Rubio Attacks Public Broadcast Funding While on NPR Show

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said on Thursday that he was concerned about broadcasting operations that use government money to stay on the air — and he did it while on an NPR talk show.

“I do have concerns about spending money on public broadcasting,” the Republican senator told Diane Rehm during an hourlong program on NPR, ABC News reports.

NPR, which receives two percent of its funding from government grants, continues to face attacks from congressional Republicans for its perceived liberal news approach. Even that small loss would hamper NPR stations in their ability to pay for such programming, the compay says.

Rubio said private donations should support NPR and similar enterprises – and that plenty of outlets are available to convey that ideology and format.
But he admitted that he likes Rehm’s show and that NPR’s funding is low on the list of costs that should be cut.