The U.S. House of Representatives approved a final rescissions package Friday morning cutting more than $9 billion from the previously approved Congressional budget bill, including more than $1 billion from public media stations.
The vote returned to the House after the Senate voted 51-to-48 on Thursday. The package is now awaiting President Trump’s signature.
The cuts will likely not affect NPR and PBS as a whole, as NPR only receives about 2% of its annual budget from federal funding, and PBS receives about 15%, according to the New York Times. The real impact will be to local and rural stations, which often heavily rely on federal grants to support their reporting.
Local news outlets near Bloomington will face the effects. The rescissions package will cut the allocated funds for the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years. WFYI of Indianapolis will lose $1.5 million from their annual operation budget, nearly 11%. Additional state funding cuts total to nearly $2.1 million.
“The loss of both federal and state funding is not just a setback; it’s a direct threat to our ability to serve the people of Indiana,” WFYI CEO and President Greg Petrowich said in a public statement. “We are deeply concerned about the impact this will have on our viewers and listeners across the state.”
Indiana Public Media’s Interim Executive Director Jay Kincaid said they will lose nearly $1.4 million, or 14% of their total funding, although they said they will keep staff positions and will continue to work closely with PBS, NPR and university and community partners to understand the full scope of the changes ahead, according to a statement sent to the IDS.
“We’ve been part of this community for 75 years, and our ability to endure has always come from the support of our audience and our partnership with Indiana University,” Kincaid said in the statement. “That hasn’t changed.”
