00:00Mr. President, I rise today in strong opposition to the President's request that Congress take away money for public broadcasting and for our own security and foreign assistance that had already been passed and signed into law on a bipartisan basis with a Republican-led House, a Democratic-led Senate at the time,
00:24and worked out all the details. Yes, compromises, not a dirty word, made. And now look what's happening. And this clawback doesn't just eliminate funding for, say, NPR, PBS. The primary impact of that part of the funding cuts is going to be on local radio and TV.
00:491,500 local public media stations across the country that receive 70% of this funding, jeopardizing these stations that provide local community services. Stripping this funding is an attack on these local stations, yes, but it is the communities.
01:09I know because I know some of my communities that rely on these stations. Grand Marais, Minnesota, the very tip of our state, the tip of Minnesota.
01:21Do you think all these other stations are covering the Canadian wildfires hourly?
01:27They do because of the smoke and people need to know the air quality when they're making decisions about what they're going to do that day or the next day.
01:35Do you think people know when, on Highway 61, there's a tree over the road or there's been a deer that's been hit by a car?
01:44No, they hear it on WTIP. Or in Bemidji, Minnesota, which has had some really, really difficult storms lately that took down so many structures and houses.
01:57They are able to get the kind of news that they need on that station.
02:03Their newspaper is now, for the most part, online, and so they need these TV and radio stations that give them the information that they need.
02:13I've had several Republicans from my state write me, former state legislators, who are on the boards of these TVs.
02:21They also view it as a way of the local TV station in Austin, Minnesota.
02:26The former Republican leader in the state Senate is on the board.
02:31I visited with him recently when I was down there, and this is the place in Austin-Elbert Lee area near the Iowa border,
02:40where they're able to get their unique news that gathers people together, that brings them together.
02:46And then there's the emergency alerts.
02:49Earlier this month, we were tragically reminded of the importance of this.
02:53Texas, New Mexico, the fires in Arizona.
02:57We rely on this information in local communities to know what to do and what's safe.
03:03This isn't a partisan issue.
03:0577% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats report relying on public radio for emergency alerts and news.
03:13That's part of the reason why, for a half a century, we have agreed on a bipartisan basis in the U.S. Senate to invest in public broadcasting.
03:23Yet now, Congressional Republicans are using a partisan process to rubber stamp the president's unchecked power and rip away these resources,
03:33despite the fact that the American people support this on a two-to-one margin.
03:38I think about these stations in Duluth, in Granite Falls, in Austin, and every week, 20 million people across the country
03:48actually listen to radio programs that were started out of our local Minnesota public radio,
03:54maybe Prairie Home Companion.
03:56They're listening to some of those former broadcasts, and they make them smile,
04:00and they make seniors feel happy when they're alone in the assisted living.
04:03Or maybe Marketplace, that also started in my state, and they're able to get the facts.
04:09They're able to get news about what's happening with the economy and interesting stories.
04:15I think a constituent of mine said it best.
04:17Public media serves us in many ways.
04:19We live in the middle of the country.
04:21We only watch PBS and listen to public radio, which provides local news coverage,
04:26arts programs, and thoughtful discussions on a wide variety of topics,
04:30in their words, without loud argument or obnoxious advertising.
04:35It provides information on local disasters, such as we recently experienced here in Bemidji.
04:41That's where Paul Bunyan is from, or that's where the statue is.
04:45Because of the reporting done on that devastating event,
04:49we were able to learn what was happening to the people and how we could help.
04:54We must support these vital resources that give voice to important local issues.
05:00In addition, the reckless cuts to foreign aid.
05:04Foreign aid and development assistance play a critical role in promoting U.S. economic and national security
05:10by stabilizing volatile regions and decreasing the likelihood of U.S. troops being sent into battle.
05:17Helping our friends and allies, yes, it's the right thing to do,
05:20but it's also smart for us to do at home.
05:24I have, with Republican members of our congressional delegation in Minnesota,
05:30stood up together at press conferences to make sure we keep sending foreign aid,
05:35this is in the last five years, to Somalia,
05:38because we know the threat.
05:40If we just close our eyes to what are terrorist forces trying to go up in leadership
05:47and take over regions of these countries, we know what happens.
05:51But if we just turn our back, you're going to find out what does happen.
05:56And it's not pretty, and it is not good for the United States of America.
05:59And it's certainly not good in our back and forth that we have with China
06:05and China's continuing investment in other parts of the world,
06:10whether it is infrastructure in Africa or sending food to countries in need.
06:17This rescission would also weaken our global health programs.
06:20These programs not only show humanitarian leadership, they also keep us safe.
06:26You can't just put your head in the sand and hope that Ebola doesn't come your way,
06:31which we were able to at least limit its horrific spread by the work that we did overseas.
06:39Or bird flu, we've seen what happened there,
06:43or what's happening right now in the southern border with screwworm.
06:46We are having this debate as we are seeing the grave results of dismantling USAID.
06:54In the midst of an intensifying war in Ukraine,
06:57the rescission would also drastically cut funding from the account
07:01that provides economic assistance to our partners.
07:05You think about the president's work in the Mideast
07:08and the potential for extending the Abraham Accords
07:12and the potential for a peace deal there?
07:16Well, that is not going to be helped if we cut off the foreign aid
07:19to some of our only allies that are in the region, countries like Jordan.
07:26Foreign aid is about demonstrating leadership and compassion,
07:29but it is also about security.
07:33To conclude, as a daughter of a newspaperman,
07:36I know how important public media and the free press are
07:39to strengthening our democracy.
07:42Hacking away at public broadcasting and international aid
07:45is not just short-sighted, it's dangerous.
07:49These investments are relatively small in cost,
07:53yet immense in impact.
07:55They strengthen our country and strengthen our leadership.
07:59And we ask our colleagues on the other side of the aisle
08:02to look at what this means for our role in the world.
08:07We have three independent branches of government.
08:10We have a process that, just as Senator Murray is here,
08:14that Senator Collins and Senator Murray showed just last week,
08:17can be bipartisan, where we agree on budget amounts going forward.
08:21We have the power of the purse.
08:22We're Article I in the Constitution.
08:24And we better show our power instead of just being rolled
08:28and being members over there who are rubber-stamping this president.
