Bill 119 HR 1595, also known as the "Defund NPR Act," aims to prohibit Federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and other public broadcasting entities. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 8, 2019 by Representative Doug Lamborn from Colorado.
The main purpose of the bill is to eliminate the use of taxpayer dollars to support NPR, arguing that the organization has a liberal bias and does not represent the views of all Americans. The bill specifically targets funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides financial support to NPR and other public broadcasting entities.
Supporters of the bill argue that NPR should not receive government funding and should instead rely on private donations and sponsorships to sustain its operations. They believe that taxpayer dollars should not be used to support a media organization that they perceive as having a political agenda.
Opponents of the bill argue that NPR provides valuable and unbiased news coverage and programming that serves the public interest. They believe that cutting off federal funding would harm NPR's ability to provide quality journalism and diverse perspectives to its audience.
As of now, the bill has not been passed into law and is still under consideration in the House of Representatives. It has sparked a debate about the role of government funding in supporting public broadcasting and the importance of maintaining a free and independent press in the United States.