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June 27, 2007
Great news! The U.S. House of
Representatives today approved a new historic level of funding for the
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The bill provides a $35 million
increase to the NEA - the largest in the history of the agency!
This accomplishment didn’t come easily -- the debate took place
over two days and of the many amendments offered to the bill, three
specifically targeted cuts to the NEA.
Below are the details of the debate, the votes and what’s up next!
 The
floor action began with Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks
(D-WA) outlining his support for the NEA. He recalled how the Congressional Hearing on the arts that his
subcommittee held on Arts Advocacy Day helped to provide a basis for this
increase, he stated, “the committee has acted to provide the
funding so arts can reach even more broadly into American communities
with a richer variety of programs.”
 Mr.
Dicks was joined on the House floor by Congressional Arts Caucus
Co-chairs Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Chris Shays (R-CT). Mrs.
Slaughter cited the Arts & Economic
Prosperity III report stating that the arts mean,
“$12.6 billion in Federal Government tax revenues, and 5.7 million
full-time equivalent jobs…Simply put, in every way, investment in
the arts is sound public policy.” Mr. Shays added his support
to the increase in NEA funding by speaking about his personal life and
how his parents introduced him to the value of the arts.
For the opposition, Representatives Rob Bishop (R-UT), Ginny Brown-Waite
(R-FL) and Doug Lamborn (R-CO) each offered an amendment that sought to
cut funding for the NEA. While the amendments from Reps. Bishop and
Lamborn sought to reduce NEA funding in order to fund other programs, the
Brown-Waite amendment was written to solely cut funds from the
agency. She stated on the House floor, “Americans are tired
of wasteful Washington spending and are unwilling to pay for this
so-called art with their tax dollars. Don’t reward the National Endowment for polishing trash and
call it art.”
All three ‘weakening’ amendments were debated for 10 minutes
apiece on the House floor and then were called for a recorded vote. Each
one went down to defeat. Based on how they voted on the Bishop
Amendment, you can click here to thank your Member of Congress for his or
her vote to strengthen the NEA, or express your
disappointment with their vote to weaken the agency. Final passage
of the House Interior Appropriations bill was approved by a vote of
272-155.
Over the past few weeks, Americans for the Arts has been sending you
these Arts Action Alerts, asking for your help. And you have kindly
responded! Over the past month
arts advocates from fifty states have sent over 26,000 messages to their
Members of Congress calling for this $35 million increase to the NEA.
That is in addition to the hundreds of lobbying visits made to
congressional offices during Arts Advocacy Day in March and the many
phone calls made directly to their congressional offices
Thank you for your incredible hard work. We would not have achieved this
terrific outcome without you.
Next Steps
Next month our attention will shift to the U.S. Senate and to President
Bush. The Senate Interior bill offers more limited support for the
NEA than the House version and these differences will have to be worked
out in a conference committee. Further complicating things,
President Bush has already threatened a veto on this spending
bill. It all makes for a very exciting autumn appropriations
season!
Thank you again for your continued support of the arts!
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