March 12, 2012
From: Thomas L. Birch, Legislative Counsel
Vol. 08:12
Contact Your Representatives:
Urge Support on Letter to Appropriations for NEA 2013 Increase
Reps. Todd Platts (R-PA) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY), the bipartisan leadership of the Congressional Arts Caucus, have circulated a letter to their colleagues in the House of Representatives asking legislators to join them in signing a letter to the chair of the Interior Appropriations Committee. That letter, addressed to Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), urges increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the coming 2013 fiscal year to the level proposed in the president’s budget request of $154.255 million, up from $146 million this year.
Please contact your representatives and ask them to sign the Dear Colleague letter circulated by Platts and Slaughter. A copy of both letters appears below.
Following is a list of those legislators who already have put their signatures on the letter, and those who signed a similar letter last year (FY2012) but have not done so this year. Please give special focus to contacting those who signed before and should sign again. If possible, contact your representatives by March 15.
FY2013 Current Cosigners
(Bold are new signers for FY2013)
1. Blumenauer – OR
2. Carnahan – MO
3. Courtney – CT
4. DeLauro – CT
5. Farr – CA
6. Filner – CA
7. Alcee Hastings – FL
8. Hirono – HI
9. Holt – NJ
10. John Lewis – GA
11. Lofgren – CA
12. Maloney – NY
13. Matsui – CA
14. Michaud – ME
15. Moran – VA
16. Platts – PA
17. Polis – CO
18. Rangel – NY
19. Reyes – TX
20. Richardson – CA
21. Slaughter – NY
22. Speier – CA
23. Stark – CA
24. Van Hollen – MD
25. Wasserman Schultz – FL
26. Watt – NC
27. Welch – VT
28. Woolsey – CA
29. