In the wake of the elimination of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting under the Rescissions Act of 2025, the organization’s ongoing closure could soon deal a serious blow to emergency readiness, particularly in rural and at-risk communities.
CPB says it will no longer be able to sustain the operation of the Next Generation Warning System grant program, which assists public stations with providing modernized access to the Emergency Alert System.
Congress created the NGWS program in 2022, appropriating $136 million over three years to strengthen public safety in conjunction with FEMA. Under CPB’s management, NGWS has prioritized stations in rural and disaster-prone areas from Alaska to the Adirondacks, allowing them to hire staff, issue applications, and receive technical support nationwide.
From its first round of funding in 2022, CPB has staffed up, opened applications, and distributed technical assistance to public media stations across the country. So far, 44 stations have received a total of $21.6 million. But demand has far outpaced supply. In its second round of funding, CPB received $110 million in requests from 175 stations, most of which still haven’t seen a dollar.
With CPB’s closure approaching, FEMA has been urged to distribute the remaining funds. If not, grants from 2022, 2023, and 2024 will remain undistributed, and alerting equipment will go unpurchased, leaving communities without the upgrades Congress has intended.
CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said, “CPB has been fully invested in the NGWS program and its mission to protect the American public. This is one more example of rescission consequences impacting local public media stations and the communities they serve – in this case, weakening the capacity of local public media stations to support the safety and preparedness of their communities.”
