June 14, 2018
From: Isaac Brown, Legislative Counsel
Vol. 18:06

Following action by the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee met this morning and unanimously approved the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for fiscal year 2019. Like the bill approved by the House of Representatives, the Senate’s bill would increase funding for the NEA by $2 million to $155 million.

While approval by the Senate Appropriations Committee is a key step in the process, the fact remains that the House and Senate are behind schedule in finishing the budget process before their September 30 deadline. Both the full House and Senate must pass the bills and they must be signed by the President. While funding for the NEA is not expected to be controversial, there are issues related to other agencies funded in the same bill—mainly the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior—that could become contentious. As the process continues, NASAA will keep you up to date.