Congress shows renewed support for public broadcasting
As you can read at FreePress.net, the Senate appropriations subcommittee has provided $420 million in advance funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for FY 2010.
Mirroring its House counterpart, this represents the first increase to this critical line-item in four years.
The subcommittee also provided level funding of $29.7 million for the CPB Digital program to assist stations in making the transition to digital. The federally mandated Feb. 17, 2009, switch to digital television is only one budget cycle away. This money will allow stations to create and deliver a new generation of digital content and services.
The appropriators also increased funding by $1 million for Ready To Learn to approximately $25.3 million. The program is an early learning partnership between PBS, public television stations and the U.S. Department of Education.
Finally, the subcommittee provided $10.9 million in level funding for Ready To Teach, a program that ensures teachers have access to educational services aimed at enhancing teacher performance, in turn raising student achievement.
