Victory for the arts in the U.S. House of Representatives this evening! There were two attempts to eliminate federal funding for the arts and humanities in the FY’24 Interior Appropriations bill this evening and both were soundly defeated! Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA-10) sponsored two floor amendments: Amendment #60 to eliminate all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was defeated by a vote of 292-129 and Amendment #61 to eliminate all funding to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was defeated by a vote of 292 to 132. A full 100% of Democrats voted against both amendments and were joined by a strong 39% of Republicans to make it a BIPARTISAN declaration that Congress supports the arts and culture. You can now see your House member voted on the NEA vote and the NEH vote.
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This victory is due, in no small part, to the hard work of arts advocates across the country. While more work needs to be done to match the Senate number for FY2024, today demonstrates the powerful influence arts advocates have when united together to support important federal arts programs.
Next step is that this House bill will now move to the Senate, where there is a difference in funding levels that needs to be reconciled. The House level sets both agencies at $186 million each and the Senate recommends $207 million each. We will be lobbying for the higher level. In the meantime, please thank your House members who voted NO on both amendments.
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