Legislative News
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The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) today announced American Rescue Plan (ARP) grants totaling $20,200,000 to 66 local arts agencies for subgranting to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic.
The Arts Education for All Act, the broadest arts education policy bill ever introduced in Congress, includes key provisions that will support and encourage the offering of arts education and programming experiences to Americans including our youngest learners, K-12 students, and youth impacted by the juvenile justice system; and would allow for rigorous arts and arts education research to be carried out to further inform how elementary and secondary education in our country can be improved.
The 117th Congress has yielded great strides and measurable successes in federal arts advocacy work. This Summer 2021 Legislative Update summarizes the current legislative status of the bills and policies that Americans for the Arts, coalition partners, and grassroots advocates across the country have been working toward throughout the year.
On Friday, August 13, 2021, U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) and Jay Obernolte (R-CA) introduced the Creative Economy Revitalization Act (CERA). The bill authorizes $300 million to mitigate creative worker displacement, stimulate local creative workforce growth, strengthen connections for local creative small businesses and networks, create a pipeline for new creative jobs, enrich communities, increase access to culture, and invest in creative workers and local economies harmed by COVID-19.
On July 1, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to accept the Interior Subcommittee’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding bill, granting Biden Administration’s funding request of $201 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The bill also includes $201 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to keep the agencies funded in tandem.
The STAR Act provision will reverse a 2015 prohibition on using Federal Transit Administration funds for art in transit, and give local transit authorities the opportunity to reap the numerous benefits of art in transit—encouraging ridership, improving customer experience, deterring vandalism, and more.
The National Endowment for the Arts has announced two new grant program guidelines to distribute approximately $80 million in American Rescue Plan funds directly to nonprofit arts and culture organizations and to local arts agencies to subgrant deeper into communities across the country. Applicants for this new grant program will not have to be a previous NEA grantee to be eligible to apply.
Americans for the Arts President and CEO General Nolen V. Bivens (U.S. Army Ret.) submitted official testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies to support federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) at $201 million for FY 2022—a $33.5 million increase over FY 2021 funding. This ask matches President Biden's recent budget request for the agency.
On May 28, the administration released its fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget request, which calls for the largest requested increase in the history of the National Endowment for the Art (NEA)—a $201 million budget. This is a $33.5 million increase over FY 2021 levels for the NEA!
The National Endowment for the Arts has announced more than $52 million in funding for state and jurisdictional arts agencies and regional arts organizations, the first recommended awards of the American Rescue Plan (ARP). These funds are designed to support the arts sector as it recovers from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.