PRESS RELEASE: Congresswoman Barragán’s Statement on House Republicans Voting to Defund Public Broadcasting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2025 Contact: Jin.Choi@mail.house.gov Congresswoman Barragán’s Statement on House Republicans Voting to Defund Public Broadcasting Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (CA-44) released the following statement: “House Republicans voted to defund public broadcasting — and Southern California families will feel the impact. They’re taking back $4.3 million from PBS SoCal, which provides trusted educational programming, like Sesame Street, and free learning materials from over 1 million children under the age of 5 in our region. It also eliminates funding for stations like KCRW in Santa Monica and KUSC in Los Angeles, jeopardizing access to local news, cultural programming, and emergency alerts that keep our communities safe and informed. I voted AGAINST this power grab that takes away money Congress has already allocated. This isn’t about saving money — it’s about silencing voices and access to programming that thin-skinned Donald Trump and his Rubber Stamp Republicans don’t like. That’s about as un-American as you can get.” ###