The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and cut billions from foreign aid programs.
Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins of Maine were the only Republicans who voted no.
Before the bill passed, Murkowski offered an amendment to try to preserve grants to local stations. She read her colleagues a text she’d received from the general manager of KUCB in Unalaska after Wednesday’s 7.3 magnitude earthquake. When the tsunami sirens sounded in Unalaska, the loudspeakers directed people to tune into the local radio station, the text said, and Murkowski relayed that KUCB kept the community updated on air and social media, until the all-clear.
“They say, ‘This is the work that we do to keep Unalaska safe,’ And it’s only possible with federal funding,” Murkowski said, as the debate stretched into the wee hours of Thursday. “Mr. President, I have an amendment that protects public media.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., argued that public media doesn’t play a vital role in disasters.
“I know that’s a scary situation in Alaska, but the good news is FEMA money will be there for these sort of alerts,” he said.
Murkowski’s effort failed by a vote of 51 to 47.
Sen. Dan Sullivan voted against the public media amendment and helped Republican leaders pass the $9 billion rescission package that’s a high priority for President Trump.
The bill goes next to the House, which has to vote to approve the Senate changes. The bill expires if not passed by Friday night.
Editor’s note: Alaska Public Media receives funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. No Alaska Public Media executives outside the newsroom reviewed this story before publication.
