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Arts Action Alert! Please take two minutes to send your message to your U.S. Senators

As negotiations are ongoing to finish up FY 2020 funding, it is vital to call on U.S. Senate appropriators to include these remaining pro-arts funding levels in the final legislation. This includes: Bipartisan Senate passage of FY 2020 spending package that included the Interior Appropriations bill. Education bill—includes arts education grant funds and a provision calling for maintaining a federal "report card" in arts education Defense Department bill—includes language supporting creative arts therapies for service members Veterans Department bill—includes language supporting creative arts therapies and $5 million for veterans Justice Department bill—includes a provision supporting inclusion of arts-specific intervention strategies for juvenile justice programs Please take two minutes to send your message to your U.S. Senators. Thank you for taking action to support these end-of-year funding priorities.

Hello Arts Advocate,

While fiscal year (FY) 2020 began on Oct. 1, the U.S. Congress must still pass the 12 appropriation bills to fund the government through Sept. 30, 2020 (the government is currently operating under a continuing resolution [CR] through Nov. 21). At least one of your U.S. Senators sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee. They need to hear from you now about your support for robust federal arts funding and how it supports your community and state.

Last week, the U.S. Senate passed their version of the Interior Appropriations bill by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 84 – 9, that included $2 million in increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)! You may recall that the U.S. House bill, approved earlier this summer, provided a $12.5 million increase in funding to those agencies.

These positive results

Continue reading Arts Action Alert! Please take two minutes to send your message to your U.S. Senators

Federal Funding For Cultural Arts Agencies Update

Yesterday, the U.S. House strongly rejected President Trump's budget request to eliminate both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) by approving $167.5 million in funding for fiscal year (FY) 2020! This is an increase for both agencies of $12.5 million over the FY 2019 funding level of $155 million. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for possible consideration (the Senate may also take up their own version of this appropriations bill).

Dear Arts Advocate,

On June 25, the U.S. House strongly rejected President Trump’s budget request to eliminate both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) by approving $167.5 million in funding for fiscal year (FY) 2020! This is an increase for both agencies of $12.5 million over the FY 2019 funding level of $155 million.

The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for possible consideration (the Senate may also take up their own version of this appropriations bill).

Why Is This Important?

This is the third year in a row that the Trump administration has proposed a termination of both the NEA and the NEH in his budget proposal to the U.S. Congress. The past two years, Congress has rejected this request and moderately increased funding for the cultural agencies. This year, the House is sending an even stronger message

Continue reading Federal Funding For Cultural Arts Agencies Update

President’s FY20 Budget Calls for Termination of Cultural Agencies Again

Americans for the Arts President's FY20 Budget Calls for Termination of Cultural Agencies Again

March 18, 2019

Dear Arts Advocate,

For a third-straight year, the Trump administration has proposed to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB). As misdirected as this proposal is, we are confident that Congress—as it has done in the past two fiscal years—will again reject this short-sighted budget request in a bipartisan, bicameral manner, and increase funding for the Endowments.

Will you contact your member of Congress today to urge them to reject the president’s proposal?

In the past two years, Congress not only dismissed these initial calls for termination, but in fact gave steady increases in funding to several cultural agencies. Check out a brief history of budgetary proposals and final funding for these agencies for the past three years below:

Key Federally Funded

Continue reading President’s FY20 Budget Calls for Termination of Cultural Agencies Again

Congress Responded to Your Advocacy to Save Cultural Arts Agencies!

Americans for the Arts

Dear Arts Advocate,

The Democratically-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate have finally resolved with the President the details for the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY’19 (4.5 months late) to avoid another partial government shutdown tomorrow. It’s expected that the President will sign the bill passed by both chambers into law by midnight tonight. As anticipated, both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) each received a $2 increase to bring their annual budget up to $155 million. Several other federal cultural agencies and programs (see chart below) received healthy increases as well.

