Thursday afternoon, the U.S. House voted to pass the Rescissions Act of 2025, moving one step closer to rescinding $1.1 billion in funds previously approved by Congress for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The U.S. Senate will vote next.
The rescissions package totals $9.4 billion and also includes funds for USAID, the U.S. Institute of Peace and other foreign aid programs.
What is the significance of this action?
With the passing of the Rescissions Act in the House, we are now one step closer to clawing back already-appropriated funds for CPB and dismantling public media as we know it in the U.S.
Public media has had bipartisan support for nearly six decades since the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Historically, Congress has appropriated federal funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which then distributes the funds — approximately $565 million, or $1.60 per American — to public media organizations around the country, like WJCT.
What happens next?
The rescissions bill will now move to the U.S. Senate for consideration. The Senate parliamentarian has set the date of July 18, 2025, as the deadline by which the proposal must pass the Senate in order to take effect. It is expected that the Senate will vote sometime between July 4 and July 18.
If the bill passes in the Senate by a simple majority, the $1.1 billion in funds previously approved by Congress for FY26 and FY27 CPB budgets will be rescinded. This will almost immediately affect WJCT’s FY26 budget, which begins Oct. 1, 2025.
“What can I do?”
Advocacy remains the best path forward. Please call your U.S. senators — daily if possible — to let them know how their vote will affect their constituents and how much you value WJCT Public Media and its work in our community. There is a long history of bipartisan support for public media, and WJCT has served our local community since 1958. All day, every day, WJCT provides all citizens in our region with access to trusted local news, proven-effective educational programming, lifesaving emergency alerts, noncommercial music and community-centric events that bring us together.