National arts organizations howled at President Donald Trump's budget cuts that target public broadcasting and endowments for the arts and humanities, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Sundance Institute, Recording Academy, PBS – the group behind the iconic "Sesame Street" – and Hollywood unions for actors, directors, writers and other crew and craftsmen blasted the cuts, which eliminates the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
CPB provides funding for PBS and National Public Radio stations.
In a joint statement, the Directors Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, the Writers Guild of America West and East and IATSE urged "our nation's leaders to preserve funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting," calling those targets "a source of inspiration, action and economic growth our country's arts are integral to our culture, our American identity and our democracy."
According to THR, PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger argued the cost of public broadcasting is small, amounting to $1.35 per citizen, per year.
THR points out PBS encompasses nearly 350 member stations and has strong support among Republican and Democratic voters.
Kerger told the outlet the "benefits are tangible: increasing school readiness for kids 2-8, support for teachers and homeschoolers, lifelong learning, public safety communications and civil discourse."
She also decried CPB and PBS were being used as a political football.
The American public "understand that these are tough times, that Congress has to make difficult decisions," Kerger told THR. "But more than 70 percent of those who voted for President Trump said they wanted Congress to find the savings elsewhere. The fact that we’ve been zeroed out and that we’ve been called out so specifically is something that is hard to get my head around."
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind "Sesame Street" also decried the cuts.
"Research shows that high-quality preschool educational experiences are a key determinant in an individual's lifelong learning outcomes," its statement argued.
"PBS makes 'Sesame Street' available to all Americans and thereby continues to play a major role in helping less privileged kids gain access to preschool education that has proven and enduring value."
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