Radio/Music News Tues-Thurs-Fri by Sam Weaver
Frozen FEMA Funds Stall Public Radio Emergency Broadcast Upgrades Nationwide
U.S. Senators ED MARKEY (D-MA) and LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK) have sent a formal letter to Acting FEMA Administrator CAMERON HAMILTON, urging the agency to resume payment processing for the NEXT GENERATION WARNING SYSTEM (NGWS) grant program. The bipartisan request comes as the 2025 hurricane season approaches and nearly $2 million in public radio station reimbursements remain frozen.
The Senators wrote, “Public broadcasters—who have already spent money to upgrade their infrastructure—may face financial challenges without promised reimbursements. To put it simply: this funding freeze is unnecessarily threatening public safety.”
FEMA halted access to its payment system on FEBRUARY 19th. It left 42 public radio stations across 23 states without funds for critical emergency alert infrastructure upgrades. The NGWS grants, administered by the CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING, are intended to help stations maintain emergency communications during natural disasters.
The NGWS program was funded with $136 million by CONGRESS over three years. The first round of awards included recipients in LOUISIANA and TENNESSEE, states that recently experienced severe hurricane-related flooding and damage. ALASKA stations were also awarded funds to improve emergency alert capacity for rural areas where radio is often the sole lifeline.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY researchers forecast 12 to 15 named storms during the 2025 ATLANTIC hurricane season, which runs from JUNE 1st to NOVEMBER 30th. Of those, six to eight storms could become hurricanes, with two to three reaching major hurricane strength.
MARKEY and MURKOWSKI have requested a written explanation from FEMA by APRIL 29th explaining why payments were suspended and when they will resume.