Republican congressional candidate Lorenzo Rios said he would not support federal funding for PBS in their current form, citing a shift away from the values that once defined public broadcasting.

Rios, who is challenging longtime Democratic Rep. Jim Costa in District 21 and currently leads the Clovis Veterans Memorial District, made the comments during a recent episode of GV Wire’s Unfiltered show.

“I learned English using PBS,” said Rios, a retired Marine Corps and Army lieutenant colonel who once served as interim CEO of Valley PBS. “But PBS today is not the PBS of yesteryear. The new programming has lost its way, and until it finds its way, I would not in good faith support it.”

While praising the educational value PBS once held — especially for immigrants and children — Rios said he believes current programming has become politically skewed and out of touch with the public it is meant to serve.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate narrowly voted to take up legislation to rescind $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funding. The 51-50 vote came after Republican leaders agreed to  concessions to win the votes of holdouts from their caucus.

The interview of Rios was hosted by GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen and Publisher Darius Assemi.

The full interview is available at GVWire.com.

About Unfiltered

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The program is streamed live on Facebook at facebook.com/gvwire and is also available directly on the GV Wire.

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