Dear Friend,  Nothing has been more meaningful during my 28 years in Congress than what we have done to promote greater understanding of the tremendous benefit of public media.  It goes beyond being America’s most trusted news source, although that is an increasingly precious commodity. Public broadcasting provides us with irreplaceable historical and cultural content. From the much-loved Ken Burns documentaries on the Civil War and our national parks to OPB’s Think Out Loud, public broadcasting reminds us of what is essential about the American experience. It is also the backbone of our national security infrastructure. Public broadcasting provides emergency alerts and life-saving weather bulletins to even the most remote corners of America. Not to mention that the educational programing was a lifeline for students, teachers, and families at the height of the COVID crisis.  These services are only made possible with strong, sustained federal support. I founded the Public Broadcasting Caucus in 2001 to do just that. The prospects have not always been encouraging. Public media is often caught in the crosshairs of people holding the budget hostage, keen on reducing government spending. Part of what we have done is explain that funding for public media is the single best bargain for the taxpayer dollar. It is the most effective public-private partnership. Federal support is seed money for local stations to leverage each federal dollar to raise over six more through contributions. Millions of people voluntarily step up and make those contributions. We should expect Congress to do the same. If federal funding was cut, big cities like New York, Los Angeles, D.C., even Portland, would still be able to sustain public broadcasting stations, albeit with reduced programming. It would be the rural areas of our country that would suffer the most. They do not have the same financial base of contributions to support the work. In these areas, public broadcasting stations are often the only locally owned and managed source of news. Even some of the critics of public media here on Capitol Hill turn to NPR, PBS, or their local station when they need trustworthy information.  This week, I was honored to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Public Media Summit. I appreciate the recognition, but more to the point, it is an acknowledgement of how far we have come to promote greater awareness on Capitol Hill. We are stronger than we have been, but only if we follow through on our commitment to maintain this indispensable service.