During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) debated Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) over amendments to protect public broadcasting funding.
00:00I ask that the further reading be dispensed with.
00:05Without objection.
00:06Mr. President, public broadcasting has educated and informed and inspired generations,
00:12teaching important lessons to people of all ages and sharing powerful stories,
00:18including of our nation's veterans.
00:21One story at a time, the StoryCorps of Military Voices initiatives
00:25uplifts the humanity and possibility in all of us.
00:28Each week on NPR, they share stories to over 12 million listeners.
00:34Then there is the PBS program Veterans Coming Home,
00:37focused on sharing the experiences of veterans as they enter civilian life.
00:42The American Homefront Project breaks down challenges facing our troops,
00:46making sure we have conversations about what support military personnel and veterans need from all of us.
00:53The stories of our heroes aren't partisan.
00:55They aren't political.
00:57These are trusted, nonpartisan, powerful initiatives sharing the real experiences of our veterans,
01:03their families, and our communities, and reminding the rest of us of the price of freedom.
01:08Yet this rescission package before us threatens to eliminate over a billion dollars in funding
01:13for public broadcasting, including these programs.
01:17That's why I move to recommit this bill and bring it back without these senseless cuts.
01:21We can't let the veterans' stories and the voices of those who sacrificed be erased.
01:29Senator from Missouri.
01:31Thank you, Mr. President.
01:32I rise in opposition to the motion that has been made by Senator Kim.
01:36Two quick points.
01:37The first is that this were actually to somehow pass.
01:41It would kill the bill because it would go beyond the July 18th deadline.
01:44Secondly, saying that defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will somehow prevent Americans
01:50from receiving veterans' educational program is patently false.
01:54Eliminating CBP doesn't do that, and it doesn't ban public stations from airing this kind of program.
02:00Of course they can.
02:01But what is true is that American taxpayers are tired of having to subsidize radical leftist programming.
02:09They hear every single day and every single week of every single month,
02:14or watch every single day or every single week of every single month on NPR and PBS.
02:19I urge my colleagues to vote no on this motion.
02:23Any questions on the motion?
02:26All in favor say aye.
02:29All opposed, no.
02:31No.
02:32The nose appears to have it.
02:34The nose do have it.
02:35The motion's not agreed.
02:35The motion's not agreed.
02:35The motion is agreed to.
02:41New Mexico.
02:41Mr. President, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
02:44The clerk report.
02:47The senator from New Mexico, Mr. Lujan, moves to recommit.
02:50Without objection.
02:53Mr. President, my motion is simple.
02:55Public Broadcasting Infrastructure funding should not be rescinded if it limits access
03:00to emergency alert systems and life-saving weather updates.
03:04Just last week, devastating floods across New Mexico claimed the lives of three people, including two children.
03:11Local radio was on the air issuing real-time warnings and helping people get to safety.
03:17Despite these horrible tragedies in New Mexico, Texas, and the Northeast, my Republican colleagues are prepared to gut public broadcasting funding.
03:26Public radio stations and local media are lifelines, especially in rural and tribal communities.
03:31They don't just play music or share stories.
03:34They deliver emergency alerts, evacuation notices, and life-saving updates when disaster strikes.
03:42And it's not just weather.
03:43These systems broadcast amber alerts when children go missing.
03:47Alerts where every second counts.
03:49Delays cost lives.
03:51Whether it's a flood, a fire, or a missing child, communities rely on these alerts to stay safe.
03:58Without funding and infrastructure, stations will collapse.
04:00One New Mexico broadcaster put it plainly.
04:03Senator's Times expired.
04:05If you give me a little more time, Mr. Chairman, I'll ask for a voice vote.
04:12Without objection.
04:14One New Mexico broadcaster put it plainly.
04:17Without sustained federal investment, tribal stations will be devastated and likely forced off.
04:21I encourage my colleagues to vote aye, and I ask for a voice vote.
