A U.S. representative from upstate New York has introduced a bill to defund National Public Radio, claiming the platform’s “overwhelming partisan bias” warrants the end of federal funding.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), who represents the 24th congressional district — located in the Finger Lakes region of the Empire State — introduced her bill on Friday. The move follows last week’s resignation of Uri Berliner, a now-former Senior News Editor who was initially suspended after unleashing a scathing critique of his longtime employer in an op-ed published by The Free Press.
The “Defund NPR Act of 2024,” according to a news release put out by Tenney’s office, asserts — citing claims made by Berliner in his op-ed — that NPR reporters and editors, among other things, blatantly made editorial choices designed to harm the presidential campaign of former President Trump, turned a blind eye to conservative concerns about Hunter Biden’s laptop, and that CEO Katherine Maher called Trump a “racist.”
“American taxpayers should not be forced to fund NPR, which has become a partisan propaganda machine,” Tenney said in the release. “My legislation, the Defund NPR Act of 2024, ensures no federal funding is used to perpetuate the media bias that has taken over NPR. As a former newspaper owner and publisher, I understand the importance of non-partisan, balanced media coverage, and have seen first-hand the left-wing bias in our news media. These disturbing reports out of NPR confirm what many have known for a long time: NPR is using American taxpayer dollars to manipulate the news and lie to the American people on behalf of a pollical [sic] agenda. It’s past time the American people stop footing the bill for NPR, and the partisan, left-wing activists that control it.”
Tenney is just the latest Republican who has attempted to defund NPR — a tall order and an idea that would likely be dead on arrival to the Democratic-controlled Senate. Other defunding efforts have been introduced by House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-VA) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN). Meanwhile, in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) may follow suit.
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