Sen. Amy Klobuchar says local media builds connections across individual differences
The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote by July 18 on a bill that would take back over $9 billion in previously allocated funds to a variety of organizations working in global health services and international economic developments, along with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
Though they receive some federal money, many of these organizations are independent agencies. The CPB is a non-profit organization. They help fund public radio and TV stations across the country, including WTIP.
The bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in mid-June, and the Senate has until July 18 to vote on it.
On Wednesday, July 9, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to the bill. She told WTIP that the bill was a “complete outrage.”
Klobuchar also emphasized the importance of reliable public media, citing the statistic that 99% of people in the United States have access to public media. She added that local media is especially important in the current media landscape. “When there’s such a breakdown in our connections with people right now, in part because of our fragmented media landscape, it becomes more and more important that there’s one local place that people can go,” she said.
Klobuchar pointed out that while much of the recent conversation about rescission has followed party lines, the funding that the rescissions bill would pull back was originally allocated by both Democrats and Republicans. She said that despite the partisan arguments, some Senate Republicans are recognizing the support the CPB offers for emergency communication in rural places, including through the Emergency Alert System.
Recent natural disasters have highlighted the need for these services, and Klobuchar said that may be enough to sway some Republicans representing states with large rural populations. She said, “The Democrats are on board. We only need four Republicans on board to reach a majority to say, ‘No, this is not the time to rescind these funds.’ In fact, it’s the worst time to rescind these funds.”
Though the current bill has raised concern over the immediate impact to things like the CPB or USAID, Klobuchar said there is a longer term, constitutional question also at hand. “If the administration is allowed to come in and just tell Congress that they need to take away money that they’ve already allocated to something, there will be no end to this,” Klobuchar said. “The legislative branch is the first branch Article One of the Constitution, and we need to in assert ourselves, because otherwise this will be a slippery slope that any administration could keep doing to push votes on things that had already been decided.”
This fight to maintain federal support for public media has both a pragmatic, constitutional angle, considering the powers of different branches of government, and, for Klobuchar, a personal angle. Her father Jim was a career reporter in the Twin Cities. She said growing up with a parent in the press gave her a look at the importance of local media. She said,”That’s the only place you’re going to get those stories out, so the community knows what’s happening. And that’s what my dad was all about, sort of that thread that binds us even despite our vast differences we have. And so that’s where my heart is on this and why I care so much about it.”
WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Sen. Amy Klobuchar about her opposition to the rescissions bill. Audio of that interview is below.
Kirsten Wisniewski July 11, 2025
