While Congress unsurprisingly continues to withhold Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding at the behest of the White House, lawmakers are still allowing some federal dollars to flow toward public radio and television for its continued role in public safety.
The US House of Representatives has approved its final fiscal year 2026 “minibus” spending package, allocating $48 million to public broadcasting’s Next Generation Warning System through the Labor–HHS–Education and Homeland Security appropriations bills. The funding is aimed at strengthening emergency alerting and public safety communications infrastructure at noncommercial radio and television stations nationwide.
Support for NGWS, along with funding for Ready To Learn, was added through an amendment offered by Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV).
NGWS operates within the Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA and is designed to bolster local public broadcasters’ capacity to deliver alerts, warnings, and interoperable public safety communications, while incorporating new and emerging technologies into those systems.
How the FY 2026 funds will ultimately be distributed remains unclear. In prior years, grants were administered through CPB, which voted earlier this month to disband. The NGWS program launched with $40 million in FY 2022, followed by $56 million in FY 2023 and $40 million in FY 2024. Demand has consistently exceeded available resources, with more than 170 applications seeking over $109 million during the program’s second funding round.
To date, CPB has awarded NGWS grants to 38 public media stations across 21 states, ranging from Florida to Alaska.
The minibus package also provides $31 million in FY 2026 funding for Ready To Learn, a Department of Education competitive grant program supporting the creation and distribution of educational media content for children nationwide.
