To Representative Doug Lamborn and Senators Udall and Bennet Re: NPR

Representative Doug Lamborn, Senator Mark Udall, and Senator Michael Bennet,

You will not receive my vote in any re-election for supporting a bill or amendment to rid NPR of federal funding.

I spent 18 months being under-employed in Colorado Springs. Instead of working on getting jobs here, instead you decide to put your political efforts into defunding NPR? Where are the jobs?

Why don't you spend your efforts fixing the tax loop-hole that allowed GE to make $5.1 billion in profit and not pay a single dime in taxes?

I vote independent. I support public radio and NPR. This one issue could give you or deny you a re-election vote. Do you really want to get rid of Prairie Home Companion and Car Talk and Science Friday? Please support funding for NPR.

As your constituent, I urge you to support full funding for public broadcasting in the budget bills currently being debated in Washington. Federal funding for public broadcasting supports 1,300 local stations, 21,000 local jobs and the 170 million Americans who rely on public media each month.

Public broadcasting is one of the most successful public/private partnerships in America, with $6 in local support matching every $1 invested by the federal government. Cutting off federal dollars would have a cascade effect that would be catastrophic to the millions of people like me who use public broadcasting every day.

There are more than 1,300 local public television and radio stations in America, representing some of the last locally-owned, locally-staffed and locally-programmed media outlets in this country. These stations are in every community across the country and employ some 21,000 people. Public broadcasting is an essential service to the American people.

Without public broadcasting, our communities would lose access to the safe-haven of children's non-commercial educational content, the in-depth news and public affairs programming, access to the world of arts and cultural locally, nationally and internationally, and the local voice that weaves the diverse perspectives of our communities together. In addition to the unparalleled programming offered by local public broadcasters, local stations are maximizing digital technology and their universal reach to provide critical resources to local communities. For example, public radio stations provide reading services for the blind, public television stations partner with state and local departments of education to provide teachers with on-line educational resources aligned with state standards, and both television and radio stations provide critical and targeted emergency communications in the wake of a disaster.

Without federal funding, these critical resources will disappear, disenfranchising millions of Americans who depend on these services. The minimal federal investment in public broadcasting stations ensures free and universal access to a wide array of high quality, educational, non-commercial content and services. These services are too valuable to lose! As a constituent who highly values the programming and services of my local public broadcasters, I urge you to oppose any efforts to cut funding for public broadcasting.