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May 23, 2007
Great news!
This afternoon the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee,
which sets the initial funding level for the National Endowment for
the Arts (NEA), approved a $35 million increase for the NEA for
its FY 2008 spending bill.
If this funding level is maintained by the Senate and signed into
law by President Bush, it will represent the largest increase in NEA
history. The agency, currently funded at $124.4 million has only seen
increases of under 3% for the last several years.
In his first public action on arts issues as chairman of the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Rep. Norm Dicks
(D-WA) invited Americans for the Arts to organize a high profile
panel of witnesses to testify at a congressional hearing " Role of the Arts in Creativity and Innovation ,"
in conjunction with Arts Advocacy Day on March 13, 2007. This was
the first hearing in over 12 years held on the importance of investing in
the arts.
We want to extend a special thanks to all of Americans for the
Arts grassroots activists for your letters and calls to Congress.
It's working!
Next Steps:
The FY 2008 Interior Appropriations bill will next go to full
committee and then the full House where we will likely need to defend
against floor amendments attempting to cut this increase.
We must now also put pressure on the Senate to match this funding
level. Please take two minutes to visit Americans for the Arts E-Advocacy Center to send a
letter to your Senators.
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