NPR has issued a new statement on the video depicting NPR executive Ron Schiller bashing the Tea Party and saying the station didn’t need federal funding:

The comments contained in the video released today are contrary to everything we stand for, and we completely disavow the views expressed. NPR is fair and open minded about the people we cover. Our reporting reflects those values every single day — in the civility of our programming, the range of opinions we reflect and the diversity of stories we tell.
The assertion that NPR and public radio stations would be better off without federal funding does not reflect reality. The elimination of federal funding would significantly damage public broadcasting as a whole.
Prior to the lunch meeting presented in the edited video, Ron Schiller had informed NPR that he was resigning from his position to take a new job. His resignation was announced publicly last week, and he was expected to depart in May. While we review this situation, he has been placed on administrative leave.

House majority leader Eric Cantor said in a statement today that “this disturbing video makes clear that taxpayer dollars should no longer be appropriated to NPR.”

“Not only have top public broadcasting executives finally admitted that they do not need taxpayer dollars to survive, it is also clear that without federal funds, public broadcasting stations self-admittedly would become eligible for more private dollars on top of the multi-million dollar donations these organizations already receive,” Cantor added. “I hope that admission will lead to a bipartisan consensus to end these unnecessary federal subsidies.”