PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 11, 2025
Defund Government-Sponsored Propaganda Act
This bill prohibits federal funding of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR), and any successor organization to PBS or NPR. The prohibition extends to the payment of dues to or the purchase of programming from PBS or NPR by a public broadcast station using federal funds.
The bill also directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to transfer to the Department of the Treasury for the purpose of reducing the public debt an amount equal to certain funding that would have otherwise been provided to PBS or NPR in FY2025-FY2027.
People & committees
Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] · R–NY
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-11 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would prohibit federal money from supporting the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR), or their successor organizations after enactment. Public broadcast stations could not use federal money to pay those organizations dues or buy their programming. For fiscal years 2025–2027, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have to transfer certain funding blocked by the prohibition to an account for reducing the public debt.
After the date of enactment of this Act, no Federal funds may, directly or indirectly, be made available to or used to support an organization described in subsection (b), including through the payment of dues to or the purchase of programming from the organization by a public broadcast station using Federal funds received by the station.
The organizations described in this subsection are— (1) the organization known, as of the date of enactment of this Act, as the Public Broadcasting Service; (2) the organization known, as of the date of enactment of this Act, as National Public Radio; and (3) any successor organization to an organization described in paragraph (1) or (2).
(c) Transfer of certain funds To reduce the public debt For fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shall transfer to the account established by section 3113(d) of title 31, United States Code, an amount equal to the sum of the amounts allocated under clauses (ii) and (iii) of section 396(k)(3)(A) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 396(k)(3)(A)) that would have been made available to an organization described in subsection (b) but for the prohibition in subsection (a).
The proposed funding prohibition would begin after enactment and cover both direct federal funding and indirect support using federal funds.
After the date of enactment of this Act, no Federal funds may, directly or indirectly, be made available to or used to support an organization described in subsection (b)
The prohibition would cover the organizations known as PBS and NPR on the enactment date, as well as any successor organizations.
(1) the organization known, as of the date of enactment of this Act, as the Public Broadcasting Service; (2) the organization known, as of the date of enactment of this Act, as National Public Radio; and (3) any successor organization to an organization described in paragraph (1) or (2).
Public broadcast stations would be prohibited from using federal funds they receive to pay dues to, or purchase programming from, the covered organizations.
including through the payment of dues to or the purchase of programming from the organization by a public broadcast station using Federal funds received by the station.
For fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be required to transfer money to the specified public-debt reduction account. The amount would equal the allocations under two cited Communications Act clauses that would otherwise have gone to the covered organizations.
(c) Transfer of certain funds To reduce the public debt For fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shall transfer to the account established by section 3113(d) of title 31, United States Code, an amount equal to the sum of the amounts allocated under clauses (ii) and (iii) of section 396(k)(3)(A) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 396(k)(3)(A)) that would have been made available to an organization described in subsection (b) but for the prohibition in subsection (a).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated December 5, 2025, records that the bill was introduced in the House and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on February 11, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-12-05T21:54:43Z. 2025-02-11: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 2025-02-11: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-11. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to this version and does not establish formal earmark status in accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow benefit, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Dec 5, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI