor action in the House, but this action was defeated by a vote of 239-171. In response, Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR) defended public broadcasting by stating that "National Public Radio is one of the few areas where the American public can actually get balanced information."

On January 5, 2011, Representative Lamborn introduced H.R. 68 (To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit Federal funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting after FY2013) and H.R. 69 (To prohibit Federal funding of certain public radio programming, to provide for the transfer of certain public debt, and for other purposes). The first bill, like its predecessor H.R. 5538 , would have eliminated federal appropriations for CPB when its two-year advanced funding ends. The second bill would have prohibited federal funding to organizations incorporated for specified purposes related to (1) broadcasting, transmitting, and programming over noncommercial educational radio broadcast stations, networks, and systems; (2) cooperating with foreign broadcasting systems and networks in international radio programming and broadcasting; (3) assisting and supporting such noncommercial educational radio broadcasting pursuant to the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967; or (4) acquiring radio programs from such organizations. In effect, it would have prohibited any individual public radio station from using federal funding to engage in transactions with NPR Inc. Both bills were referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

On January 11, 2011, NPR Inc. responded to the two bills by stating, in part: "The proposal to prohibit public radio stations from using CPB grants to purchase NPR programming interjects federal authority into local station program decision-making. Furthermore, restrictions on the authority of CPB—a Congressionally chartered, independent, nonprofit organization—to make competitive grants to NPR, or any other public broadcasting entity, is misguided."

Other legislation was introduced addressing federal support for public broadcasting. On January 7, 2011, Representative Kevin Brady introduced H.R. 235 (Cut Unsustainable and Top-Heavy Spending Act of 2011 or the CUTS ACT), which provided that all unobligated balances held by the CPB that consist of federal funds be rescinded and no federal funds appropriated hereinafter shall be obligated or expended.

On January 24, 2011, Representative Jim Jordan introduced H.R. 408 (Spending Reduction Act of 2011), which would have reduced federal spending by $2.5 trillion through FY2021 in part by eliminating the CPB.

On March 15, 2011, Representative Lamborn introduced H.R. 1076 , a bill to prohibit the funding of National Public Radio and restrict the use of federal funds for member stations to acquire NPR broadcasting content. The House Rules Committee passed H.Res. 174 , which permitted H.R. 1076 to go directly to the floor and, without any points of order or amendments, be open to one hour of debate before a full vote in the House of Representatives. H.R. 1076 passed the House 228-192, and was referred to the Senate. No further action was taken on this bill.

Other proposals in the 112 th Congress addressed federal funding for public broadcasting. On January 20, 2011, the Republican Study Group, a conservative caucus comprised of 100 Members of Congress, released its list of proposed budget cuts, including elimination of CPB's appropriations starting in FY2012. At the same time, Representative Ryan (WI), the chairman of the House Committee on the Budget for the 112 th Congress, proposed a new continuing resolution that would have set the rest of the FY2011 budget at FY2008 levels (excluding defense, homeland security, and veterans' programs).

In the 113 th Congress, several bills were introduced addressing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting System, and issues related to these institutions and their funding. H.R. 2597 , a bill To Prohibit Federal Funding of National Public Radio and the Use of Federal Funds to Acquire Radio Content (Lamborn), was introduced on July 5, 2013, and was referred to the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the Energy and Commerce Committee. As the title indicates, this bill would have eliminated all direct federal funding for NPR as well as federal funding to sell or acquire NPR-based programming content. H.R. 2647 , the Emergency Information Improvement Act of 2013 (Higgins), was introduced on July 10, 2013, and referred to the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Committee on Public Buildings and Emergency Management. The bill would have revised disaster relief law to include public broadcasting facilities, among other provisions. On July 11, 2013, S. 1284 , the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014 (Harkin), was introduced and placed on the Senate Legislative calendar. In this bill, the congressional request for CPB in FY2016—the forward two-year appropriation—was $45 million. This bill was incorporated into H.R. 3547 , the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, and signed into law on January 17, 2014 ( P.L. 113-76 ).

Legislative History: 115th Congresses

FY2019 appropriations for CPB were addressed in both the House and Senate FY2017 Labor-HHS-Education bills ( S. 3040 , H.R. 5926 ); both the House and the Senate approved a $445 million funding level for CPB. However, there is a Continuing Resolution for FY2017, P.L. 114-254 , which was signed into law by President Obama on December 9, 2016. The Trump Administration has requested zero funding for CPB in FY2018.

On January 30, 2017, Representative Lamborn introduced H.R. 726 (A Bill To Prohibit Federal Funding of National Public Radio and the Use of Federal Funds to Acquire Radio Content) and H.R. 727 (To Amend the Communications Act of 1934 to Prohibit Federal Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting After Fiscal Year 2019). Both bills were referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on Communications and Technology .

