Legislation to bar federal funds from being spent on National Public Radio passed in the House of Representatives on Thursday, although its ultimate prospects of becoming policy looked doubtful.
HB 1076 was approved by a 228 to 192 vote after morning and afternoon debate sessions.
The move follows recent controversies involving NPR's executives, and other Republican efforts to defund or limit federal spending on public broadcasting.
The House bill put NPR specifically in its crosshairs, with Republicans citing fiscal responsibility as a key motivation.
"It's called tightening the belt," Majority leader Eric Cantor said on the floor. "It's time to reflect the common sense of the American people."
Under the bill, affiliate stations could not use federal funds to pay for NPR-produced programs or to pay member dues.
Republicans said it would save up to $60 million annually. About two percent of NPR's budget comes from the federal government.
Democrats argued the bill was a thinly veiled ideological attack that does not save money but threatens 27 million weekly listeners' content.
Public broadcasting has long been criticized by conservatives and many Republicans as leaning left. Most recently critics have pointed to a video sting operation that showed then NPR senior vice president for fundraising Ron Schiller disparaging the conservative Tea Party movement.
If anyone thinks this is really about the $60 million, you probably should listen to more NPR, you might learn something. The bill has no chance in the Senate, but it sure gives the GOP a nice, sedentary punching bag to whale on for a while, mainly because it fulfills the secondary aim of any GOP action, It Pisses Off Liberals(tm).
Likewise, NPR has been pretty adamant about admitting to its listeners that it's under attack and that they need listener support and hey, Democrats are getting in on the act too.
House Democrats are fundraising off their Republican counterparts' push to take away federal funding from NPR, accusing the GOP of overreaching.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) circulated a fundraising e-mail to supporters Wednesday in response to the House GOP's decision to hold a vote Thursday to derive public radio of taxpayer funds.
"First, they tried to restrict access to reproductive health care. Then, they proposed catastrophic cuts to teachers, nurses, and researchers," reads the appeal from DCCC Chairman Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.). "Now the Republicans want to control the news."Democrats are looking to turn the tables on Republicans, who renewed their campaign to strip NPR of federal funding after they took control of the House.
Of course this plan only works if people hear about it, which I'm at least trying to help with. Still, it's a smart move by the DCCC and let's face it, I actually think NPR's enjoying the attention. Certainly I'm betting their fundraising is up right now, so no doubt long term this is a win-win-win for NPR, the GOP, and the Dems. Anthony Weiner did remind the House that the GOP's pledge to not "shove bills down America's throat" and allow 72 hours for debate doesn't mean a damn thing when it comes to scoring cheap political points as the bill still had 24 hours on the clock to go when House Republicans broke yet another promise.
Then again that will not be the case in a couple weeks when the GOP almost certainly decides to attach this defunding measure to the budget bill and dares to shut down the government over NPR. And I'm fully betting that the Democrats will throw the tote bag under the bus when that happens, along with pretty much the entire middle class.
And yes, all this is happening despite the fact that the whole James O'Keefe sting video was a badly edited pile of crap. The Village says it's relevant, so it's now on public record as "the truth" that NPR hates flyover country and anyone who doesn't have a MENSA IQ, so Real Americans will now punish them.
The GOP goalposts have now been moved to eliminate NPR, period...just like abortions, gay marriage, and brown people.
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