Rohrabacher Opposes Public TV Funds : Congress: Others tell subcommittee that networks would not fill the void with educational programs because they aren’t big moneymakers.

As Congress weighed Thursday whether to cut federal funding for public television, Orange County Rep. Dana Rohrabacher called the spending “a subsidy for America’s affluent” that should fall into the hands of the private sector.

Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee that will recommend whether to continue annual payments to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the federal entity that distributes money to public radio and television stations nationwide.

With Republicans combing the federal budget for places to save money, the public broadcasting system has come under attack as a liberal-leaning program and an unnecessary expenditure.

Some public broadcasting programs have merit, said Rohrabacher, who has recorded a fund-raising pitch for a National Public Radio station in Santa Monica.

But he noted that similar shows are provided on the myriad cable channels now available.

“By and large, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a subsidy for America’s affluent, allowing them to view their favorite opera or ballet or hear trendy, politically correct commentators,” Rohrabacher said.

“American taxpayers can no longer be asked to subsidize” such programs, he added.

Congress provided $285 million to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the current fiscal year. That figure is about 14% of the agency’s total budget. The rest comes from state and local governments and private donations.

Supporters at the hearing said public broadcasting fosters the development of quality educational programming that commercial networks shy away from because they aren’t big money-makers.

And, without the federal government’s help, smaller stations that rely heavily on federal subsidies would go out of business, they said. That would deprive viewers of popular programs, such as “Masterpiece Theater” and “Sesame Street” or radio listeners of National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

“For many stations, federal funds make the crucial difference between survival and failure,” said Richard W. Carlson, the corporation’s president.

Orange County is served by two public television stations, KOCE-TV, Channel 50, in Huntington Beach and KCET-TV, Channel 28, in Los Angeles.

About 18% of KOCE’s budget comes from federal revenue, said Judith Schaefer, director of public information. Schaefer said she could not speculate on what would happen if the station loses that money.

Opponents, such as Rohrabacher, say that public TV’s hit shows could find homes on commercial networks, or public stations could increase their fund-raising efforts to stay on the air.

“Let’s make Barney and Big Bird taxpayer-friendly by transforming them from government bureaucrats into free-market entrepreneurs,” Rohrabacher said.