Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

school systems. It was in this capacity as well that Loomis gained knowledge about the facilities aspect of public broadcasting. The Office of Education for HEW was involved in public funding for TV and radio—$12.5 million in 1976, for example. Here Loomis was involved in the White House meeting that led to establishment of the Carnegie Commission on Educational Television.

From 1958 to 1965, Loomis was Director, Broadcasting Service, the Voice of America, USIA. During this time, Loomis drafted the first directive for VOA-its "charter." This was later approved by Mr. Murrow, Director of the USIA. The charter established the relationship between factual news, objective coverage of responsible and significant American opinion and finally U.S. policy and the reasons therefore.

Loomis resigned his post as director of VOA in 1965, due to the political pressure which, in his judgment, impaired the independence and integrity of VOA.

Previous government service by Loomis include the following: Staff Director to the Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, the White House, from 1957 to 1958; Chief, Office of Research and Intelligence, USIA, 1954-57; Staff member, the President's Committee on International Information, 1953; Consultant, Psychological Strategy Board, Washington, D.C., 1951-52; Assistant to the Chairman, Research and Development Board, Department of Defense, the Pentagon, 1950-51. From 1947 to 1950, he was Assistant to the President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1963, he was the recipient of the Rockefeller Public Service Award for Foreign Affairs and International Operations and of the USIA's Distinguished Service Award.

From 1940 to 1945, Loomis served in the U.S. Navy as a radar specialist, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He served on the staff of the Commander-inChief of the Pacific and ran Radar Maintenance Service and Radar Operations School.

Loomis holds a B.A., Harvard University, 1941.

JAMES B. CARDWELL BIOGRAPHY

On December 13, 1977, James B. Cardwell became Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Prior to joining the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, he had served as U.S. Commissioner of Social Security, an office that he assumed in October, 1973.

Mr. Cardwell has held numerous government positions over a period of 35 years in the area of finance and general management. He has held budget and finance positions in the U.S. Public Housing Administration and in the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Mr. Cardwell has extensive management experience with the U.S. Government. In 1955 he became budget officer for the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. From 1957 to 1958, he was a budget examiner with responsibility over the Department's health budget in the Office of the Secretary, HEW. Mr. Cardwell was Assistant Commissioner for Administration in the Food and Drug Administration during the period 1958-65. He was appointed in 1965 as Deputy HEW Comptroller and Departmental Budget Officer and served from 1970 to 1973 as Assistant Secretary and HEW Comptroller.

A World War II veteran, he served with the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations. He returned to the Public Housing Administration in 1945 where he served in administrative and budget assignments until 1954. A lifelong resident of the Washington area, Cardwell was born in the District of Columbia and graduated from Western High School in 1942. He was graduated in 1955 with a Bachelor of Commercial Science degree from Columbus University.

He has received numerous awards during his tenure with HEW, including the Department's Superior Service Award, 1961; the FDA Award of Merit, 1965; the HEW Distinguished Service Award, 1967; HEW Secretary's Special Citation, 1968; and the HEW Certificate of Outstanding Performance, 1968. He received the National Civil Service League Career Service Award in 1971, and the Rockfeller Public Service Award in 1974.

Mr. Cardwell and his wife, the former Mary Louise Sheppard of Kansas City, Kansas, live in Rockville, Maryland. They have four sons.

25-260 (Pt. 7) O 78 30

STATEMENT BY HENRY LOOMIS, PRESIDENT, CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC

BROADCASTING

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee. I have three separate statements for presentation to the Committee at this time. The first deals with a request for a Supplemental appropriation for 1978 of $12.05 million which the President has included in his 1979 budget.

The second presentation deals with our request for appropriations for fiscal year 1981 under the Public Broadcasting Financing Act of 1975. For this activity, appropriations are made two years in advance of the budget year. In this instance appropriations are requested in the President's 1979 budget to be available for obligation and expenditure in 1981.

My third presentation today will deal with the 1979 annual appropriations to carry out the Educational Broadcast Facilities Act of 1962.

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, calendar year 1978 represents an important year for CPB and public broadcasting. This is so not just because 1978 marks the start of our second decade, but also because it is the year in which the Public Broadcasting Financing Act of 1975 comes before the Congress for renewal. It is a year that will see the beginning of a new era of technological improvement in the quality and diversity of public broadcasting. Nineteen seventy-eight marks the year in which work on the nationwide television satellite interconnection will move from construction to the initial stages of operations. It also marks the start of a similar national project for a public radio satellite interconnection. By 1981, both of these important facilities will be fully operational, bringing improved service to millions. These two satellite projects represent landmark achievements to the credit of all of public broadcasting.

Finally, there is in this year an even greater sense of working together for the common good among CPB, PBS, NPR and the stations that make up the public broadcasting family. We are working together and with the Administration in an effort to frame a common position for early presentation to the Congress concerning successor legislation to the Public Broadcasting Financing Act of 1975.

While it is unlikely that we will agree among ourselves on every provision of a bill, or for that matter even should, we are already in agreement on the need of early enactment of such legislation as well as the scope and character of its general features.

In this regard, Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I would like to summarize exactly where this legislation now stands.

