NPR accuses Republican lawmaker of trying to control public radio stations

National Public Radio pushed back against a Republican lawmaker who is trying to cut off federal funding for public broadcasting, accusing him of trying to interfere with how the nation's local public radio stations report the news.

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Co) re-introduced two bills last week that would cut off federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Rep Lamborn, who introduced the same bills in the last Congress, called NPR's programming "a luxury we cannot afford to subsidize." "Congressman Lamborn’s legislation is an intrusion into the programming decision-making of America’s public radio stations," said NPR. "His legislation will disrupt and weaken the free and universal public media system that serves 170 million Americans each month." NPR also called the goal of Lamborn's legislation misguided and said it would insert the federal government into the news decisions of local stations, which are primarily staffed locally and cover the news relevant to their communities.