Proper Public Radio Documentation Lacking at Some, GAO Says
The uses of federal funds by public radio stations vary and not all stations keep proper documentation that itemizes grant funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a Government Accountability Office report said. The report on public radio’s federal funding stemmed from different requests from Texas Republican Reps. Joe Barton and Michael Burgess, Republican Reps. Darrell Issa of California, Cliff Stearns of Florida and Doug Lamborn of Colorado. Barton and Burgess’s letter seeking the information last year (CD Nov 19 p9) said it was out of concern that “the use of appropriated taxpayer dollars for the production of content could inappropriately involve the government in the promulgation of particular viewpoints and the silencing of others, especially since many taxpayers may not share the editorial views of NPR."
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CPB isn’t subject to the same federal fiscal controls as government agencies, though “Congress may place requirements on CPB’s expenditures through authorizing legislation and appropriations laws,” the report said. Allowable uses for grant funds may include the costs of production, programming and management, it said. NPR doesn’t receive direct federal appropriations, but received about $6.4 million in CPB grants during from FY2006 to FY2010, the report said. About 70 percent of annual revenues comes from membership dues, programming fees from affiliates and other grants, it said. NPR also received grants for special projects from agencies, like the Education and Commerce Departments, the GAO said.
Public radio stations may use any portion of their CPB grants to purchase NPR programs and not all stations “maintain proper documentation that separately accounts for expenditures of CPB grant funds,” the GAO said. “Limitations may exist in determining the total amount of CPB grant funds local public radio stations use to purchase programming.” Requiring stations to document itemization of CPB funds could be addressed in legislation as a separate issue, a Lamborn spokeswoman said. “You can put prohibitive language into appropriations bills, or pass a stand-alone bill that sets it in statute for CPB to itemize all expenses.” Lamborn is a member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. His bill aimed at defunding NPR, HR-1076, passed the House in March (CD March 18 p6), and it hasn’t been taken up in the Senate. “He is still going to pursue that this year,” Lamborn’s spokeswoman said. Barton and Burgess didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The GAO didn’t address the lawmakers’ original questions regarding the process around the firing of former NPR senior news analyst Juan Williams. Barton and Burgess asked whether federally appropriated funds made available to NPR were expended in the course of any investigation, [or] internal deliberations around changes in its contractual relationship with Williams. In each of the requests, the agency received several questions from the congressmen, said Kate Siggerud, managing director of the GAO physical infrastructure team. Where there are a number of different members of Congress with similar requests, “we work with them to agree on the scope of the request and agree on the set of questions that will be addressed,” she said in an interview.
The agency reviewed documents from CPB and NPR, including audited financial statements and it interviewed officials at those organizations and with the CPB’s Inspector General to conduct the study, it said. The report is beneficial, CPB and NPR said in written statements. It “provides a comprehensive explanation of how federal funds flow from CPB and are used by public radio stations throughout the country,” a CPB spokeswoman said. “We appreciate the comprehensive approach taken by the GAO,” an NPR spokeswoman said. “They surfaced all the relevant facts about federal funding for public radio.”