Updated at 6:30 p.m. ET

The House easily passed a bill that would eliminate taxpayer funds for NPR, a week after a fundraising executive was caught on video saying the organization would be better off without government support.

The legislation by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., is strongly opposed by the Obama administration. It faces an uphill battle in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The final House vote was 228-192, with GOP lawmaker Justin Amash of Michigan voting "present." Seven Republicans joined 185 Democrats to oppose the measure.

"As a country, we no longer have this luxury anymore. With the national debt over $14 trillion dollars, the government simply can't continue to fund non-essential services," said Lamborn, who has pushed to defund NPR long before the scandal erupted over the secretly taped video.

In a statement, NPR said it had "grave" concerns about the bill's impact to deliver programming.

"At a time when other news organizations are cutting back and the voices of pundits are drowning out fact-based reporting and thoughtful analysis, NPR and public radio stations are delivering in-depth news and information respectfully and with civility. It would be a tragedy for America to lose this national treasure," said Joyce Slocum, NPR's interim CEO.

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said the legislation was "not about reducing the deficit or cutting federal spending. ... This bill was rooted in an ideological view about what NPR broadcasts and capitalizes on recent headlines."

NPR received about $5 million in fiscal year 2010 from the federal government, according to the Associated Press. The network said 2% of its funding comes from grants through government agencies, such as the Department of Education. The bulk of NPR's revenue -- about 40% -- comes from member stations who pay fees for programming.

Under Lamborn's bill, public radio stations would be barred from using federal grants to pay dues to NPR.

NPR has been under increased scrutiny since a secretly taped video was released last week in which then-fundraiser Ron Schiller is heard slamming the Tea Party movement and making comments about NPR's funding.

Leaders of a Tea Party organization said NPR should lose its funding but contend there is a larger debate that should occur.

"While the defunding of NPR is a given at this this point ... how long will we as a nation be willing to tolerate the arrogance of the self-appointed ruling elite?" wrote Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, co-founders of the Tea Party Patriots, in an op-ed for The Hill.