The money will be drawn from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and corresponds to the entire planned federal appropriation for the next two budget years.
About two-thirds would be distributed to more than 1,500 locally owned radio and TV stations, of which nearly half make radio for rural areas.
This will be disturbing for millions of Americans who rely on them for news and information to make decisions and participate in public life, says Patricia Harrison, CEO and president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CPB.
Must be approved by the Senate
The reduction must also be approved by the Senate for it to take effect.
CPB, which is privately registered and non-profit, responds by suing the Trump administration, which it claims is trying to control its board, according to NPR, National Public Radio.
NPR CEO Katherine Maher now urges the Senate to stop the reduction.
Americans who rely on local, independent radio stations across the US, particularly in rural areas with low service levels, will suffer, says Maher in a statement.
“Viewpoint discrimination”
Even the American public service radio company NPR and the TV company CBS recently sued the Trump administration. PBS believes that Trump exceeds his powers and engages in "viewpoint discrimination" when he claims that the news reporting is negative towards Republicans.
"Regardless of any political disagreements about the role of public television, our constitution and laws prohibit the president from acting as a referee over the content of PBS programs, as well as doing so by trying to reduce funding for PBS," writes the lawyer in the complaint.
