FTP for TV stations of her remarks is available here.
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) called out Senate Republicans for refusing to protect public broadcasting funding and stand up for public safety and law enforcement. Across the country, public broadcasters help deliver vital local emergency alerts, AMBER Alerts, and important information during emergencies. These efforts help save lives, as well as protect our first responders and law enforcement. Cortez Masto introduced a commonsense amendment stating that Republicans’ gutting of funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting cannot advance if it impacts public safety, but Republicans voted to oppose it.
“For years, public broadcasting has been essential to keeping Americans informed during severe weather and environmental threats, and broader public safety situations,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Now is not the time to claw back funding that this body has already approved for public broadcasting’s emergency alert system.”
In 2024, over 11,000 alerts were issued by federal, state, and local authorities through the PBS Warning, Alert, Response Network (WARN) system alone. From California to Kentucky to North Carolina, public broadcasting alert systems deliver timely alerts directly to Americans’ TVs, radios, and cell phones that have saved lives during natural disasters by providing crucial safety information to people in the area. Public broadcasting stations also work with law enforcement to get information out related to abducted children, missing seniors, and major acts of violence. The interconnected public broadcasting system is uniquely capable of broadcasting alerts to every corner of the nation.
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