It’s a familiar situation. You’re at home watching television or in your car listening to the radio when suddenly a blaring tone takes over the airwaves. Then comes the robotic voice, warning of a severe thunderstorm. Or a flash flood. Or maybe it’s just a test.
It’s the sound of the U.S. Emergency Alert System, or EAS, a vital emergency service, especially in rural and remote communities. And it’s at risk — both nationally and in Maine.
The $9 billion rescission bill currently in front of Congress at the request of President Donald Trump proposes to cancel $1.1 billion in previously approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over what the White House calls “bias” in public media.
It would wipe out two years of federal funding for NPR and PBS — constituting 10 and 15 percent of their budgets, respectively — and leave many of the nation’s 245 rural public media stations without much of the funding they need to survive.
That means local and state agencies, which often rely on these stations as the initial distributor of emergency alerts, could be left to scramble for new, expensive solutions.
The exact impact those cuts would have on Maine Public — the statewide public media organization — are not yet clear.
But CEO Rick Schneider argued that the station is “the backbone of the emergency alert system” in Maine, and that the legislation would cut 12 percent of its annual budget, or $2.5 million, in each of the next two years.
That kind of funding cut would “certainly mean reductions,” Schneider said, creating an air of uncertainty both for the future of Maine Public’s programming and its ability to distribute emergency alerts.
It is the only broadcaster with the ability to transmit throughout the state, operating 21 radio transmitters, five full-powered television transmitters and three television translators across Maine.
The cuts are a concern for Chris Lavoie, who directs the Penobscot Regional Communications Center, which handles emergency calls across Penobscot and Aroostook counties. He spelled out those fears in a letter to the editor in the Bangor Daily News Monday.
“If Congress eliminates funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — the financial backbone of [Maine Public] — the impact on public safety will be immediate and severe,” Lavoie wrote. “Losing access to [Maine Public’s] towers would force us to rebuild critical infrastructure from scratch. Just a few towers would cost millions.”
Maine Public partners with commercial television and radio broadcasters to further disseminate alerts. Without it, it’s unclear where transmissions would begin.
“We essentially provide the initial infrastructure, the signal that gets it out, and commercial broadcasters pick it up through us,” Schneider said. “If our stations went away, it’s not as if there’s a ready solution for that.”
Maine Public’s transmitters also help carry signals that distribute emergency cell phone alerts, Schneider said.
More broadly, while Schneider said that he disagrees with the notion of bias in public media programming, he also argued that the cuts would not have their intended effect of hurting national public broadcasters.
“There is a lot of political rhetoric about it without thinking through the practical implications,” Schneider said. “It’s not going to hurt NPR programming, they’ll figure it out in some way. It’s the local stations that will be affected. In Maine, I don’t think our stations are going to go away, but I do think that Maine is better positioned to provide emergency service if we have a statewide network of transmitters.”
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who Schneider called a “champion of public broadcasting,” was one of two Republicans to vote against the bill early Thursday, citing the necessity of local stations. But the bill passed in the Senate with a 51-49 vote.
“I share the frustration with the biased reporting by NPR, and I would support defunding it,” Collins said Tuesday. “Nevertheless, local TV and radio stations continue to provide important coverage.”
Sen. Angus King, an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, also voted against advancing the bill.
“This process that we’re talking about here — this rescission process — turns the whole thing upside down,” King said. “It basically says the administration can decide programs that are going to go away, and you can take it or leave it, Congress. I believe it shreds the appropriations process. The appropriations committee, indeed, this body, becomes a rubber stamp for whatever the administration wants.”
The bill will now come before the House for a final vote. It must pass by a Friday deadline, or the process would be forced to start over at a later date.
Editor’s note: Maine Public is a media partner of the Bangor Daily News.
