# Plain Language Summary: No Propaganda Act (S. 519)

## What This Bill Does

This bill would eliminate all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the organization that funds and oversees public television and radio stations like PBS and NPR. The bill makes it illegal for CPB to accept any federal money starting from the date the law would take effect. It also cancels any unspent federal money that was previously allocated to CPB in recent budget bills (from 2022, 2023, and 2024).

## Who Would Be Affected

**Public Broadcasting Stations:** PBS, NPR, and hundreds of local public television and radio stations across the country would lose a significant portion of their funding. Many smaller stations rely heavily on federal support and could face severe budget cuts or closure.

**Viewers and Listeners:** Americans who depend on public broadcasting for educational programming, news, and entertainment—particularly in rural areas with limited commercial media options—would lose access to these services.

**CPB Employees:** The organization itself would need to drastically reduce operations or shut down entirely.

## Key Provisions

- **Complete federal funding ban:** No federal dollars can go to CPB after the bill's enactment
- **Rescission of previous funds:** Approximately $1.5+ billion in unspent appropriations from recent years would be canceled and returned
- **Prohibition on accepting federal money:** CPB would be legally barred from accepting federal funds, even if Congress tried to appropriate money in the future

The bill's title suggests the sponsor views public broadcasting as "propaganda," though the bill itself contains no definition or criteria for what constitutes prohibited content.

No Propaganda Act

Kennedy, John

No Propaganda ActThis bill prohibits federal funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and rescinds certain funds that were provided to the corporation. (The corporation is a congressionally created nonprofit that supports local public television and radio broadcasting.)