General Nolen Bivens (U.S. Army Ret.), President and CEO Americans for the Arts
Testimony for the U.S. House of Representatives
Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee
Chair Pingree, Ranking Member Joyce, and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to submit this written testimony to you today in support of federal funding for both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) at no less than $201 million each for FY 2023 and to continue one more year of allowing these grants to be used for general operating support as the sector recovers from the Omicron variant to COVID-19 . We also encourage the Subcommittee to build a specific path to index funding for each of these two cultural agencies at $1 per capita. Each agency is currently funded at about .53 cents per capita.
This past year, the NEA professionally and efficiently processed thousands of grants using both its annual budget of $167.5 million as well as $135 million in special American Rescue Plan COVID-19 economic relief. Combined total of $302.5 million in one year, that’s already reaching close to the $1 per capita funding that we’re ultimately requesting.
Specifically for the $135 million in ARPA funds, the grantmaking process showed that the need was far greater than even this enhanced amount of funds. After funding the first $52 million (40% ) to all of the state arts agencies per a partnership agreement and creating a highly successful $20.2 million to 66 local arts agencies to re-grant funds to help reach the most underserved arts organizations recover from the pandemic, the NEA awarded $57.75 million to 567 arts organizations to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic. It's important to note that the NEA had received more than 7,500 eligible applications requesting $695 million!
Regarding the NEA’s annual budget most recently set at $180 million in the FY’22 Omnibus, while the consecutive years of gradual funding increases of its annual budget has allowed the NEA to invest in every congressional district in the country, it’s not enough to meet the needs of the sector. Despite being underfunded, the arts and culture sector as a whole, still contributes to a $919.7 billion arts and culture industry in America according to our U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis, representing 4.3 percent of the annual GDP. The nation’s arts and culture industry supports 5.2 million jobs and yields a $33 billion trade surplus for our country.
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