House cuts to NPR funding likely to die in hands of Senate

WASHINGTON  The Republican-led House of Representatives voted Thursday to end taxpayer funding for National Public Radio, a week after its top fundraiser was caught on a hidden camera disparaging the conservative Tea Party movement and saying the network would be better off without federal money.

The measure passed the House 228-192, but it is unlikely to gain traction in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called NPR and its journalists "valuable resources to people of all ages across the country." The Obama administration released a statement Thursday saying it "strongly opposes" the bill.

The House proposal would ban federal funding to NPR and bar local stations from using federal money to buy programs, such as Morning Edition and Car Talk, from the national network. The bill also prohibits stations from using federal money to pay NPR dues.

NPR said it received $5.4 million in federal grants in fiscal year 2010, but its largest source of revenue comes from programming fees from local stations, $65 million that year.

The battle over NPR's future pits Democrats against conservative Republicans, who have expressed outrage over fundraising executive Ron Schiller's inflammatory comments caught on a secret video made by political activist James O'Keefe. Schiller and NPR's president, Vivian Schiller, who are not related, both resigned last week.

Thursday's vote fell largely along party lines, as seven Republicans voted "no."

Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said the network and its programming "veer far from what most Americans would like to see as far as the expenditure of their taxpayer dollars." Given skyrocketing federal debt, "it's time to prioritize," he said.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., said he opposed taxpayer funding for the organization long before the video sting. "NPR can survive on its own," he said.

Democrats, such as Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said the bill had one goal: punishing NPR.

California Rep. Anna Eshoo, the top Democrat on a House communications subcommittee, said the measure sped through the chamber this week with little scrutiny and could jeopardize 9,000 jobs nationwide. "I realize our nation faces threats," she said, "but Car Talk is hardly one of them."

In a statement, NPR officials called the bill a "direct effort to weaken public radio."

Joyce Slocum, NPR's interim CEO, said the network and local stations deliver in-depth news with civility "at a time when other news organizations are cutting back and the voices of pundits are drowning out fact-based reporting and thoughtful analysis."

The bill does not affect funding for public television. A separate funding bill that passed the House last month stripped money for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides grants to public radio and television. The Senate rejected it.