Chairman Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-GA) the chairwoman of the subcommittee “Delivering on Government Efficiency,” or DOGE House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform focused her opening statement in the hearing on funding for the Corporation for funding on the political views of NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher.
“She made it clear how any further internal dissent would be dealt with on her watch. That does sound like communist China at the taxpayers's expense. And no one should be surprised. NPR installed her in the top job after Miss Maher was firmly on record with a litany litany of public comments and social media posts displaying her ultra progressive views. her scorn for free speech and her fondness for censorship. So now it's up to Congress to determine if Americans are going to continue to provide her and the organization that put her in charge willingly after they knew these things with taxpayer funds to continue to pursue their progressive or rather communist agenda. For far too long, federal taxpayers have been forced to fund biased news. This needs to come to an end and it needs to come to an end now.”
Greene also cited an essay by Uri Berliner, a veteran NPR editor “Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust.”
She pointed to the characterization of a gesture made by Elon Musk as a “Nazi salute” as a demonstration of bias. In fact, when Elon Musk put his hand over his heart, extended it, and told the American people his heart goes out to them, PBS News posted the clip, called it a fascist Nazi salute, and described how it was similar to the same “Heil” used by Nazis at their victory rallies. Not once did they report on the numerous accounts of Democrats making the same gesture. [THIS SENTENCE HAS NOT BEEN FACTCHECKED]
As evidence of bias, Greene cited statements made by Katharine Maher before she joined NPR. These include an assertion that “America is addicted to white supremacy,” that President Trump is a deranged racist sociopath,” and that calling people boys and girls “erases the language for non-binary people.”
Ranking Member Stephen Lynch (D Mass) described the hearing as “political theater.
I'm sad to see that this once proud committee, the principal investigative committee in the House of Representatives, has now stooped to the lowest levels of partisanship and political theater to hold a hearing to go after the likes of Elmo and Cookie Monster and Arthy the Arvark. All for the forgivable sin of teaching the alphabet to low-income families children and providing accessible local news and programming.
Lynch noted that the hearing is being held at the request of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
This hearing also comes at the direction of President Trump and Elon Musk. who have repeatedly called for the defunding of all public media and claimed that media organizations such as PBS and NPR are and I quote a liberal disinformation machine close quote. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is engaged in an actual disinformation campaign to minimize the catastrophic national security breach that was revealed earlier this week. As reported by Atlantic editor-inchief Jeffrey Goldberg, Mr. Goldberg was inadvertently added to a group chat on an unauthorized, nonsecure, publicly available message app in which Secretary of Defense Pete Hexath disclosed, quote, operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons systems, and other actions the US would be taking and also attack sequencing. I want to remind my colleagues in Congress that federal law makes it a crime when a person through gross negligence removes information relating to national defense from its proper place of custody or or delivered to anyone in violation of this trust are to be lost, stolen, or abstracted or destroyed.
In her opening statement, President and CEO of National Public Radio Katharine Maher emphasized that only a small portion of the funding for Corporation for Public Broadcasting goes to National Public Radio and that 70 percent goes to non-commercial stations across the country.
The vast majority of federal dollars, more than 100 million of the 121 million annual appropriation for public radio, goes directly to 386 local non-commercial stations across the nation. This highly efficient investment enables your local stations to raise an average of $7 for every federal dollar.
As a grantee of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. NPR received federal funding of 11.2 million last year. These funds allow us to maintain the national public radio satellite system, helping safeguard our national security, civil defense, and disaster response and enabling public radio to reach every corner of America. Additionally, these funds help protect journalists covering our troops overseas and reverse the decline of local journalism.
In her opening statement, President and CEO of PBS Paula Berger also emphasized the support the Corporation for Public Broadcasting provides to rural stations.
in rural areas. PBS stations are the only outlet providing coverage of local events. For example, high school sports, local history and culture content, candidate debates at every level of the election ballot, and specialized agriculture. ual news. Local stations also partner with other community organizations to address issues of concern like veterans affairs and the opioid crisis. Finally, communities depend on the essential public safety information and emergency alerts our local stations provide. Our programming comes from our local stations. For example, Southern Storytellers was produced by Arkansas PBS for our national audience. This program highlighted southern culture through its literature, music, and film across the country. country.
Berger also shared an anecdote about a rural rancher who relies on PBS for his children's education.
When I think about the need for our service, I think of a man I met during a visit to a local station in Nebraska. He was a rancher with young children. He drove hours to attend a local station event. He pulled me aside and told me this. We need PBS. We don't live near a preschool. My children have learned to read watching PBS shows and the shows we watch on PBS are our connection to the rest of America.
Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow of the Heritage Foundation who was called testify as well. He emphasized the "unforgivable political bias" of NPR and PBS, claiming a circular relationship where Democrats fund media that favors them. Gonzalez also cited Uri Berliner’s opinion piece and criticized Katherine Maher's appointment as president and CEO of National Public Radio. He also cited the national debt, the fact that public broadcasting competes with private broadcasting and the “regressive tax structure” that funds public media, before circling back again to bias.
Public media needs to be defunded, and the CPD needs to be dissolved. It's a matter of simple fairness. Multiple arguments can be made. I will list just a few. We're deeply in debt. Number two, the arrangement is unfair to private sector media competitors. Number three, public broadcasting was created with the promise that it would be educational. But of competitors have come online. Public media has become, as B will says, like the human appendence, distilled and purposeless. The funding is a regressive tax, an obnoxious wealth transfer from working families to the affluent.
The ultimate factor is the broadcasters unforgivable political bias. What we have today is a circular undemocratic relationship. Democrats unanimously vote for more and more money for public media, and in exchange, public media heavily tips the scale in their favor. It is nice arrangement for them, but it must end.
Ed Ulman, president and CEO of Alaska Public Media, who was also invited to testify, emphasized that the people of Alaska rely on public media for essential services like public safety, education, and community connections, including potentially life-saving alerts and local news.
The people of Alaska rely on public media to provide free universal access to essential services and public safety, education, and community connections. This includes potentially life-saving alerts, updates on community affairs, coverage of state and local government, proven educational content engagement services, and local and national news. In many parts of Alaska and communities throughout the country, public media is often the only locally operated, locally controlled broadcasting service. We are more than nice to have. We are essential, especially in remote and rural places where commercial broadcasting cannot succeed. We provide prevent potentially life-saving warnings and alerts that are crucial for Alaskans who face threats ranging from extreme weather to earthquakes. landslides and even volcanoes.
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, whose recent comments mocking disabled Texas Governor Greg Abbott were brought up at the hearing, said there were much bigger targets for trimming government spending than the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Big bird is not the problem. Big tech is, big pharma is, big insurance companies are. Elon Musk's companies make billions, $3 billion a year off of government contracts. That's six times the money that goes to all of public broadcasting. Private insurers and Medicare Advantage overcharged taxpayers $83 billion just last year. That could pay for public broadcasting 160 times over. The $4.5 trillion tax cut for the ultra wealthy that Republicans on this committee are trying to push through. That would pay for public broadcasting 9,000 times over. There is money to pay not just for PBS and NPR, but health care for every American, tuition free, trade school and community college for every American to end homelessness on the streets of our cities. But my Republican colleagues don't want to talk about the corporate waste, fraud, and abuse because those corporations fund the Republicans campaigns. So instead, want to shut down educational programming for kids and their families.
Crockett accused Republican colleagues of trying to shut down speech with which they disagree.
And to be clear, free speech is not about whatever it is that y'all want somebody to say. And the idea that you want to shut down everybody that is not Fox News is b*******. We need to stop playing because that's what y'all are doing in here. You don't want to hear the opinions in any of anybody else. And the Constitution says Congress shall make no law respecting or establishing of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the ....gentlewoman's time has expired.
Congressman William Timmons, R-SC, said he was concerned about the federal deficit and the perceived bias of NPR and Katherine Maher in particular.
We don't want to shut down NPR PBS, but we have $36 trillion in debt. And we have run a $1.8 trillion annual deficit. And we are scouring all government spending, not just Democrat priorities, but Republican priorities, too. We're going to be going through the defense budget. We're going to be making sure that we are spending our taxpayer dollars wisely because we have an existential threat. We have an existential threat. We cannot continue down this path financially. So, we do not want to shut you down, but we cannot continue down this path. And so, if our debt is part of the reason we're here, I think another part of the reason we're here re-evaluating your role and the government's use of taxpayer dollars to partially fund your institutions is because technology has changed everything. We are not living in 1967 and the internet has changed our society. We have such increased social interconnectedness and there are various options for people to get news and to get disinformation or information whatever you want to get. So, Those are the two kind of reasons I want to start with and that's probably half the problem we're here for. The other half is your perceived um bias and your content moderation and the manner in which you are violating journalistic integrity. I'll say this, NPR, you have been far worse at this.
Timmons called Maher "a rabid progressive" and asked if her views came up during her job interview. She responded that they did not. Timmons also pointed to the disparity in political viewpoints among NPR's editorial leadership.
Let's talk about the newsroom. You have 87 uh registered Democrats, not a single Republican in your in your editor board. So, I mean, how does that work to give us the perception that you're doing your job of actually delivering unbiased information?
Maher responded that the number was a concern if it was accurate.
