Senate OKs Funding for Public Broadcasting

Public broadcasters applauded a June 25 endorsement by a Senate panel of $400 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for Fiscal Year 2006.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education also recommended another $55 million in new money to specifically target the digital conversion, and it endorsed $10 million for the first case of a major interconnection project for Fiscal Year 2004.

"The funding proposed by the Senate will contribute significantly to the efforts of more than 1,000 locally owned public television and radio stations as they translate exciting new technologies into valuable learning tools for every home, school and workplace," the Association for Public TV Stations said.

But the checks aren't written yet. The final numbers will still need to be ironed out in by a House-Senate conference committee later this year.