PBS CEO Paula Kerger is sounding the alarm about the negative impact it would have if Congress pulled federal funding from public broadcasting as the White House moves forward with plans to cut taxpayer money from both PBS and NPR.
“The effort underway to get Congress to rescind public media funding would disrupt the essential service PBS and local member stations provide to the American people,” Kerger wrote in a statement on Tuesday shared with Fox News Digital.
“There’s nothing more American than PBS, and our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress. This public-private partnership allows us to help prepare millions of children for success in school and in life and also supports enriching and inspiring programs of the highest quality,” she continued. “Rescinding these funds would devastate PBS member stations and the essential role they play in communities, particularly smaller and rural stations who rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets. Without PBS member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.”
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Kerger added, “We are proud to highlight real issues, individuals, and places that would otherwise be ignored by commercial media. We look forward to demonstrating our value to Congress, as we have over the last 50 years, to maintain our pledge to the American people to keep our organization, and service, strong and vital.”
Kerger’s statement is in response to President Donald Trump‘s budget director Russ Vought drafting a memo asking GOP lawmakers to slash $1.1 billion that was allotted to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), as well as $8.3 billion that was allotted to USAID.
“Since day one, the Trump Administration has targeted waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spending through executive action, DOGE review, and other efforts by departments and agencies. Congress has expressed strong interest in supporting those efforts, and requested the Administration transmit rescissions to the Hill for swift approval,” Vought wrote in the memo.
The memo continued, “OMB recommends the Administration respond with two proposals to cut $9.3 billion. The first includes a rescission of $8.3 billion in wasteful foreign aid spending (out of $22 billion) that does not expire in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The second is a separate rescission of all Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) — which funds the politically biased public radio and public television system.”
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Trump has said he would love to see NPR and PBS funding quashed.
“They spend more money than any other network of its type ever conceived, so the kind of money that’s being wasted, and it’s a very biased view, you know that better than anybody. And I’d be honored to see it end,” Trump said last month.
Last month, Kerger of PBS and NPR CEO Katherine Maher testified before the DOGE subcommittee and were grilled about alleged biased content as Republicans called for their federal funding to be revoked.
PBS’ website states it receives funding in part from the CPB, which receives roughly $500 million a year approved by Congress, saying “CPB allocates the appropriation mostly to public television and radio stations, with some assigned to NPR and PBS to support national programming.”
“The News Hour receives about 35% of its annual funding/budget from CPB and PBS via national programming funds – a combination of CPB appropriation funds and annual programming dues paid to PBS by stations re-allocated to programs like ours. The remaining 65% is generated from individual donations, foundation grants and corporate sponsorships,” PBS states.
PBS also receives money through the PBS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a 509(a)(3) supporting organization that seeks “philanthropic gifts and grants” to fund the outlet.
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According to NPR, 38% of revenue comes from corporate sponsorships, 31% comes from “core and other programming fees,” 13% comes from “contributions of cash and financial assets,” 7% comes from “other revenues,” 5% comes from “PRSS contract, satellite interconnection and distribution,” another 5% comes from endowments and NPR foundation board-designed support and 1% comes from net return on investments.
NPR’s own site goes on to admit that “station programming fees comprise a significant portion of NPR’s largest source of revenue. The loss of federal funding would undermine the stations’ ability to pay NPR for programming, thereby weakening the institution.”
NPR’s finance page also insists the elimination of federal funding would result in less journalism.
So, while NPR publicly downplays its government funding, smaller stations that are funded by the government give cash to NPR. All of this occurs as NPR claims “federal funding is essential” while also pushing back on the notion that it is funded by the government.
