PBS is cutting its budget by 21%, a spokesperson confirmed to CBS News on Friday.

The public media company's board approved the budget cut Wednesday, according to the PBS spokesperson. Board members also voted to reduce dues paid by local stations by $35 million, a move that will slow the spigot of money PBS sources from its wide-spanning member network . The reduction was earlier reported by the New York Times.

The PBS spokesperson didn't immediately respond to questions about what the cuts could mean for the future of the broadcaster, which provides news and educational programming to more than 130 million people each year.

The budget reduction comes after Congress passed legislation last month that strips about $1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadca

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