WHAT'S HAPPENING

Congress already approved two years of federal funding that WHRO—and public media stations like ours—depend on to provide essential services. But now, President Trump has submitted a rescissions bill asking Congress to reverse that commitment.

If passed, this legislation would pull back already-allocated funds—upending our ability to deliver trusted local content and critical public safety services.

This isn't just a budget cut. It's a reversal of a promise, disrupting a funding agreement we relied on—a move that would jeopardize education, emergency alerts, and access to information for the people we serve.

WHAT'S AT RISK

Transmission systems that keep rural communities connected

Broadcast towers on the Eastern Shore, where broadband is limited

Life-saving emergency alerts for hurricanes, missing children, and national emergencies

Free educational programming for families, students, and classrooms

And importantly, these cuts would target local programming first—the very content that reflects our region’s stories and voices. Producing high-quality local media is significantly more expensive than acquiring national content. Without federal support, that local lens disappears.



WHY IT MATTERS

WHRO was founded as Home Room One, created by educators to bring learning directly into the home. Today, we remain the only public media station in the country owned by 21 local public school divisions.

We honored our commitment. We built programs, services, and jobs based on approved funding.

Now, Congress is being asked to break that commitment—and our community will pay the price.