Final House vote rescinds $9 billion in funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid; cuts include rural media

After months of debate, the U.S. House and Senate voted to rescind $9 billion in public broadcasting and foreign aid funding that Congress had already approved. The 216-213 final vote passed the House early Friday morning. "It now goes to Trump for his signature," report Kevin Freking and Mary Clare Jalonick of The Associated Press. "The package cancels about $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and nearly $8 billion for a variety of foreign aid programs."

The vote "marked the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress," AP reports. "Some Republicans were uncomfortable with the cuts, yet supported them anyway, wary of crossing Trump or upsetting his agenda."

"The cuts are expected to weigh most heavily on smaller public media outlets away from big cities, and it’s likely some won’t survive," report Mark Thiessen and David Bauder of The Associated Press. "Katherine Maher, NPR’s president and CEO, estimated as many as 80 NPR stations may face closure in the next year."

Smaller media outlets often serve more remote areas in states such as Alaska, Mississippi and Maine, which have numerous rural communities that frequently lack access to reliable news and educational programming.

Mississippi Public Broadcasting has already begun making cuts. AP reports, "It decided to eliminate a streaming channel that airs children’s programming like 'Caillou' and 'Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood' to the state’s youngsters 24 hours a day, said Taiwo Gaynor, the system’s chief content officer."

The rescinded funds erase roughly $2.5 million from Maine's public media funding, but Maine Public hasn't announced any immediate cuts. "The system is preparing to reinvent itself to make certain it continues serving the state’s residents," Thiessen and Bauder write. "Maine’s rural residents rely heavily on public media for weather updates and disaster alerts."

 Earlier this week, KMXT in Kodiak Island, Alaska, kept its community up-to-date on tsunami 
warnings after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit some of Alaska's coastal islands. (NPR photo)

In Alaska, KMXT public radio station’s general manager, Jared Griffin, "called the Senate vote a 'devastating gut punch,'" Thiessen and Bauder add. "Griffin said the station’s board has already agreed on a plan to furlough staff members one day a month, and he’s taking a 50% pay cut."

Securing state support to fill funding holes isn't an option for many stations. AP reports, "At least five states have reduced their own outlays for public media this year, either for budget or political reasons."