CAA News Today

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to consider an Interior Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2007 on Thursday, May 18. The Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which marked up the bill on May 4, recommends level funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) at $142 million and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) at $124 million. These amounts remained in the bill through the full committee mark-up.

When the bill comes to the House floor, CAA expects the bipartisan leadership of the Congressional Humanities Caucus and the Congressional Arts Caucus to introduce an amendment to increase funding for the NEH and NEA by $10 to $15 million, evenly divided between the two endowments. The Congressional Arts Caucus has successfully offered a similar amendment for the past six years.

Action Needed

We ask that you call, e-mail, or fax your representative, urging him or her to vote in favor of this amendment when the bill comes to the floor. Let your elected official know that the NEA and NEH make a difference in your state!

Sample Letter

[DATE]

The Honorable [FULL NAME]
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative [LAST NAME]:

Public encouragement and financial assistance for arts and humanities programs are very much in the hearts and minds of the citizens of this country. I am writing you today to ask you to support an expected amendment asking for an increase for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) when the House votes on the fiscal year 2007 Interior Appropriations bill, scheduled for consideration on May 18.

As you know, with a relatively small investment from Congress, the NEH and NEA provide access to high-quality educational programs and resources that reach millions of Americans each year. To this end, it is critical that we continue to strengthen funding for the arts and for scholarly research through increased appropriations for the NEH and NEA.

Thank you for your consideration of my request, and for your support of arts funding.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ORGANIZATION OR MEMBER OF CAA]