By KBIA / Maria Altman, St. Louis Public Radio
ST. LOUIS – Missouri Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer announced Thursday he supports cutting funding for NPR.
The proposal came up on the House floor because it won an online YouCut poll on a Republican website.
The site asks visitors to choose which programs they would like to cut. Lawmakers voted down the cut today by a 66-vote margin... but Republicans intend to bring the proposal back onto the floor when they take control of the House in January.
Luetkemeyer press secretary Paul Sloca says the Congressman's vote was one in favor of the YouCut idea not against NPR.
"There's this impression here that he's picking on NPR," Sloca said, "No,this is something the people who participated in the [YouCut] program from across the country recommended. It was the most popular for the week, and that's why it was placed on the floor for a vote."
St. Louis Public Radio is an NPR member station, and receives about 7 percent of its funding from the federally-funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
NPR issued a statement today saying the government has supported public broadcasting for more than 40 years and it's imperative federal funding continue.