YPR Statement on Senate Vote to Rescind Public Media Funding

July 17, 2025

To YPR’s listeners and supporters:

The Senate has now affirmed the President’s request to rescind already appropriated funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the next two years. There will be one final vote in the House before the end of the week. If the House passes the Rescission Bill, federal funding for public media will end October 1, 2025.

Before this final vote in the House, we want our listeners and supporters to know what’s at stake. There are resources available at Protect My Public Media that can educate you fully on the funding emergency that faces public media.

At YPR, losing federal funding would mean an initial cut of 8% to our annual revenue. Our annual Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) amounts to more than $270,000. We use that money to license and broadcast programs from distributors around the world, bringing news, entertainment, music, and cultural shows to Montana and northern Wyoming.

A bipartisan Congress already designated federal funding for the next two fiscal years, including around $540,000 that YPR would receive. Congress is closer than ever to breaking that promise.

Moreover, additional systems, equipment, and licensing for music broadcasts previously funded by CPB are endangered. These costs will have to be absorbed by stations across the country, meaning YPR could face hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional costs each year to maintain the programming and broadcast infrastructure our listeners have come to expect.

We will continue to update you on this critical moment for the future of YPR and the public media system. We deeply appreciate the support and encouragement of our listeners. We are committed to our mission to provide local and national programming of relevance and cultural importance, to forge connections with the people we serve, and to encourage civic engagement across all our communities.

Thank You,

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Ken Siebert
General Manager, Yellowstone Public Radio