The Appropriations Committees in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, which decide how much money federal programs receive each year, just passed their Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bills, and the Senate bill and House bill both include public media funding.

This is a huge win for public radio and television stations nationwide. Federal funding for public media hasn’t been included in the House of Representatives’ bill for five years. The fact that funding is provided in both bills puts public media in a very good position as the appropriations process moves forward.

Today’s victory belongs to you. As we’ve said before, protecting federal funding for your public radio and television stations is a process. It doesn’t happen with one action. It happens with many strategic actions throughout the year. Because you’ve contacted your lawmakers during every step of the Appropriations process, we were able to claim this major triumph.

Next, the full House and Senate may vote on these spending bills. We’re going to keep an eye on this process to make sure public media funding isn’t threatened. If any threats arise, we’ll need you to stand up in support of the local stations and programs you love.

In the meantime, please take a moment to thank Congress for supporting public media funding by signing our Thank You card. As we all know, a simple thank you goes a long way.

Also, please direct your public media loving friends and family to do the same.

Thank you for being an indispensable part of our campaign to protect public media funding. Together, we can ensure the strength of our stations.