The Senate approved a Fiscal Year 2019 spending package that includes funding for public media.

The bill provides funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Interconnection and Ready To Learn.

This is an important milestone in our effort to protect federal funding this year. Thanks to the ongoing outreach of viewers and listeners, we were able to take another positive step forward in the annual funding process.

What happens next?

In September, we anticipate that the House of Representatives will debate its bill that determines public media funding levels. The House bill currently includes public media funding, so we will be closely monitoring the consideration process and any proposed amendments to ensure funding is preserved.

Congress has until September 30, 2018 to approve the bills fund the government in the new fiscal year. If all the bills are not signed into law by that date, Congress must pass a short term funding measure while they come to a final agreement on spending levels.

Future Congressional Outreach

We will be closely monitoring the movement of the House spending bill and we will let you know if we need you to raise your voice again.

In the meantime, we encourage you to sign up for Protect My Public Media action alerts. The campaign will send out an action alert if there are any challenges to funding.

Thank you for taking a stand for the local stations and programs you love.