National Public Radio's Juan Williams shown in this April 2001 file photo has been fired for comments he made regarding Muslims. UPI/Bill Greenblatt/FILES
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. House Republicans suggested Friday that federal funding for National Public Radio be eliminated following the dismissal of commentator Juan Williams.
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the minority whip, said he would add NPR to the "YouCut" list of suggested programs for online voting on which ones should lose funding, The Hill reported. Cantor called Williams' firing an example of "overreaching political correctness."
Minority Leader John Boehner, who described NPR as a "left-wing radio network," said Republicans will examine its funding if they win control of the House. In the Senate, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said Thursday he would introduce legislation to cut NPR from the budget.
Most of NPR's funding comes from other sources.
Williams was fired Wednesday after an on-air discussion of Islam with Bill O'Reilly on Fox News. Williams said he becomes nervous when he spots people in "Muslim garb" on airlines, a remark that was part of a longer and more nuanced discussion in which Williams argued Muslims should not be lumped together as potential terrorists.
Muslim-American activists and scholars said they fear the firing of a radio analyst will expand the gulf between Muslims and non-Muslims in America.
"The greater American public remains unsure about Islam and very often hostile about Islam," Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic Studies at American University, who examines the schism in his film and book, "Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam," told the Los Angeles Times.
"Now the debate is, are we being oversensitive to Muslims?" he added.
NPR said Williams's Muslim comments were the last straw and dismissed him, saying his remarks were "inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices."
"This isn't the first time we have had serious concerns about some of Juan's public comments," NPR chief executive Vivian Schiller said in an e-mail to affiliates.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/10/22/Republicans-eye-NPR-funding/UPI-76801287722078/