'Have You Ever Watched A Daniel Tiger Show?': Ro Khanna Grills Anti-PBS Witness

2 days ago

At Wednesday's DOGE hearing, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) questioned the Heritage Foundation's Michael Gonzalez about his call to end public funding to PBS.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for allowing me to wave on to the committee.

00:04Mr. Gonzales, I read with interest your testimony. It was so angry, so I thought I'd try to lighten

00:11things up a little bit. Who are three of your favorite characters on Daniel Tiger,

00:17or what episodes are your favorites?

00:22Representative Khanna, thank you very much for the opportunity to lighten up.

00:26I, again, I think I'm taking a time machine here. Sesame Street went to Daniel Tiger.

00:34Do you have some favorite characters? Oh, the owl, any of them?

00:37No, none.

00:38What does Agamaga mean to you?

00:40Nothing.

00:41You've never heard the expression, Agamaga?

00:43Yeah, I don't think so, no.

00:44It's affection. Have you ever watched a Daniel Tiger show,

00:48or know any families who watch a Daniel Tiger show?

00:51I don't think so, no.

00:52You've never watched one?

00:53Yeah, I've never seen Daniel Tiger.

00:54Sorry.

00:56Do you know what Daniel Tiger is a successor to?

01:00I don't know Daniel Tiger, so I don't know what he's a successor to.

01:02No, the show, what it's a successor to, do you know?

01:05No.

01:05You really don't know?

01:06No, I really don't. I'm on the roof.

01:08The whole of history. It's a successor to Mr. Rogers.

01:10Oh, there you go. Okay. Mr. Rogers, I know.

01:13Okay. Are you familiar with his 1969 testimony?

01:16I am.

01:17He said, I want to quote, because it's one of my favorites. I studied this, actually,

01:22going to school. It's some of the most effective testimony in Congress.

01:25He said, I give an expression of care every day to each child to help him realize that he is unique.

01:31I end the program by saying, you've made this day a special day by just your being you.

01:37There's no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.

01:42Senator Pastor, who was a hard-headed fiscal conservative,

01:46said he got goosebumps by that testimony, and it's what convinced him to fund

01:51the public broadcast. You've said you wouldn't have funded it.

01:54Do you think Senator Pastor made a mistake back then?

01:57Oh, yeah, absolutely. I think I agree with Fred Friendly, who testified and said-

02:02You would have voted against?

02:04I would have voted, yes. I don't think that you should have state broadcasters.

02:07Now, what is the cost of public broadcasting as a percent of the federal budget?

02:13I don't know, but it is a-

02:15Come on, you're talking about the $36 trillion of debt that we have.

02:18You're saying this is a really important thing that we need to cut.

02:22You didn't research out what percent it is.

02:24It's important in principle, and it is-

02:26No, but you said-

02:27The principle is a different thing.

02:28You're saying this is an effective strategy to cut debt, and you have no idea what-

02:32It was 5% of the discretionary cuts in the GOP-

02:35It's .01%.

02:37Right, but it was 5% of the discretionary cuts in the 2017 budget.

02:40.01% of the federal budget.

02:43That's one of the reasons Senator Pastor said it's worth it in an investment

02:48in American kids.

02:48Now, you said Sesame Street is a private organization, or Sesame Street is going private.

02:54I didn't understand that because Sesame Workshop is a non-profit.

02:57What did you mean by private?

02:58Well, I mean, it's a non-profit.

03:01It's separate from-

03:02But it gets public funding.

03:05Were you talking about the HBO thing?

03:07Yes.

03:08Do you realize that HBO just canceled with them?

03:11I do, yes.

03:12The reason they canceled them, and I'm trying to explain why Senator Pastor funded this,

03:16and if you talk to families who watch Daniel Tiger, maybe you'd appreciate it.

03:20The reason they canceled it is because it wasn't making a profit, see, because when

03:24you try to do Daniel Tiger or Sesame Street, and you try to do what Mr. Rogers was talking

03:30about, helping the emotional and social development of kids, it's not easy.

03:36You've got to hire people who are child psychologists.

03:38You have to hire people who are educationalists.

03:41A lot goes into this, and HBO said, you know what?

03:45It's not making money.

03:46We'd rather put on things that are geared towards adults or that are going to be conflicts.

03:54We aren't making money on this.

03:56And the whole reason, the whole reason Senator Pastor said that we're going to fund this,

04:01I know you kind of mocked in your testimony the kids, but the whole reason was that when

04:06you make programming for children to help their social and emotional development, it

04:12costs so much money to do, and it's a public good, then not everything has to be about

04:18profit.

04:20Do you have any idea what it takes to produce Daniel Tiger?

04:23Who all they hired?

04:24Did you ever try to figure it out?

04:25No, but I can tell you that the market said that there wasn't enough demand for it, and

04:30that's the reason why HBO got rid of it, because there wasn't enough demand.

04:34Yeah, so that's exactly the right point.

04:36Are you saying that everything in American society needs to be driven by the profit motive?

04:41There is not enough demand on getting ratings for things that help the social and economic

04:47development of kids.

04:48But you know what Mr. Rogers understood, what we've forgotten in this country?

04:52Some things are more valuable than money.

04:54At a time where a country is polarized, I wish we had a little more empathy and caring,

04:58and that's not a partisan issue.

05:00That's an American issue, and I would recommend you re-watch that testimony from Mr. Rogers.

05:05I hope the whole country would watch it.

05:07I have watched it, and we are $36 trillion in debt.

'Have You Ever Watched A Daniel Tiger Show?': Ro Khanna Grills Anti-PBS Witness

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