Sen. Blackburn Introduces Bill Defunding NPR, PBS

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Wednesday introduced legislation that would stop federal taxpayer dollars from being sent to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

President Donald Trump and other Republicans have accused NPR and PBS of embracing left-wing ideology. Trump, in fact, last month signed an executive order that aimed to cut funding to both news outlets.

Blackburn’s bill, the Free Americans from Ideological Reporting (FAIR) Act, would codify Trump’s executive order by:

• Permanently barring the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) from directly funding NPR and PBS.
• Permanently barring CPB from indirectly funding NPR and PBS by ensuring that licensees and permittees of public radio and television stations, as well as any other recipients of CPB funds, do not use federal funds for NPR and PBS.
• Requiring the heads of all agencies to identify and terminate direct or indirect funding of NPR and PBS.

"For far too long, American taxpayers have been forced to foot the bill for NPR and PBS while they push left-wing propaganda,” Blackburn said in a statement. "The FAIR Act would cut off taxpayer funding to these partisan outlets, ensuring the American people aren’t forced to subsidize media that disparages conservatives and does the left’s bidding."

Last week, Republican Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Ted Cruz of Texas demanded transparency from the CPB over a $1.9 million grant awarded to NPR last year, citing concerns over editorial bias and accountability,

Last year, several House Republicans introduced legislation to prohibit federal funding for NPR following the suspension and resignation of an editor who revealed overt levels of partisanship in the company's newsroom.

Blackburn joined in calling for the severing of federal funding to the CPB, which gives NPR grants.

In March this year, NPR’s CEO Katherine Maher admitted to a congressional panel that the media outlet failed in its coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal.

Maher also admitted to having called Trump a "fascist" and a "deranged racist sociopath."

In her announcement about the bill, Blackburn pointed out that PBS released a movie called "Real Boy," about a transgender teen.

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