Breaking News : Arts Victory in Congress!

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Late Wednesday night, Congress released the details of its delayed current year FY 2018 Omnibus spending bill. I am pleased to share that arts advocates like you helped convince Congress to reject President Trump’s proposal to terminate the nation’s cultural agencies. In fact, Congress has allocated an INCREASE in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to $152.849 million each.

This victory is such a fitting tribute to last week’s passing of Congressional Arts Caucus Co-Chair Representative Louise Slaughter, who spent her career in Congress fighting for the arts. She had most recently co-authored an Arts Advocacy Day “Dear Colleague” letter to her fellow Members of Congress recruiting a record number of 166 House Democrats and Republicans to sign a joint letter to House Appropriators to increase arts funding in America.


 

Together, Arts Action Fund members provided a strong  and united voice for the arts:

  • Grassroots arts advocates sent close to 200,000 messages to Members of Congress, thousands more signed our petitions and visited their elected Representatives and Senators.
  • Our Arts Action Fund PAC was incredibly effective in educating and supporting key leaders in Congress to take an important stand on the arts.
  • Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA), soundly rejected President Trump's attempt to terminate our nation's cultural agencies.
  • Persuasive and timely ads were placed in political publications during key decision times to inform Members of Congress about the latest research on the economic power of the arts.

Below are the final funding levels for the cultural agencies:

Key Federally Funded Arts Program/Agency

(in $ millions)

President Trump’s

Proposal

U.S. House

Proposal

U.S. Senate

Committee Proposal

 

Final

FY 2018 Funding

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

*Termination

$145

$150

$152.8

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

*Termination

$145

$150

$152.8

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

*Termination

$231

$235

$240

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

*Termination

$445 (plus $0 for interconnection system)

$445 (plus $20 for interconnection system)

$445(plus $20 for interconnection system)

Assistance for Arts Education

$0

$0

$27

$29

Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants

$0

$500

$450

$1,100

Smithsonian Institution

$947

$885

$878­

$1,043

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

$36.7

$36.7

$36.7

$40.5

National Gallery of Art

$147

$155.5

$156.5

$166

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

$54

$57

$57

$59

Save America’s Treasures

$0

$4

$3

$13

Commission of Fine Arts

$2.6

$2.6

$2.8

$2.8

National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs

$0

$2

$2

$2.75

Educational and Cultural Exchange programs

$285

$591

$634

$646

Community Development Block Grants

$0

$2,900

$3,000

$3,300

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we celebrate this victory today, we still need your support as we face continued threats from the Trump Administration to eliminate next year’s FY 2019 NEA funding. We need to keep the pressure on Congress. Please consider contributing to the Arts Action Fund so we can continue to educate incumbents and the next generation of elected leaders, especially as mid-term elections approach in November. 

Congratulations on a job well done!  Your advocacy has helped preserve funding stability for the nonprofit arts organizations in your state and community this year.