Politics
Elmo Takes Center Stage in Funding Debate
Clear Facts
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries used an Elmo doll to oppose a funding cut for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
- The rescissions package, sent by the White House, proposes over $9.5 billion in cuts, including reductions for CPB and USAID.
- The House passed the rescissions package with a close vote of 214-212.
In a rather theatrical display, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took to the House floor armed with an Elmo doll to voice his opposition against a proposed rescissions package. This package, sent by the White House, outlines over $9.5 billion in cuts, notably targeting the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
Jeffries, in his speech, highlighted the cultural significance of programs like “Sesame Street,” which have been a staple of public broadcasting. He remarked on the House floor,
“We’re on the floor of the House of Representatives not debating legislation that is designed to make this country and our economy more affordable but actually debating legislation that targets Elmo and Big Bird and Daniel Tiger and Sesame Street.”
The cuts come as part of a broader effort by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has identified $180 billion in savings since its inception under President Donald Trump. This initiative reportedly saves an average of $1,118.01 per taxpayer.
Despite Jeffries’ impassioned plea, the House narrowly passed the rescissions package with a vote of 214-212. The vote saw 208 Democrats opposing the bill, reflecting a deep partisan divide on the issue.
Interestingly, “Sesame Street” has already made moves to adapt to changing times. After suffering financial losses, the show shifted its first-run episodes to HBO in 2015. More recently, a deal was announced to bring the show to Netflix in 2025, while still allowing same-day episodes to air on PBS.
The debate around public broadcasting funding continues to be a contentious issue, with strong arguments on both sides regarding the value and necessity of such programs in today’s media landscape.
Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Livia Rakes
June 13, 2025 at 11:23 am
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Jaoquin
June 13, 2025 at 5:28 pm
Elmo and Associates is as intellectually high as hacky jeff and company can ever hope to aspire to. They speak pretty much the same language and, in some cases, even somewhat resemble each other, which is not a good look for Elmo and Associates.
Robert Gagliardi
June 13, 2025 at 7:00 pm
It’s definitely time to trim the fat. The media in general has gone out of touch along with other entities like sports etc. The average person is lucky to make $100,000 a year while athletes make over $300,000 a day. Trim, Trim, Trim!
Maxx
June 13, 2025 at 8:04 pm
PBS does have many good programs. I especially appreciate Masterpiece and other historical and scientific documentaries. But it has 50 times more useless rerun bad programs for every good interesting one
that just help keep certain PBS family dynasties employed. I would like to see PBS kept but only after reforming it to get rid of all of the liberal news propaganda indoctrination programs. PBS was chartered to provide educational programming. What they serve up as news is just the same leftist propaganda we get from the MSM. Cut the crap and leave the educational stuff minus the PBS family dynasty (cooking shows).