TOPICS
TOPICS
McCain rebuffed on PBS construction funds
With hopes of finishing the $64.9 billion fiscal 2010 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill fading Thursday, the Senate defeated, 64-33, an amendment offered by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would have eliminated $20 million in funding for the Public Telecommunications Facilities Planning and Construction program.
The program awards competitive grants that help public broadcasting stations, state and local governments, Indian tribes and nonprofit organizations bring educational and cultural programming to the public using telecommunications technologies.
The program received $20 million for fiscal 2009, but the White House recommended it receive no funding for the fiscal year. McCain argued that the funds are not needed because the job for which it was designed has been completed.
Senate Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., opposed the amendment because the program helps local public television station to modernize. "It also helps create jobs in communities," she added.
The Senate Appropriations Committee said in its report accompanying the bill that, "Over the years, this funding has been critical to helping stations maintain services by providing funds to stations in need of equipment replacements and upgrades."
"As radio stations across the nation face unprecedented financial hardship, now is not the time to propose the elimination of this program," it continued. "The Committee recognizes the overwhelming need the program fills for communities, and denies the administration's request to eliminate this program."
Mikulski also raised a point of order, which was sustained, against an amendment from Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., that would have required all legislative matters be available and fully scored by the Congressional Budget Office 72 hours before consideration by any subcommittee or committee of the Senate or on the floor of the Senate.
Mikulski said work on the bill would probably not conclude until next week.
COMMENTS
- Another alternative headline: McCain tries to block broadcast of Sesame Street. Sol Rosenberg Posted October 13, 2009 3:40 PM
- If you have concerns, either way, about the $20 million proposed for public broadcasting, take a look at the next article in today's GovExec. It says that the Defense policy bill "requires the Pentagon to justify sole-source contract awards in excess of $20 million." An interesting number. So, how many unjustifiable but slightly less than $20 million military contracts will there be? Jeanne Large Posted October 13, 2009 1:26 PM
- Practical context: The feds require all TV stations to adopt digital technology requiring PTV to spend $1.7 billion. PTV raises almost all of the money from private sources but that same federal government doesn't want to help the neediest stations to adopt digital technology with partial funds, most of which the local station will have to raise itself from its community's taxpayers looking for some literacy and quality kids programs. Those same feds are more than willing to spend hundreds of billions on weaponry and wars of desire. Uh-huh! Knowledge Able Posted October 9, 2009 5:05 PM
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