Contact:
Tania Panczyk-Collins
202-654-4222
tpanczyk@apts.org

Congress Increases Much Needed Funds to Public Broadcasters

WASHINGTON—June 8, 2009—The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) is commending House appropriators for recommending continued congressional support for public broadcasting in the FY 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill.

“We applaud Chairman David Obey and members of the subcommittee for funding our programs at these levels, especially given the competing priorities with other domestic needs,” said APTS President and CEO John Lawson.

“After fighting off seven years of attempted cuts by the Bush Administration, it’s encouraging to see our funding numbers moving in the right direction. This sets the stage for not just the survival, but the actual expansion of non-commercial public service media in our country,” Lawson said.

In a markup yesterday, the appropriations subcommittee provided $420 million to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in FY 2010—this $20 million increase is the first increase in this critical line-item in four years. This advance funding plays an essential role in insulating programming decisions from political influence, as well as maximizing fundraising efforts and providing stations with the critical lead-in time to plan and produce high-quality programs. CPB will distribute most of this increase as critical support for the operations of local Public Television and Radio stations across the country.

In addition to the CPB General Appropriation, the subcommittee is providing level funding of $29.7 million in targeted support to assist stations in making the transition to digital. The federally-mandated February 17, 2009 switch to digital television is only one budget cycle away. This money will enable stations to create and deliver a new generation of digital content and services to the American public, including the American Archive project announced by APTS in February.

The subcommittee also provided level funding of $24.3 million for Ready To Learn, an innovative early learning partnership between PBS, local Public Television stations and the U.S. Department of Education. Award-winning Ready To Learn television programs include, DragonTales, Between the Lions and Sesame Street.

Finally, the subcommittee provided $10.9 million in level funding for Ready To Teach, a program that ensures teachers have access to educational services aimed at enhancing teacher performance, in turn raising student achievement.