Yesterday
evening, the U.S. House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which sets
the initial funding level for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA),
approved a $2.5 million increase for the NEA in its FY 2011 spending
bill. Chairman
Jim Moran (D-VA), a longtime champion of arts
and culture, presided over his first Interior spending bill as chairman
of the subcommittee. It is significant that Chairman Moran has
proposed an increase for the agency in light of a spending
freeze on federal discretionary funds and a lower budget request by the
administration. Please send a message to your members of Congress telling them to
support this funding increase that Chairman Moran made in
subcommittee!
Currently funded
at $167.5 million, this increase would bring the NEA's budget to $170
million. In his statement, Chairman Moran acknowledged that, "the
increase recognizes the value we place, as a nation, on our artistic and
cultural heritage."
On Arts Advocacy
Day 2010, Americans for the Arts presented a panel of witnesses before
Chairman Moran's Appropriations Subcommittee calling for a significant
increase in funding for the NEA. This diverse group of witnesses
included Terri
Aldrich, Executive Director, Minot Area
Council of the Arts; Brig. Gen. Nolen V. Bivens, U.S. Army
(ret.); Jeff
Daniels, Golden Globe-nominated film and stage
actor; Kyle
MacLachlan, Emmy-nominated TV, film, and stage
actor; Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Charles Segars,
CEO, Ovation; and Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO,
Americans for the Arts. Video from the hearing and further details,
including the witnesses' testimony, are available
online here.
Thanks to all of
our grassroots advocates for your letters and calls to Congress and for
attending Arts Advocacy Day this year. We're seeing the results of your
participation!
The FY 2011
Interior Appropriations bill will next go to full committee and then to
the full House of Representatives for consideration. Both the
House and Senate have been slow to proceed on funding measures this year,
and it's possible that many of the final appropriations decisions will
take place after the elections and conducted in a "lame duck"
session in November and December. Nonetheless, we must continue to put
pressure on the Senate to match this funding level. Please take two
minutes to visit the Americans for the Arts E-Advocacy
Center to send a letter to your members of Congress letting them know that the arts are
important to you!
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