Issues

In an age of multiple cable channel options, digital radio, and computerized digital streaming, some ask whether there is a need for federal appropriations to support public broadcasting. The array of commercial all-news radio and radio talk shows, many of which are also streamed on the Internet, provides various sources of news and opinion. Supporters of public broadcasting argue that public radio and television broadcasters, free of commercial interruption, provide perhaps the last bastion of balanced and objective information, news, children's education, and entertainment in an era of a changing media landscape. Still others contend that public broadcasting has lost much of its early impact since the media choices have grown so much over the last several decades and that the federal role in public broadcasting should be reevaluated as well.

Supporters of public broadcasting contend that public radio and public television provide education and news to many underserved parts of the American population. Public broadcasters may provide this service to an underserved and less commercially attractive population that commercial broadcasters do not address. For example, PBS broadcasting for children includes lessons in reading, counting, and spelling, subjects not normally found on commercial broadcasts. According to NPR Inc., approximately 90% of public radio stations provide local newscasts, airing both newscast and non-newscast content (primarily in weekday drive times and especially during morning drive time). About half of all public radio stations carry local news during the weekends, says NPR, and 74% of stations are producing and inserting stories into their programming.

On June 20, 2012, the CPB released a report, Alternative Sources of Funding for Public Broadcasting Stations. The report was undertaken in response to language in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012 directing the CPB to provide a report to congressional appropriations committees on alternative sources of federal funding for public broadcasting stations. ( H.R. 2055 , P.L. 112-74 ). The report, undertaken by the consulting firm of Booz & Company, provides several alternative or new funding options for public broadcasting stations, with possible benefits as well as liabilities for each option. Five options considered by Booz & Company are television advertising, radio advertising, retransmission consent fees, paid digital subscriptions, and digital game publishing. In addition, 14 current sources of revenue streams already employed by public broadcasting, ranging from merchandise licensing to mobile device applications, were also analyzed as options to replace federal funding for public broadcasting. Booz & Company found "there is simply no substitute for the federal investment" in public broadcasting and that "Ending federal funding for public broadcasting would severely diminish, if not destroy, public broadcasting service in the United States." The report concludes that if the existing public broadcasting structure were commercialized, the new revenue streams would not offset the loss of federal funding, and that many public broadcasters would have to deviate from their statutory service mission or compete for advertising with established commercial broadcasters in a difficult economic environment.

Still, some critics contend that the report substantiates criticisms of the public broadcasting model: required to compete with commercial television and radio broadcasters that also provide news and entertainment, many public broadcasters could not adapt to a changing media world that provides multiple sources of information and entertainment. For these critics, if many public broadcasters struggle to operate with budget deficits even with federal funding available, what does that say about the need and viability of these stations in a multimedia world, or the ability of their audiences to sustain this business model going forward?

Several important issues are facing congressional policymakers as they address federal appropriations for all forms of public broadcasting. On the most fundamental level, many question the 1967 law that created the national public broadcasting system and whether the federal government should be in the "business" of providing general appropriations to CPB every year since 1969. They ask: is this still a relevant and appropriate role of the federal government? On a second level, some may contend that in an era of spiraling federal deficits, in which many (if not all) federal expenditures are being reexamined, appropriations for CPB should be reduced if not eliminated. Underlying this position are concerns that the federal role, once so clear in 1967, has been eclipsed in a multimedia Internet age; concerns that the size and scope of the federal government budget deficit requires significant cutbacks in many areas; and allegations that public broadcasting is not objective, balanced, or free of an ideological slant.

These questions revolve around whether federal funding for public broadcasting should be continued at its current level; whether the funding should be modified or reduced; whether the arrangement between the federal funding process and public broadcasting should be changed; or whether federal funding for public broadcasting should be eliminated.

Public broadcasting retains its strong supporters. Most federal appropriations go through CPB to directly support member stations of NPR, PBS, and other independent affiliates. Since, according to NPR, federal funding to supplement administrative functions amounts to less than 2% of its annual budget, some may question whether such a small amount is worthy of congressional action to eliminate federal funding. As indicated in Table 1 , CPB has consistently received increasing federal appropriations since 1969. Some would contend that this demonstrates a general consensus among congressional policymakers that there is a federal role in public broadcasting. In addition, public support of public radio and television broadcasting generally has been consistent as well. Supporters of a public broadcasting network system contend that local programming content is not determined by NPR Inc., or PBS, and that most content is local, serving community needs. Balanced against concerns about the role of the federal government in public broadcasting, as well as strong pressure to reduce federal spending, these issues will likely continue to be of interest to federal policymakers.