New House Speaker Ryan has track record of opposing funds for public broadcasting

Newly minted Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) has always been willing to hear from public broadcasters over the years, according to those who have worked with him, and has acknowledged the value of public broadcasting’s programming. But his belief that the government shouldn’t fund public broadcasting has been unwavering.

Budget talks are set to begin again under the increased spending limits, and public broadcasters will learn the fate of key funding issues, including appropriations for Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Ready To Learn and upgrades to public TV’s interconnection system. Speaker Ryan, however, has held the line in his opposition to public funding for public broadcasting. Speaker Ryan, who started in Congress in 1999, recommended zeroing out CPB funding in spending plans he created as chair of the House Budget Committee. A plan in 2014 recommended ending subsidies to CPB and the National Endowment for the Humanities as they could “no longer be justified.” Speaker Ryan also voted with the Republican majority on a 2011 bill to defund NPR and supported a 2007 amendment to zero out CPB funding. He also opposed a 2005 bill amendment to restore $100 million in funding to CPB.