The U.S House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee advanced legislation to fund the nation’s federal cultural agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
We are happy to report that under the leadership of Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Ranking Member Betty McCollum (D-MN), the Subcommittee allocated increases of $2 million to both the NEA and the NEH, bringing their budgets up to $155 million each for FY 2019. Thanks to your impactful grassroots advocacy work, this is the same appropriation level that we requested on Arts Advocacy Day this past March.
Up next, the full U.S. House Appropriations Committee will consider the bill next week before it moves on to the full House and then to the Senate. We’ll need to watch the progression diligently because weakening amendments or perhaps opportunities for even bigger increases can happen along the way as we move into the mid-term Congressional elections this November.
The voice of arts advocates was clearly heard. Help us keep pressure on Congress by contributing to our Campaign to Increase Funding for the Arts in America.