CAA News Today

At press time, not a single appropriations bill for fiscal year 2003 had been presented to President George W. Bush for his signature. Indeed, the House-Senate conference committee was still debating amendments to the Interior Appropriations Bill, which includes funds for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). As reported in the September 2002 issue of CAA News, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment last July to increase funding by $10 million for the NEA (for a total of $127 million) and $5 million for the NEH (for a total of $131.9 million) over President Bush’s fiscal year 2003 budget request; however, it is not at all clear that the Senate will agree to these increases. Congress will most likely finish work on a majority of the spending bills, including the Interior Appropriations Bill, after the November elections.