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04-30-2010: Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter among his fellow senators in support of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This letter is an opportunity for senators to make a statement of support for the NEA, and it has been four years since the last Dear Colleague in support of the NEA was circulated in the Senate. The letter, signed by 20 senators, calls for the NEA to be funded at $180 million for FY 2011, which would be $12.5 million above the agency’s FY 2010 level.
04-13-2010: Rep. Jim Moran convened the House Interior & Environment Appropriations Subcommittee for a special hearing on the arts entitled "Arts Build Communities", marking Arts Advocacy Day. Actors Kyle MacLachlan and Jeff Daniels; Terri Aldrich of Minot (ND) Council on the Arts; Ovation TV CEO Charles Segars; U.S. Army Brigadier General Nolen Bivens (Ret.); and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter testified at the hearing and emphasized the importance of developing strong public policies for the arts, appropriating increased public funding for the arts, and supporting arts workers. Video and testimony from the hearing witnesses are available here.
04-13-2010: Americans for the Arts, in conjunction with 86 national organizations, hosted the 2010 Arts Advocacy Day. More than 500 arts advocates from across the country held meetings with congressional offices. Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. (Charleston, SC) delivered the 23rd Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture at the Kennedy Center on the art of city design; the revitalization of his hometown of Charleston and the role mayors can play in transforming their cities into dynamic and more livable cultural communities. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was given the 2010 Congressional Arts Leadership Award. Selected press coverage from Arts Advocacy Day includes:
03-23-2010: The final healthcare package is signed into law and provides a tax credit beginning in 2010 through 2013 for small businesses and 501(c) organizations with less than 25 employees and average wages below $50,000. During those three years, the bill permits a credit for all eligible small employers that provide insurance for their employees, and beginning in 2014, credits are available to employers purchasing employee coverage through health insurance exchanges. Nonprofits could take a credit in the initial period of 25 percent of the employer contribution and 35 percent in subsequent years, and apply the credit to taxes they withhold from payroll. Employees would still receive full credit for taxes withheld from their pay.
03-18-2010: The HIRE act is enacted into law in an effort to combat nationwide unemployment rates. This $17.6 billion comprehensive job package encourages employers to hire new workers. Of particular importance to nonprofits, it relieves nonprofit employers from paying their 6.2 percent share of Social Security payroll tax for each new hire for the remainder of 2010. The U.S. Senate passes another jobs-related bill, which includes an extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover provision through 2010 that will now await approval in the House.
03-15-2010: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Obama administration release broad principles for renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as the No Child Left Behind Act. According to the Department of Education's press release, "The plan will ask states to ensure that their academic standards prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace, and to create accountability systems that recognize student growth and school progress toward meeting that goal." Read "A Blueprint for Reform."
03-04-2010: President Obama signs the Travel Promotion Act into law. The legislation proposes a nationally coordinated campaign to promote and communicate to an audience abroad the benefits of tourism in the United States, including cultural tourism. It would also set up a nonprofit board consisting of travel-related industry representatives to advise promotional strategies. For more information on this legislative please visit the U.S. Travel Association's website, visit www.poweroftravel.org.
02-25-2010: United States Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan testifies before two important committees and explains the President's FY 2011 appropriations request for his agency. Of particular interest to the arts community is the proposed consolidation of the Arts in Education programs into the Effective Teaching and Learning for a Well Rounded Education program. The South Carolina Arts Alliance requested that its member of Congress, House Budget Chairman John Spratt (D-SC), ask Secretary Duncan about plans for arts education funding. Rep. Spratt obliged and stated that he feared arts would be put on the "back burner” under the proposed budget. Secretary Duncan responded that the proposal would fund arts programs, recognizing the need for a well-rounded curriculum. At a later House Education and Labor Committee hearing on March 3rd, the Secretary's opening statement mentioned that there is now potentially more funding for the arts in this budget in response to concerns heard from across the country. Read Sec. Duncan's statement.
02-01-2010:
The Administration released the FY 2011 budget request to Congress which includes the nation's cultural agencies and programs, including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Institute for Museums and Library Services (IMLS), and the Department of Education's Arts in Education program.
As Americans for the Arts President & CEO Robert Lynch noted in a press statement, "The Administration's FY 2011 budget request of $161.3 million for the National Endowment for the Arts--while just a fraction of the $6.3 billion of direct expenditures for all arts nonprofits in the United States--is unfortunately a $6 million decrease from what Congress appropriated for FY 2010. Also, the consolidation of the Arts in Education (AIE) program within the Department of Education's new 'Effective Teaching and Learning for Well-Rounded Education' category puts us at unease and could lead to a diminished focus on arts education."
Federally Funded Arts Program
FY 2010 Enacted Appropriations (in millions)
FY 2011 President's Budget Request (in millions)
National Endowment for the Arts
$167.5
$161.3
National Endowment for the Humanities
$167.5
$161.3
Institute of Museum and Library Services
$282.2*
$265.5
U.S. Dept. of Education's Arts in Education
$40
$0**
*Includes $16.3 million in congressional earmarks. **The Arts in Education program has been consolidated with six non-arts programs. It is unclear in the president's budget proposal at what level grants in arts education will be supported.
appropriations request for his agency. Of particular interest to the arts community is the proposed consolidation of the Arts in Education programs into the Effective Teaching and Learning for a Well Rounded Education program. The South Carolina Arts Alliance requested that its member of Congress, House Budget Chairman John Spratt (D-SC), ask Secretary Duncan about plans for arts education funding. Rep. Spratt obliged and stated that he feared arts would be put on the "back burner” under the proposed budget. Secretary Duncan responded that the proposal would fund arts programs, recognizing the need for a well-rounded curriculum. At a later House Education and Labor Committee hearing on March 3rd, the Secretary's opening statement mentioned that there is now potentially more funding for the arts in this budget in response to concerns heard from across the country.