New York, Feb.6 : The Corporation of Public Broadcasting has said that it fight against the "draconian" cuts of federal funding for public broadcasting proposed by U.S.President George W. Bush in his budget for 2009.

Patricia Harrison, president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, was quoted by the New York Times as saying that the cut means that public broadcasters will get only 200 million dollars out of 400 million dollars allocated in advance by Congress for fiscal year 2009 and cut 200 million out of 420 million dollars already planned for 2010.

"The administration's proposal is consistent with the evolving role of public broadcasting in a market that has benefited from tremendous growth and diversity of programming," Sean Kevelighan, press secretary at the White House Office of Management and Budget, said in an e-mail message.

He also said that government funds make up only 15 percent of public broadcasting revenue.

The proposed cuts for public broadcasting come just as local public television station executives are set to descend on Washington next week for a day of lobbying. They will be asking not just for the cut funds to be reinstated, but also for an increase, which they eventually got last year, said John Lawson, president and chief executive of the Association of Public Television Stations.

ANI