CPB needs a breath of fresh air from federal funding

Today, this American life includes a daunting national debt. At the moment I type this sentence, the U.S. national debt has reached a whopping $19,971,916,626,805. That total, divided by the number of taxpayers, means that each individual person filing his or her taxes this April owes a prorated share of $166,775. And with Washington's addiction to spending, the national debt will be even higher by the time you finish this article.

In the here and now, American taxpayers deserve a fiscally responsible government, a system that allows states to do more, and that only allocates money to the most essential programs. There are some things that only the federal government can do — defend our nation from attacks, regulate immigration, and supervise commerce between states. Some money must fund necessary functions such as these.

But government waste doesn't serve anybody. The only path to getting our fiscal habits on point involves cutting non-essential government programs — especially those that can afford to stand on their own two feet.

To that end, I have introduced two bills, H.R. 726 and H.R. 727. These bills withdraw all federal funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as well as National Public Radio. H.R. 726 and 727 aren't only a game — they are a good first step towards fiscal responsibility. Together, they cut half a billion dollars in federal spending right off the bat.

At first listen, $455 million might not sound like enough money to make a difference in our $19 trillion debt. But I want to remind people that only in Washington, D.C. (or perhaps on Planet Money), is half a billion dollars considered an insignificant amount. The federal government cannot sustainably fund every pop culture happy hour just for fun. We need to return to responsible federal spending to fulfill our constitutional duties to the American people.