I was in seventh grade when I toured the C-SPAN headquarters and the Capitol building. I didn’t want to. My mom told me this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and she wouldn’t let me skip it, so I went.

A friend of mine from my family’s homeschool speech and debate club won third place in C-SPAN’s StudentCam Video Documentary Competition in 2018. He invited several of his friends, including me, to participate in his prize — getting a behind-the-scenes tour in C-SPAN’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. At the time, I knew nothing about C-SPAN. What I did know is that I hated politics and the news, and this was going to be a boring trip.

To my surprise, it wasn’t. Wearing a purple and white T-shirt dress that felt rather big on me, I had my picture taken in the C-SPAN newsroom chair. I saw where the cameras were set up in the House and the Senate. My 13-year-old self was extremely impressed that this news channel had the ability to livestream all these important proceedings in Congress. Seven years later, as a D.C. intern and student journalist, I am starting to really appreciate that tour I took. I truly think C-SPAN is the most informative and educational channel out there when it comes to learning and seeing how our government works.

I read Neil Postman’s book, “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” a few weeks ago. Written back in 1975, the book gives a very relevant analysis about how television — and now smartphones and computers — have turned all outlets where we get our information into entertainment. In the intro, I read this review from a student who read the book: “In class we asked if, now that there’s cable, which there really wasn’t when the book was written, are there channels that are not just about entertainment? … The only good example we came up with was C-SPAN, which no one watches.”

From this quote, it seems as if the public does not understand the wealth of education and information C-SPAN offers its viewers. Or maybe the public simply doesn’t care.

Thankfully, our lawmakers do. The Senate just voted unanimously this month to honor C-SPAN’s 39th anniversary and urge streaming services to include the network in their programs.

Submitted by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the resolution acknowledged C-SPAN’s legacy. “Whereas, for nearly 4 decades, Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) has served as an essential conduit between the United States Senate and the American public … offered uninterrupted, unfiltered access to the debates, votes, and deliberations of the Senate … recorded more than 43,830 hours of Senate sessions, capturing more than 169,000 speeches that span the spectrum of political thoughts, policy debates, and personal testimony … documented more than 23,493 roll call votes, each a building block of American law and policy, a living ledger of Senate decision-making,” the resolution read.

“Whereas all television providers, including streaming services, should make delivery of C-SPAN a priority so Americans can watch Congress in action, in real time. … Resolved, That the Senate recognizes — (1) June 2, 2025, as the 39th anniversary of C-SPAN chronicling democracy in the Senate; and (2) the importance of continuous Senate coverage for all Americans and the need for live coverage to be accessible on all platforms,” it proposed.

This resolution emerged a month after the Trump White House sided with C-SPAN on pressuring YouTube TV to offer the service on its streaming platform. As streaming has become more popular than cable, fewer Americans will have access to C-SPAN, a situation that the Trump White House clearly sees as a problem.

Since this resolution was agreed to unanimously by the Senate, we can hope that with more access to this valuable service, more people will make use of a tool that serves as an educational and informative conduit between the Senate and the American public.

Evelyn Elliott serves as an intern at Family Research Council.