PBS accounts for nearly half of first graders’ most frequently watched educational TV and video programs

Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, speaks during a House hearing in March 2025, months before Congress rescinded two years of public media funding. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

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At U.S. President Donald Trump’s request, Congress voted in July 2025 to claw back US$1.1 billion it had previously approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That measure, which passed in the House and the Senate by very narrow margins, will cut off all federal tax dollars that would have otherwise flowed to PBS and its affiliated TV stations for the next two fiscal years.