Federal Money Not Used For Radio Spots

Spokane’s public radio station is running messages to draw support for continued federal funding.

The general manager at KPBX-FM said Thursday, however, that no federal money is used to produce the announcements.

KSPS, the public television station based in Spokane, so far has not aired messages about proposed funding cuts.

Some Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives argue that such messages may violate a law prohibiting the use of federal money for influencing legislation in Congress.

Spokane’s public radio station gets $123,000 in federal money annually, which is set aside for specific projects and not mixed with other funds, said Dick Kunkel, KPBX general manager.

Kunkel said the recent messages are intended to inform listeners who aren’t aware of the debate.

“We have some station members that have been on the air with some announcements encouraging people to contact their legislators,” Kunkel said.

Claude Kistler, the general manager of KSPS-TV in Spokane, said station officials are considering airing such announcements, in which board members would explain why they support continuing federal funding.

If the announcements are made, none of the $600,000 in federal money the station receives annually would be used for the announcements, Kistler said.