House Votes To Cut NPR's Federal Funds

The House of Representatives just voted 228-192 to bar NPR from receiving any more federal funds. It was a partisan vote, with Republicans voting "aye" and Democrats voting "nay."

As NPR's Audie Cornish reported earlier:

"Two percent of NPR's revenue comes through competitive grants from federal agencies — in the commerce and education departments, for example. But [NPR] member station fees make up another 40 percent of revenue. And the House bill would bar stations from using any federal funds for NPR. "Republicans on the House Rules Committee said the move to defund the organization this week was sparked by the controversial and edited videos of NPR executives speaking disparagingly of conservatives, and saying NPR did not need federal funding."

As for what happens next, The National Journal says that "Republican efforts to cut off federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR are unlikely to advance past the House, as both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the White House are weighing in with their opposition."

Politico does some play-by-play of the lively debate on the House floor.

Update at 3:45 p.m. ET. Breaking Down The Vote:

No Democrats voted in favor of cutting the funds — all 228 "aye" votes were from Republicans. Seven Republicans voted against the cut. See the roll call here.

Update at 4:25 p.m. ET. The One "Present" Vote Explains His Thinking:

Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) cast the only "present" vote on the legislation. Amash, one of the House's most active users of social media, writes on his a long note on his Facebook page about why he did that.

"I want to defund NPR. But I want to do it the right way, in accordance with the Rule of Law," he says. He says that: