WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives took a critical step today to partially restore funding for the public broadcasting system voting (284-140) for an amendment to the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (LHHS) Appropriations bill. Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), the ranking member on the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, has been leading the effort to protect public broadcasting.

“The children and families from across America, sent a clear message to Congress today: Don’t mess with Clifford the Big Red Dog,” said Rep. Markey. “We took a critical step today to restore some funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, we need to make sure that the critical, quality programming provided by public broadcasting does not get hijacked by a Republican Administration that is out of touch with the American people.”

Although the House vote to restore funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the fiscal year 2006, which will provide assistance to over 1,000 local stations across the country, no funding was restored for the Ready to Learn program or for digital facilities and interconnection services for the public broadcasting stations. The Ready to Learn program, which supports children's programming for children ages 2 to 8 years of age to prepare them for school and literacy, remains unfunded in the House approved measure.

Moreover, the public broadcasting system remains embroiled in partisan controversy in its management. Today, Patricia S. Harrison, former Republican Party co-chair, was named as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Rep. Markey is urging the CPB to reconsider nominating a partisan to this non-partisan post and is soliciting support from members of the House of Representatives to join him in calling for the resignation of CPB Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson.

“This vote is an important victory but certainly no the end of our fight to protect public broadcasting,” Rep. Markey said. “Public broadcasting does not belong to any political party – it belongs to the people of the United States who, according to recent polling, find it to be one of the “most valuable” institutions in America.”

For more information Representative Markey’s work to preserve children’s television check out http://www.house.gov/markey/ a copy of the letter is below.

Rep. Markey letter to CPB, June 23, 2005  iss_telecom_ltr050622.pdf (181.39 KB)