Amodei Says Proposed CPB Funding Clawback Is Why He Voted No on Rescissions Package
Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada, a Congressional Public Broadcasting Caucus co-chairman, said Thursday he joined three other Republicans in voting against the 2025 Rescissions Act (HR-4) because of its language clawing back $1.1 billion of CPB's advance funding for FY 2026 and FY 2027 (see 2506090036). The lower chamber passed HR-4 214-212, largely along party lines apart from the four GOP defectors (see 2506120084). CPB, NPR, PBS and America’s Public Television Stations urged the Senate Thursday night not to agree to the House-passed cuts.
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Other House Republicans also raised concerns about cutting CPB funding but decided to vote for HR-4 anyway. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told reporters he “was reassured by House Republican leadership that PBS would receive funding for next year, and it would go to annual funding after that.”
Amodei argued that if “we do not have time to think about it, we sure as hell have time to talk about it before October 1st, when the impacts of these rescinded funds would start to be felt.” This “is forward funding, [so] before we trigger major consequences for our local public broadcasting stations throughout the West and other rural areas, we need more discussion -- rather than railroading folks over the East Coast’s editorials and indiscretions,” he said. Amodei and Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., the other Congressional Public Broadcasting Caucus co-chairman, publicly opposed defunding CPB earlier in the week (see 2506090036).
Having “the ability to discuss real impacts, beyond just the global perspective, is a healthy and necessary step,” Amodei said. “I’m sure we will be voting on this again before the cake is fully baked, so I look forward to working with my colleagues to improve and protect this infrastructure our rural communities rely on.”
HR-4’s proposed CPB defunding also faces skepticism from some Senate Republicans. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said last month that defunding would mean “a large portion of Alaska communities lose their local programming [and] warning systems for natural disasters, power outages, boil water advisories and other alerts.” Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chair Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., also raised questions about the proposal (see 2506050063).