November 18th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today urged members of the House to vote in favor of a Republican motion to recommit on HR 1722, a motion which would eliminate federal funding for National Public Radio.
“National Public Radio is the first to claim that it receives less than 2 percent of its money from the federal government. So, by its own admission, NPR doesn’t need the money, so let’s cut it. The government has a $1.3 trillion budget deficit, and members of Congress have to find every bit of funding that can be cut,” Wilson said.
NPR requested $136 million for FY 2013.
In an exclusive interview with Americans for Limited Government, Representative Doug Lamborn, who authored the bill to defund NPR, blasted it over the firing of Juan Williams: “We see now with the Juan Williams fiasco that they’re not a neutral news organization. They have a left-leaning bias.”
Lamborn continued, “It could be out there in the private marketplace, and compete along with everyone else. Why should government be in the broadcasting business at all?”
Wilson agreed, saying, “NPR can finance itself via donations, or move toward a profit model if they choose, but taxpayers should not be obligated to pay for programming which does not treat all sides fairly.”
ALG launched a national petition drive recently to defund public broadcasting in the wake of National Public Radio’s firing of Juan Williams. The petition is at: www.defundpublicbroadcasting.org.
Background:
“Defund Public Broadcasting Once and For All,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, October 25th, 2010.
ALG Praises Boehner’s Call to Defund Public Broadcasting, October 22nd, 2010
“Where to cut, you ask?” Video by Frank McCaffrey on Doug Lamborn’s legislation, October 19th, 2010.
“The Bare Minimum,” by Rick Manning, ALG Communications Director, October 20th, 2010.
“Time to Stop Funding Luxuries, Like Public Broadcasting,” by Rebekah Rast, ALG News Contributing Editor, June 14th, 2010.
“Is Public Broadcasting Hurting the Arts?” by Robert Romano, ALG News Senior Editor, June 15th, 2010.
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
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