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Does a 2025 federal law cut funding for some emergency broadcast alerts?
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Yes.
A recent law President Donald Trump signed July 24 cuts funding for public broadcast stations, including those that provide local emergency alerts.
The law rescinded $9 billion in previously approved funding β $8 billion for foreign aid and $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private nonprofit β for fiscal 2026 and 2027.
CPB, which announced it would shut down because of the rescissions, has funneled federal dollars to radio and TV networks such as NPR and PBS.
NPR, PBS and their member stations are mostly funded by private donations, but smaller stations, especially in rural areas, relied more on CPB funding. And people in those areas rely on local stations for emergency weather and other alerts.
Wisconsin stations received $8.5 million in CPB funding in fiscal 2024.
The rescissions donβt affect the Emergency Alert System, for national emergency announcements, or the Wireless Emergency Alerts.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Congress.gov: H.R.4 β Rescissions Act of 2025
- CBS News: Trump signs rescissions bill clawing back foreign aid, NPR and PBS funding
- NPR: Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it's shutting down
- Congress.gov: H.R.4 β Rescissions Act of 2025 text
- Poynter: Senate advances deep cuts to public media funding
- PolitiFact: Trump cancels $1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasting
- Snopes: PBS isn't shutting down. Loss of federal funding will still have a significant impact
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Appropriation Request and Justification FY 2026/FY 2028
- Federal Emergency Management Agency: Emergency Alert System
- Federal Communications Commission: Wireless Emergency Alerts
- SFGate.com: The voice of California's redwood country is under attack
Does a 2025 federal law cut funding for some emergency broadcast alerts? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
