House votes to end NPR funding

The U.S. House on Thursday voted to end funding for NPR, prompting one Georgia congressman to say “sacred cows are an endangered species.”

“With our nation’s debt exceeding $14 trillion, it’s blatantly irresponsible to spend taxpayer dollars on a self sufficient organization like NPR,” U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., said in a statement. “In fact, NPR’s website explains in detail how federal funding is of little consequence, saying a ‘small number of competitive grants’ amount to ‘approximately 2% of overall revenues.’ Indeed, NPR will be free to use its public donations, corporate sponsorships, and $225 million private endowment to compete in the media marketplace without draining tax dollars.

“The family-style belt tightening continues with the passage of” this resolution, Graves added. “Sacred cows are an endangered species these days, and it’s a hopeful sign for hardworking taxpayers that future prosperity is winning out over the wasteful projects of the past.”

NPR in recent months has been a favorite target of Republicans.

“In an age when there are almost limitless outlets from which Americans can get the news, even bordering on information overload, there is no reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing NPR,” U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said in a statement. “The fact that NPR, particularly in recent months, has exhibited a troubling level of inexplicable and unacceptable bias, it is past time this organization function without federal backing. NPR executives themselves have admitted that they can certainly continue operations without a reliance on taxpayer dollars. NPR can and should compete in the regular markets on a level playing field with other media organizations.”