CAA News Today
NEH and NEA Face Significantly Reduced Federal Budgets
posted Jul 08, 2011
On July 8, 2011, the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, which allocates funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), passed a bill with steep cuts for both federal agencies for fiscal year 2012. Approved by an 8–5 vote, the plan will provide the NEA and NEH with only $135.2 million apiece—a $20 million cut from their current levels and $11 million less than President Barack Obama’s initial request.
The full House Appropriations Committee (click to see names and states), scheduled to consider the bill early next week, is expected to adopt similar funding cuts. If your representative sits on this committee, CAA urges you to ask him or her to oppose these and any cuts to the NEA and NEH. Call the House switchboard at 202-225-3121; an operator can transfer you to the office of your representative.
For more information about advocacy for museums, or to get the names of your representatives in Congress, please visit Speak Up for Museums, a project of the American Association of Museums.