Late Tuesday afternoon, the White House filed a “rescission” request with Congress, asking it to approve the clawback of already appropriated federal funding of public media for the next two years.
This rescission request will be voted on first by the House, and if it passes by a simple majority vote there, it will move to the Senate. The House vote is expected to happen quickly — within the next ten days — and therefore, calls and emails to U.S. Representatives are critical right now.
For WJCT Public Media, the clawback or already appropriated funds would mean:
- Elimination of approximately $1.5M in funds already budgeted for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025.
- Severe limitations on our ability to deliver on our mission and to serve our community.
Not only would WJCT’s essential work in our local community be at risk, eliminating federal funding would weaken the entire public media system, destabilizing hundreds of stations across the country and PBS and NPR themselves.
Make one call every day! WJCT Public Media is asking all friends to call their U.S. Representative (phone numbers and script listed here) each day between now and the House vote and urge them to oppose rescission.