Another in an ongoing series:
Dear Senator;
I am a resident of Pennsylvania and a constituent of yours and I'd like you to answer a question or two.
Senator, like all the other Republicans in the Senate, you voted for the recent "rescission" bill that, among some other things, will revoke about a billion dollars from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
According to the CPB website:
Public television and radio stations play an integral role in our nation’s emergency alert system. Public media’s infrastructure provides the broadest nationwide communications platform in the country, and its national-local organization allows public media entities to distribute national, state, and regional emergency alerts and provide encrypted, geo-targeted alerts to local communities in times of need.
And:
The Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS), managed by NPR, receives a national Emergency Alert System feed directly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA) to send Presidential emergency alerts to local public radio stations. NPR/PRSS is also named as a resource in at least 20 states’ emergency plans, with many public radio stations serving as Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations. The PRSS network includes almost 400 stations, serving more than 1,200 local public radio stations, supporting secure, reliable communications without relying on the Internet, which may not be reliable during emergencies.
Are you at all concerned that the cuts in CPB funding will adversely effect public safety? And if so, what are you doing in Pennsylvania to alleviate this situation?
I'll await your answer, Senator.
As always, I'll repost whatever response I get here in full.
