Rev. Danny Fisher

From Credo Action this week:

This past week, the New York Times reported that the Bush administration has once again proposed deep cuts in federal funding for public broadcasting. Unfortunately the cuts proposed this year are even more severe than in past years — but with your help, we can convince Congress to restore this funding.

If it seems like we go through this process every year, you’re not mistaken. For eight straight years, the President’s budget requests have attempted to cut or entirely eliminate funding for public broadcasting. For seven of those years, Congress has responded to massive public pressure and restored the funding. Let’s convince them to do it again.

Public broadcasting provides a valuable, essential service, and the cuts proposed this year are the most threatening yet from the Bush administration. Please ask all members of Congress to support full funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2009, as well as reject the President’s proposed rescissions of funding already approved in prior fiscal years, by following this link.

For inspiration, I leave you with this clip from a 1969 Senate hearing about the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s budget. Threatened with a potentially devastating budget cut, the corporation took a chance and sent in their biggest star: the then relatively unknown “Mr. Rogers.” Within five minutes, the entire budget was restored. Take a look…