Many New Mexico public broadcasting outlets, including several on tribal land, appear to be on the verge of facing major funding challenges.
Early this morning, the U.S. Senate passed $9 billion in federal spending cuts requested by Donald Trump, including deep reductions to public broadcasting and foreign aid.
The legislation now moves back to house for final approval before heading to the president’s desk.
The 51-48 vote came after 2 a.m. Thursday after Democrats sought to remove many of the proposed rescissions during 12 hours of amendment votes.
None of the Democratic amendments were adopted.
The legislation would claw back nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it’s due to receive during the next two budget years.
CPB distributes more than 70% of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming.
Many public radio stations in the U.S. receive about 50 percent of their funding from the CPB, including the broadcast outlet you’re listening to right now.
New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Lujan, who has been stumping against the recission measure throughout the Trump administration made public statements after his GOP colleagues voted for the bill.
On this ground-shifting day for public media, Lujan used his time to remind people of the ways in which ra dio stations reach people when all other communication systems go down in emergencies, such as during recent floods in the West.
" Think about those loved ones in Texas and New Mexico. People that depend on getting a radio signal, some kind of information to them," Lujan said.
"When cell phones are not working, mobile phones are out. You can't get a message from anyone else. But it's local AM radio or public broadcasting that are still able to carry a signal to warn you to get out of your home. It's almost time for you to move, get your stuff ready. You need to get out of there, something's coming."
It's absolutely disgusting. The cuts that are taking place right now.
