WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, released the following statement in response to President Trump's executive order and its illegal attempt to stop the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) from funding National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). This executive order comes on the heels of the President's earlier attempt to illegally fire CPB board members.

"Let's be clear: no president is above the law, and no president can weaponize public broadcasting as a personal propaganda machine. Yet once again President Trump is trying to destroy free speech, silence our media, and keep people from the truth," said Congresswoman Matsui. "Public broadcasting provides people with free community-supported access to news, educational content, and lifesaving emergency alerts. Congress established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as an independent, nonprofit entity - precisely to protect public media from political interference and ensure Americans have access to fair, factual, and nonpartisan journalism."

"President Trump is not attacking public media because he cares about the truth," Matsui continued. "He's targeting it because it tells the truth - even when it doesn't serve his interests. Time and again, he has used the power of his office to go after independent outlets that refuse to echo his talking points. I will keep fighting to protect public media and the First Amendment from the Trump Administration's baseless attacks."

The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) as a private, non-profit corporation to provide non-commercial educational programming to the public. The CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to presidential authority. CPB provides grants to 1,216 public radio stations and 365 public television stations across the country, to provide nearly 99 percent of the U.S. population with free programming and services.

Congresswoman Matsui is a longtime champion of public broadcasting and freedom of the press. She introduced the Broadcast Freedom and Independence Act,legislation that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from revoking broadcast licenses or taking action against broadcasters based on the viewpoints they broadcast. The legislation would reaffirm the importance of the independence of the FCC, including that the President should not mandate the FCC's agenda. Congresswoman Matsui also led a bipartisan letteremphasizing the importance of federal funding for public radio and television.

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