The early-Saturday morning budget vote is the result of a long push by Colorado Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn, who also tried to zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the last Congress. He calls last weekend's budget vote "a historic step" that helps the government "get our fiscal house in order." But the San Francisco Chronicle observes the mostly likely victims of the cut in funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will be the "smaller television and radio stations serving rural, politically red areas in California and other states." The reasoning is that larger-market stations have built their reliance on the membership base and underwriting, while smaller stations don't have those advantages.

The Republican-sponsored House budget cut more than $61 billion in spending, including the $430 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds individual member radio and TV stations. The stations then spend their money on programming, sometimes with NPR or American Public Media or other outside content producers. Support for public broadcasting is more widespread in the Senate, and at the White House. Some see this House budget as the beginning of a budget battle that could lead to a serious showdown over spending.