Virginia Senate Votes On Public Broadcasting Funding Thursday

House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong argued that Public Broadcasting is a core government function, and if the nation's forefathers had a say, they would agree.

"George Washington had the U.S. government appropriate funding to provide postage for the dissemination of newspapers," he says.

House Majority Leader Kirk Cox, a teacher, agrees that there's an educational component, but said it's not a core state function and should not get state funding.

"I think most classroom teachers would tell you they might use it, certainly not like 10 or 15 years ago. I can give you a whole host of websites that teachers can go to now for planning materials, etc. So a lot of those things are already out there. As a matter of fact, I think it will be used less and less," Cox says.

On a 61-39 vote, the House agreed to the amendment to phase out funding over two years.