House Speaker Newt Gingrich videotaped a fund-raising pitch for public television Saturday and challenged viewers to match the $2,000 annual donation he's pledged for the next five years.
"As we move to balance the federal budget, public television needs your help," Gingrich said in a spot being aired on Atlanta's WPBA-TV Saturday night. He recorded the message after teaching his regular Saturday morning class at Reinhardt College.Gingrich, R-Ga., has said public television should not depend on federal financing, which makes up about 14 percent of its budget. He and other GOP lawmakers have proposed eliminating all federal funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Lawmakers so far have resisted doing this through 1997, but they are interested in cutting off federal dollars in 1998.
In his TV spot, Gingrich challenged the station's viewers to follow his example in donating to public television.
"If everyone writing letters to Congress about public TV matched me, they'd have the money they need," he said later.