Lake County’s member of Congress on Thursday criticized a bill passed by Congressional Republicans to take back federal funding from public media stations and foreign aid programs that was already approved by Congress and signed into law.

“Make no mistake: These clawbacks are an attack on public safety,” said Congressman Mike Thompson. “Our public radio and TV stations, especially those in rural communities, are often the only trusted local news source. Publicly funded media stations are the ones covering our kids’ high school sports games, providing high-quality educational programming to our kids, and distributing essential public safety information during natural disasters. To slash this funding is to attack these important services.

“At the same time, Congressional Republicans are pulling funding from Ukraine and other allies. When our allies are unsafe, we are all unsafe. Cuts to foreign aid undermine our national security,” Thompson said.

“Congressional Republicans’ claims that this is about saving money are laughable considering they just passed a bill that will add nearly $5 trillion to our national debt in order to give tax breaks to their billionaire donors who don’t need the help. They are pulling the rug out from under our allies and our local news stations. The American people will pay the price,” Thompson added. 
 
Congressman Mike Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo Counties. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Rep. Thompson is Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He is also Co-Chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus and a member of the fiscally-responsible Blue Dog Coalition.