Congress responded to your advocacy calls, emails, and visits to save these vital cultural agencies and took it a step further by actually increasing their annual budgets by $2 million each, despite President Trump’s attempt to terminate them. The NEA and NEH administer thousands of arts and humanities grants to state

Continue reading Congress Responded to Your Advocacy to Save Cultural Arts Agencies!

U.S. House Rejects Cut to NEA!

"I am the Republican chair of both the Arts Caucus and the Humanities Caucus in this House, and these programs do wonderful work throughout the entire Nation, in every hamlet in America and, of course, supporting our veterans." --Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ)

Dear Arts Advocates,

Thanks to your record-levels of calls, emails, and tweets to your Members of Congress in the past few days, we have good news!

Just a few moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives soundly defeated an amendment that would have cut funding the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The House voted down the Grothman amendment by a vote of 114 – 297! This is one of the largest vote margins in support of the Endowments in the U.S. House! Read Americans for the Arts President & CEO Robert L. Lynch’s statement here.

This bipartisan showing and resounding vote is a testament to the power of the arts in our communities, schools, lives, and careers. There hasn’t been a floor vote like this since 2011. We are proud and excited to know publicly, and on the record, just how

Continue reading U.S. House Rejects Cut to NEA!

Take Action Now- Take two minutes to contact your Senator

Americans for the Arts Action Fund logo

Dear Arts Advocate,

June is a packed month of arts action!

This week, the U.S. Senate is taking its turn following the exciting House action last week in approving a $2 million funding increase each for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

You are receiving this email because your U.S. Senator serves on this powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and will be considering funding for the two Endowments this week! Take two minutes to contact your Senator again today, even if you’ve been in touch in the past on the FY 2019 request. Send a customizable message in support of a minimum of $155 million for the NEA and NEH.

This quick action follows some key constituent meetings in Washington, DC, last week, with members serving on this committee. We need your help to continue to press upon your U.S. Senators

Continue reading Take Action Now- Take two minutes to contact your Senator

BREAKING NEWS: NEA Receives Funding Increase!

We have breaking news out of Washington, D.C. today. Congress has released their final funding plan for FY 2018, and it is great news!

Congress is proposing to fund the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) each at $152.8 million. This is a funding increase of $3 million to support more direct grants and expand access to creative arts therapies for the military.

This final budget is in stark contrast to a year ago, when the Endowments were facing a proposed termination by the President — the first ever! Since then, our #SAVEtheNEAcampaign has together resulted in hundreds of thousands of calls, emails, local op-eds, expanded research, newspaper ads, and office visits.

Your advocacy, your persistence, and your time has made a difference. Congress has now decided to invest more funding into the arts.

This support from members of Congress in

Continue reading BREAKING NEWS: NEA Receives Funding Increase!

Sequester Cuts Cultural Agencies

As you have no doubt been following in the headlines, specific parts of the federal budget, including that of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), have been impacted by a budgetary control called “sequestration” beginning last Friday. This sequester, totaling $85 billion, will reduce funding to almost all areas of domestic social programs by […]

Continue reading Sequester Cuts Cultural Agencies

Amendment to Further Cut NEA Fails!

The Walberg amendment to H.R. 2584, the House Interior Appropriations bill that would have cut an additional $10.6 million from the National Endowment for the Arts failed 240-181 earlier today. All 185 Democrats present voted against the amendment and 55 Republicans joined them. As stated this morning, this success is due in large part to […]

Continue reading Amendment to Further Cut NEA Fails!

Action Alert: Artists and Art Lovers, write your Congressmen about this important vote on funding for the NEA & NEH

Last week, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee passed the Interior Appropriations bill, which proposes to fund the both the NEH and the NEA at $135 million each for FY 2012. This represents a 40 million dollar cut and, if enacted, would be the deepest cut to both agencies in 16 years. Now, this legislation heads to the next step in the funding process, the House floor, where it could face amendments to increase the cut even further. Please take two minutes to send a message to your member of Congress and tell them to reject further attempts to reduce NEH and NEA funding.

Continue reading Action Alert: Artists and Art Lovers, write your Congressmen about this important vote on funding for the NEA & NEH