Sen. Ted Cruz, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member, has raised concerns about the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's (CPB) affirmative action mandate for radio and television stations. In a letter addressed to CPB President and CEO Patricia de Stacy Harrison, Sen. Cruz argues that the mandate, which requires stations to engage in affirmative action to qualify for grant funding, may violate civil rights laws.
The letter highlights how CPB board members recently voted to modify the existing affirmative action mandates for publicly-funded media outlets, such as National Public Radio, as a response to state anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) legislation. This comes after the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year that affirmative action policies, which consider traits like race as a plus-factor in college admissions or employment, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Sen. Cruz questions the legality of the CPB's affirmative action requirements, citing the Public Broadcasting Act, which states that CPB should support telecommunications services that "constitute an expression of diversity." He argues that while CPB misconstrues this language to restrict its community service grants (CSGs) to stations that consider traits like race and ethnicity in hiring and workforce development, the board members openly discuss evading civil rights laws to allow for unlawful discrimination.
The letter also highlights a specific example where CPB's Office of the Inspector General criticized two Native American-owned radio stations for not meeting CSG diversity requirements. The stations were reprimanded for their failure to disclose employee gender, ethnicity, or race adequately. CPB subsequently revised its diversity rules, but Sen. Cruz suggests that the change was driven partly by the need to evade state anti-DEI laws and legal challenges following the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case.
The requirements for CSG diversity originated from an Obama-era review of television grants, which aimed to ensure that the composition of boards and staff reflects the diversity of the communities they serve. Despite the relaxation of eligibility criteria for television and radio CSGs, Sen. Cruz argues that CPB's affirmative action mandate stifles cultural and ideological diversity in public television and radio.
Sen. Cruz emphasizes that CPB should encourage objectivity in the programs it funds without exercising editorial control or infringing on stations' creative independence. He suggests that CPB can support a diversity of stations and programs without auditing individual stations to ensure their employees' races align with specific categories. Furthermore, he raises concerns about CPB funding public media outlets that propagate certain narratives, such as blaming Israel for an explosion at a Gaza hospital.
In conclusion, Sen. Cruz's letter urges CPB to reevaluate its affirmative action mandate and strike a balance between promoting diversity and respecting stations' editorial independence. He calls for a reconsideration of the rules that may violate the Constitution's promise of equality.
Read the full text of Sen. Cruz's letter [here](https://example.com).
To learn more, click on this link: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2023/12/sen-cruz-wants-docs-on-corporation-for-public-broadcasting-s-affirmative-action-mandate
