Purpose, Benefits and Background

Purpose

An advance appropriation is one made to become available one fiscal year or more beyond the fiscal year for which the appropriation act is passed. For the past 25 years, decisions on the amount of Federal support for public broadcasting have been made 2 years ahead of the fiscal year in which the funding is allocated. In other words, Congress approves the FY 2004 funding level for CPB during the FY 2002 appropriations process.

Important Benefits

First Amendment Considerations. For the past 25 years, Congress has supported advance appropriations for CPB in order to help insulate CPB from politically motivated interference with programming. If funding for public broadcasting were on the regular appropriations cycle, it might encourage attempts to influence program content through current-year appropriations. With a two-year buffer in place, such influence is less likely to occur because funding for the next two years is already secured.

Leverage for Other Funds. Advance appropriations allows CPB and grant recipients to include projected Federal support in their budget-planning and program-acquisition processes two years before those budgets are implemented.

Lead Time. A third benefit derived from advance appropriations is that it provides lengthy lead time for production of major programming. Signature series such as The Civil War and Eyes on the Prize typically require several years to produce.

Historical Background

In 1975, recognizing the need to preserve the First Amendment rights of public broadcasters and the importance of long-range financing to the growth and development of public broadcasting, Congress began to explore methods to achieve these goals and satisfy the need for oversight of federal funds. The Ford Administration submitted a bill to Congress that would have provided 5-year advance authorization and appropriation cycles. Although this specific proposal was not passed, it led to the compromise authorization and appropriation cycle under which CPB currently operates. President Gerald Ford reasoned that advance appropriations for CPB:

…is a constructive approach to the sensitive relationship between Federal funding and freedom of expression. It would eliminate the scrutiny of programming that could be associated with the normal budgetary and appropriations processes of the Government.... I believe that it will assure the independence of noncommercial radio and television programming for our Nation; and, long-term Federal funding will add stability to the financing of public broadcasting which may enhance the quality of its programming. (Office of the White House Press Secretary, Statement by the President, February 13, 1975)

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees recognized the importance of advance appropriations for public broadcasting and, through a collaborative effort between authorizers and appropriators, enacted 2-year advance appropriations for CPB, beginning in 1976.

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