DeMint Drafting Bill To Strip NPR, PBS Of Public Funds

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said Friday that he will introduce legislation to strip NPR and PBS of their public funding.

“NPR and PBS get about 15 percent of their total budget through federal funding, so these programs should be able to find a way to stand on their own,” DeMint said in a statement. “There’s simply no reason to force taxpayers to subsidize a liberal programming they disagree with.”

DeMint’s announcement follows NPR’s decision to fire news analyst Juan Williams for remarks he made on Fox News.

“I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country,” Williams said during an appearance on the O’Reilly Factor this week. “But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

DeMint said his legislation, which is widely aimed at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, is just one step he will be pursuing to get “our fiscal house in order.”

“This is just one of the many cuts Congress should make next year,” DeMint said.