First, President Carter has already sent to Congress his proposals for early legislative action. His proposals would continue the existing advance-funding concept and the five-year funding period. They would also increase appropriation ceilings and would lower the requirements for non-Federal matching. Mr. Chairman, when I refer to non-Federal matching, I am talking about a requirement in our statute that ties the Federal appropriation to the amount of voluntary contributions received from non-Federal sources. Finally, the President's plan would shift responsibility for Federal funding of educational broadcasting facilities from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Next, it should be noted that the President's budget for 1979 and its requests for CPB funding for 1981 assumes enactment of this or similar legislation, including the relocation of the HEW facilities grant program to CPB.

Finally, it should be emphasized that the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting generally endorses the President's proposals. However, the Board favors modification of certain aspects of the President's plan. The Board will seek higher authorizations, a further lowering of non-Federal matching requirements and the avoidance of any further earmarking of Federal funds. Although these represent important differences, they are, I would emphasize, more a matter of degree than of critical substance.

Highlights of the 1981 Appropriation request

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is requesting a 1981 appropriation ceiling of $210 million compared to $172 million included in the President's budget and $152 million available for 1980. Public Broadcasting is again requesting that the ratio of the match be lowered to one Federal dollar for every two non-Federal dollars raised by public broadcasters. We estimate that we will be able to raise over $400 million in 1979. This would justify the $210 million appropriation.

At the President's budget level, we will fall short of where the public wants and expects us to be. Our goal and expectation, Mr. Chairman, is that voluntary nonFederal funds available for matching in 1981 will exceed $400 million. This level of

voluntary financing reflects a public expectation that we believe justifies the $210 million Federal appropriation requested by CPB for 1981. If we are wrong, the worst that can happen is that any unmatched appropriation remains in the Treasury. As grateful as we are for the higher support proposed by the President, we would urge consideration by this Committee of an even higher level of 1981 funding so that public broadcasting can move with true vigor and promise into its next decade. Mr. Chairman, I believe it would be helpful to examine our request for a $210 million appropriation in terms of major categories of support. Our present plans would allocate the appropriation approximately as follows:

More than $121 million, almost 58 percent of the appropriation, is allocated in the form of unrestricted support grants for individual public television and radio stations and expansion grants for radio. These basic support grants (called Community Service Grants) help finance both on-going and expanded operations of local television and radio stations. This base of support for individual stations is, we believe, the most important priority in the CPB budget.

About $47 million, more than 22 percent of the appropriation will support new and expanded national radio and television program production, initiated by local stations and other independent producers. The need for new sources of programs is critical. CPB provides only a portion of the funds for national program support. However, CPB funds are vital to the development of programs which will meet special needs and interests not served by existing programs. Between now and 1981 we see a need to stress programs that serve the elderly, the handicapped and minorities.

$20 million, about 10 percent of the appropriation, will support the distribution of national programs via interconnection systems managed by PBS and NPR for television and radio respectively. These funds will be used to lease satellite transponders, and to finance debt service and operational and maintenance costs of the ground system.

$10 million, 5 percent, will go to other important priorities such as improved longrange planning; training; support for women and minorities; improvements in public participation and better utilization of public broadcasting programs for education.

$6 million, or 3 percent, is identified as a special reserve. This will permit CPB to take advantage of new programming and technological developments and opportunities and to further activities and projects that are now under development, for which future potential and cost have yet to be determined. This concept of a "targets of opportunity" reserve has been a part of the CPB budget since advanceyear funding has been provided.

$5 million, 2 percent of the total request, will go to CPB administration and management.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my remarks, which, out of concern for time have been limited to a summary and highlights of our request. We will, of course, be glad to try to answer any questions or to provide any additional information or materials that the Committee might like.

EDUCATIONAL Broadcast FACILITIES, FISCAL Year 1979

(By Henry Loomis)

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, the Educational Broadcast Facilities Program has provided important capital support for both the expension and upgrading of public television and radio since enactment in 1962. CPB has always been a strong supporter of the program over the past ten years.

With the support of this Committee and the Congress, much needed equipment has been purchased for public television and radio stations. Since 1962, $132 million have been granted by HEW in support of this program. These funds have made an important contribution to the national capital investment in public broadcasting. However, figures supplied both by the stations and HEW show that these funds have not been enough and that public broadcasting suffers from a chronic capital shortage. For example, in 1977, almost $53 million in applications were considered, and only $14 million-one-third of the total-were approved.

In addition, because of the shortage of funds, HEW has awarded amounts less than the 75 percent of the total application amount allowed by the law. Instead of the stations sharing on a 75-25 basis, the figures indicate that is has been closer to a 60-40 ratio.

Finally, the continual backlog of applications, almost $30 million as of January 17 of this year, attest to the need of public stations for these capital funds.

