House Committee OKs Advance Funds for Public Broadcasting

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education [Labor-HHS for those of you abbreviating at home] approved the Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations bill that provides funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a $430 million advance appropriation for FY 2011, as well as $40 million for digital conversion and $27 million for the public radio interconnection system for FY 2009. It also provides $24 million for the Department of Education-backed Ready To Learn programming project. The bill is expected to be marked up in the full committee next week. A Senate version could be marked up as early as next week, as well. "On behalf of the tens of millions of Americans who utilize public service media, we would like to thank Chairman Obey, Ranking Member Walsh and the other members of the Labor-HHS Subcommittee for the funding provided to CPB in this bill," said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. "The subcommittee had to make many difficult decisions in allocating resources given today's extraordinary budgetary pressures. We appreciate that the bill provides CPB with an advance appropriation, which affords public broadcasters a measure of certainty in their business planning, interconnection funding as well as an increase in funding for digital conversion, which will help public broadcasters tap the potential of digital technology."
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