Jan. 6 (UPI) — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is dissolving after more than $1 billion in funding was cut for the organization by Congress last year.
The board of directors announced the decision to formally shutter on Monday, voting on a plan to discontinue operations.
“CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks, ” Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB, said in a statement.
CPB was established by Congress in 1967 to support public television and radio. Its funding has supported networks like NPR and PBS, as well as local public broadcasting stations.
“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans — regardless of geography, income or background — had access to trusted news, educational programming and local storytelling,” Harrison said.
The organization’s remaining funds will be distributed to public broadcasting networks.
The process of shutting the organization down began after the passage of the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Act, which was passed last summer by Republicans and signed by President Donald Trump. The act featured heavy funding cuts to Medicaid services, student aid programs, clean energy programs and food assistance.
No Democrats in the U.S. House or Senate voted in favor of the bill.
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