Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Defund NPR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2025 – Two Capitol Hill  lawmakers have introduced a bill that would cut off federal funding to National Public Radio (NPR), a recent target of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fl., and Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced the ‘Defund NPR Act’ on Wednesday, a measure that would bar the radio network from receiving any federal funds—directly or indirectly—including through membership dues or programming purchases.

This bill comes as Chairman Carr investigates NPR, which is regulated by the agency, for allegedly selling advertising in violation of federal law. Carr is investigating the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) for the same violation; however Cammack and Bank’s bill did not include the organization.

Cammack accuses NPR of providing biased news coverage against its core principles. 

“​​For too long, NPR cherry-picked its coverage in favor of its majority Democrat listeners – 87%, according to a Pew Research Survey – from failing to cover an assassination attempt on Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh in 2018 to ignoring former President Joe Biden’s business dealings with his son Hunter in 2020. Federal funds shouldn’t be available to NPR,” Cammack said in a statement Wednesday.

While NPR only gets about one percent of its funding directly from the federal government, it receives a much larger sum indirectly from university and local stations. A majority of funding comes from sponsorships, individual contributions, and university licensing.