Parents & Kiddie Stars Unite

Clifford the Big Red Dog joined Democratic lawmakers and other PBS supporters on Tuesday to protest proposed cuts in federal funding for public broadcasting.

"Every day I hear from parents who are concerned about the quality of programming on television," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. "They're concerned about the violence. They're concerned about the sex."

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said commercial broadcasting can't fill the void that would be left in children's programming if Public Broadcasting Service shows disappeared.

Markey ticked off a list of the programs on commercial broadcast stations during the day, such as "The Jerry Springer Show," "Passions," and "Divorce Court."

"For kids watching free over-the-air television, the content caters to adults and not to children," he said.

At the Capitol Hill news conference, the lawmakers were surrounded by young children holding signs that read, "Don't Can Oscar," a reference to "Sesame Street" character Oscar the Grouch, and "We love PBS." Petitions with more than a million signatures from worried parents and others called on Congress to retreat from the cuts.

The GOP-controlled House Appropriations Committee voted last week to cut by 25 percent, or $100 million, next year's budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides federal funding to public broadcasters, including PBS and National Public Radio.

Additionally, the committee opted to provide no funding for Ready-to-Learn, a joint project between PBS and the Education Department that focuses on early learning and includes kids' shows such as "Arthur" and "Dragon Tales." President Bush had requested $23 million for the program.

Democrats have also raised concerns about Corporation for Public Broadcasting chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson. A Republican, Tomlinson has complained about liberal bias in PBS public affairs programming, a charge PBS officials deny.

Tuesday afternoon, Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and more than a dozen other lawmakers sent President Bush a letter urging him to fire Tomlinson.

Republicans say the huge federal deficit is behind the decision to cut funding.

"Americans get a broad range of news, music, children's programs and more from a wide range of broadcasters," said Rep. Ernest Istook Jr., R-Okla. "When we have massive deficits, we don't need to subsidize a select group of broadcasters with taxpayers' money."

PBS receives about 15 percent of its operating budget — $48.5 million — from the corporation.

John Lawson, president and chief executive of the Association of Public Television Stations, says the proposed budget cuts could decimate public broadcasting in some parts of the country.

"A lot of stations that serve rural America and the stations that serve underserved audiences in urban areas would definitely go dark," said Lawson, whose organization lobbies on behalf of public TV stations.

Lawson said bigger stations would survive, but there would be "tremendous pressure on the stations to become more commercial to make up the difference."

The Association of Public Television Stations is coordinating a grass-roots response to the cuts with on-air appeals on over 100 stations nationwide. The ads ask supporters to call their lawmakers about the cuts.