CARES Act

Thank you for contacting us with your concern about funding for CPB and the public media organizations it supports. We are grateful for the strong bipartisan support that public media receives from Congress, especially during these challenging times. The $75 million in emergency funds will quickly help public media -- especially our small and rural stations -- preserve their ability to provide essential information, including public safety alerts, and educational programming and services to the American people. Without the financial support from Congress and continued financial support from the public, many public broadcasting stations and the service they provide will be significantly at risk. Small and rural public media stations often serve as a vital resource during times of emergency, often operating as one of the only, and in some cases the single, source for news and information to unversed and underserved Americans. Further, with over 90 percent of Americans being told to stay at home, public media's services are a lifeline in every state to community resources, health and safety information, and the increased education needs of our nation's children whose schools are closed. Currently, Public media stations provide local reporting on how this pandemic affects local communities, relaying and rebroadcasting information from public health and emergency management officials and delivering innovative educational services to our nation's at-home students. We look forward to working with Congress in raising awareness of how the investment in public broadcasting pays vast dividends in education, public safety and civic leadership to millions of Americans and their families.