Mr. Chairman, as you know, the authorization for appropriations expires at the end of 1978 and at the moment there is no funding authority for 1979 and later years. However, the President has submitted to Congress proposals to extend and enlarge the program, beginning in 1979. Under his proposal, the program would be expanded to include support for new technologies both broadcast and non-broadcast and facilities planning. An important feature of the President's proposal is to assign responsibility for these activities to CPB rather than HEW.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting concurs in the President's proposal to expand the program under CPB's administration effective in 1979. It seems inherently sensible that this important public broadcasting support program should be tied to the same organization, CPB, that is responsible for the national support activities of all aspects of public broadcasting. However, CPB has some concerns about the proposal, as follows:

1. First, CPB believes that in effecting the change in program responsibility, care should be taken to protect the non-governmental character of CPB itself. With adequate planning and care, CPB believes that this can be achieved.

2. Next, we are concerned about the 1979 funding level. It is clear that the $18 million appropriation for 1978, which is set aside in the 1979 budget as part of the reserve for contingencies, is inadequate when measured against approvable projects and available non-Federal matching funds. This inadequacy will be even more dramatic in 1979 when approvable projects and available matching funds will require all of the $30 million authorized for appropriation in 1979 under the President's proposal to extend and enlarge the program.

Mr. Chairman, it is our intention to seek an authorization level of $60 million for this program when the President's legislative proposal is considered by the Congress. If that amount is approved, we will seek legislation from you that appropriates the full amount.

The need for additional funding in this area is heightened by the arrival of the satellite interconnection system in 1979 and 1980 for television and radio. This system will encourage continued growth in the coverage of public broadcasting by providing more flexible distribution in programming services by using both broadcast and non-broadcast technologies.

We believe, therefore, that $60 million is a more adequate level of support for the kinds of activities contemplated in the President's proposal. If the Congress approves the $30 million authorization level which the President requests, then CPB would adjust its plans accordingly. With this amount of support, the bulk of the funds would go to finance the basic grants for educational broadcast facilities which are currently eligible. Some funds would be available at this level to make a beginning in the new areas of broadcast technologies and planning and to open some support for non-broadcast facilities.

In summary, Mr. Chairman, CPB's board supports the relocation to CPB of this activity during 1979. We believe that this change should result in improved planning and coordination of CPB's support of public broadcasting at the local level. We are concerned that the transition be well planned and orderly in order to safeguard the Corporation's private status. We also want to ensure that sufficient funds are made available to meet the objectives contained in the President's proposal. I will be glad to answer any questions.

ADMINISTRATION'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING PROPOSAL

Mr. FLOOD. The authorization for the advance appropriations expires in 1980. The President has submitted a proposal to extend the authorization with some modification of existing law. In your statement you say the board of directors has some differences with the proposals. Will you explain what these differences are and why you do not agree?

Mr. LOOMIS. Yes, sir. I also say in the statement that there is general approval of the main points of the bill. I want to stress that.

Mr. FLOOD. Yes.

Mr. LOOMIS. The bill, of course, is a 5-year authorization bill, and the CPB board strongly supports that.

The bill calls for an improvement of the match. The match now is 21⁄2 nonfederal dollars required for each federal dollar. The

Corporation for Public Broadcasting as a whole has from the beginning sought a ratio of 2 to 1 rather than the 22 to 1.

The President's bill comes halfway and comes to 24 to 1. We would like to see it go to 2 to 1. We think that that is about the right ratio of the federal support to the nonfederal support—a third.

That, of course, changes the physical numbers that you would

earn.

We did a study last spring, we and the industry, PBS and NPR, as to what was likely to be the nonfederal income. We did a fairly careful analysis. Then, dividing that by the 2 to 1, we came up with a set of figures that began with $210 million in 1981 and rises gradually to $300 million in 1985.

Those are the hunting licenses that we would seek. You remember that we get no dollar which is not in fact matched. The appropriation may say a figure, but if we do not match it, we do not get it. So that the board would very much urge the Congress to have the appropriation ceilings begin at $210 million.

The President's authorization bill in 1981 has it begin at $180 million, but the money in the executive budget is only $172 million. Those, therefore, are the three significant figures for 1981.

Of course, the bill continues the proposal of the 2-year advance funding which this committee was so generous and kind to do. We think that is absolutely the key. That is just as important, in fact, in my judgment perhaps even more important than the five years. But the two of them together are absolutely essential.

Then I think the other major difference in the bill that the board is concerned about is the provision that a minimum of 25 percent of the appropriation be spent for national programming. We are concerned on several accounts. First of all, we expect we will be spending about that amount anyway. The lowest figure is 22 percent. It is in that neighborhood.

We are concerned with any setasides in the bill because the whole purpose of the corporation is to insulate broadcasting from the Federal Government and have the corporation make those types of day-to-day judgments.

Most important of all, programming is the most sensitive area as compared to the community service grants which go directly to the stations.

Therefore, we are supporting what we believe will be an amendment in the White House bill that will add the 50 percent minimum in the community service grants. But we and the Public Broadcasting Service are opposed to the 25 percent setaside for programming.

Those are the main things.

PUBLIC BROADCASTING INSULATION

Mr. FLOOD. The first sentence in the President's message transmitting his legislative proposal states that he wants to insulate our Public Broadcasting System from political manipulation.

Is that a problem? How does this proposal deal with it?

Mr. LOOMIS. I think this proposal deals with it by the continuation-most fundamentally-of the system of advanced year funding and 5-year authorization.

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »