The Patriot Post® · America Should Defund NPR. These Bills Will Do It.

By Ben Johnson

Last week, the House of Representatives saw to it that NPR and PBS’s decades-long stream of anti-Christian, pro-transgender, and anti-life broadcasts finally got some static. The House DOGE subcommittee hearing greatly increased public awareness of the government-funded liberal propaganda outlets and the need to stop financing them at the expense Americans in the productive economy, most of whom demur from NPR’s niche political views. Even President Donald Trump said he would “love” to defund public media. Members of Congress have introduced numerous bills that would relieve overburdened taxpayers and further restrict the Left’s flow of public monies to their political supporters.

“Taxpayers should never be forced to pay a single penny for programs that alienate and attack the majority of Americans,” said Subcommittee Chair Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). In her closing remarks, Greene threw down the challenge to public broadcasting executives: If they want to produce biased journalism, they “can support it through your own money, through private donations.” From now on, “you all can hate us on your own dime.”

“There is no viable excuse for the blatant bias and radical misinformation that NPR and PBS have peddled on behalf of American taxpayers,” Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), whose withering cross-examination of NPR CEO Katherine Maher went viral, told The Washington Stand on Friday. “We must use every device at our disposal, including the House reconciliation bill, to withdraw every penny of federal funding from these left-wing propaganda machines.”

President Trump called on Congress to pass legislation allowing NPR and PBS to “be DEFUNDED by Congress, IMMEDIATELY. Republicans, don’t miss this opportunity to rid our Country of this giant SCAM, both being arms of the Radical Left Democrat Party.” 

The Left has dug in its heels against losing another revenue stream. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), an inveterate supporter of transgender activism and foe of pro-life advocates’ rights, called NPR and PBS “invaluable sources” of “cultural programming.” 

At the hearing, Ed Ulman of Alaska Public Media, said public media are like our daily bread: “We are more than nice to have. We are essential.” Public Broadcasting Service CEO Paula Kerger went further, insisting, “There is nothing more American than PBS” (which did not exist until America had nearly turned 192 years old).

3 Reasons to Defund NPR/PBS

Clearly, NPR and PBS do not contain the essence of the United States (which both outlets largely condemn as systemically racist, sexist, and transphobic). Taxpayer-funded TV and radio programs’ decisions to promote drag queens to toddlers, mock Jesus Christ, and wish death upon Clarence Thomas and (FRC’s own) Lt. General (Ret.) Jerry Boykin could not be further from the American mainstream. But public broadcasting would deserve to be defunded regardless of its content.

First, media entanglement with federal funds produces poor-quality journalism. Dependent on the federal government for its operating expenses, reporters inevitably skew their coverage to favor those in power. Rather than watchdogs who hold the government accountable, taxpayer-funded media tend to bark like trained seals at the government’s command.

Second, all government programs must be evaluated in light of our nation’s $36 trillion national debt. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the parent of NPR and PBS, received $535 million from the federal government in the most recent budget ?“ or more than $15 billion since 1969. While NPR minimizes its federal footprint, like Planned Parenthood’s long-discredited contention that abortion only constitutes 3% of its activities, this ignores budgetary realities. In truth, NPR gets 31% of its funding by charging local NPR affiliates fees to carry its nationally syndicated programming. The system assures that federal funding intended for local use flows back to NPR central in Washington. In its more truthful moments, NPR admits, "Federal funding is essential to public radio’s service to the American public and its continuation … including NPR.” (Emphasis in original.)

Maher rather uproariously responded to these concerns by trying to tell Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) that NPR and PBS are as important to senior citizens as Social Security. But few believe the bell-bottom-era technology deserves more funding. “Because of technology today, I don’t think there’s room for public radio anymore. And I think you’ve abused the privilege that you have with receiving public funds” by presenting “disinformation on some huge topics,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) told the CEOs.

Finally, public radio and television, like so many federal programs, are unconstitutional. The written testimony of the Heritage Foundation’s Mike Gonzalez quoted Thomas Jefferson: “To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagations of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.” Until the U.S. Constitution is formally repealed or replaced, it remains the highest law in the land. And nothing in the delegated powers of Article I, Section 8 authorize the federal government to operate media outlets. That alone would justify the agency’s abolition.

Current Legislation to Defund or Abolish Public Radio and Television

Pervasive public media bias, as well as their lack of constitutionality, has spurred conservatives to defund or abolish the NPR/PBS/CPB since its establishment with the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. The late Rep. Phil Crane, an Illinois Republican who once chaired the American Conservative Union and sought the 1980 presidential nomination, led taxpayer-protection efforts in the 1990s. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) confirmed on Fox News last December he, too, would “love” to defund CPB.

Experts pleaded with Congress to eliminate the unnecessary and unconstitutional agency for good. “I urge you not to try to mend public broadcasting. End it,” testified Gonzalez at Wednesday’s hearings.

In their attempts to codify President Donald Trump’s executive orders into law, Republican lawmakers have introduced four bills that would curtail Americans’ compulsory funding of biased public media sources. They are:

1. The No Partisan Radio and Partisan Broadcasting Services Act, or the NPR and PBS Act, (H.R. 2443) introduced by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) on March 27, states that “no [f]ederal funds may, directly or indirectly, be made available to or used to support” NPR, PBS, or “any successor organization.” These publicly funded outlets now serve up “the same radical-left propaganda as any other fake news outlet,” said Jackson. The bill currently has 12 cosponsors. “As my DOGE subcommittee hearing showed, these taxpayer-funded PR arms of the Democrat Party don’t deserve the American people’s hard-earned money. NPR and PBS hate President Trump, his supporters, and the majority of Americans who sent us a mandate in 2024.” noted one of its cosponsors, Taylor Greene.

2. Defund NPR Act (H.R. 1216/S. 746), introduced by Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.), essentially mirrors this bill with one proviso: It requires the CPB to return massive amounts of federal funding to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the national debt. “For fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shall transfer to the account established by section 3113(d) of title 31, United States Code, an amount equal to the sum of the amounts allocated,” it says. “As a former newspaper owner and publisher, I understand the vital role of balanced, non-partisan media,” said Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), who introduced the House companion bill. “Under the influence of radical left-wing ideologues like Katherine Maher, PBS, and NPR no longer uphold the American principles of free thought and open discourse. Taxpayer dollars should not fund political propaganda disguised as journalism.”

3. No More Funding for NPR Act of 2025 (H.R.1146), introduced by Rep. Dale Strong (R-Ala.) in February, mirrors the NPR and PBS Act but applies only to National Public Radio. The bill rescinds all unexpended federal funds and allows NPR stations to receive federal funds intended to broadcast “urgent information necessary to protect public safety or if FEMA is "actively engaged in disaster response activities.” It presently has one cosponsor. “It is past time for Congress to stop subsidizing media that undermines the values and beliefs of everyday Americans,” said Rep. Strong. (Rep. Kat Cammack introduced a similar measure, H.R. 1595, which includes confirming amendments. Her legislation has no cosponsors.)

4. The No Propaganda Act (H.R. 1211/S. 519), reintroducedby Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) and Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), would end taxpayer subsidies to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The short act states, “No Federal funds may be made available to the Corporation on or after the date of enactment of the No Propaganda Act,” and any unspent funds are rescinded. As of this writing, the Senate bill has no cosponsors and the House version has one: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.).

Senator Kennedy clearly took this author’s reasons for NPR’s abolition to heart. “We all know what public radio and public TV are like today. They’re very diverse: They run from slightly communist to very communist,” told Newsmax host Chris Salcedo the afternoon of the hearings. “They’re entitled to their point of view, but why does government, why do taxpayers have to pay for it? And I’d say the same thing if they weren’t communists, if they were to the Right. I just don’t think we have the money to waste anymore. We never did. It’s been going on a long time. … I don’t want taxpayer money to subsidize any form of media.”

“We couldn’t stop it under President Biden, but we’re going to stop it under President Trump,” Senator Kennedy predicted.

As the hearings showed, any one of these bills more than merits passage.

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.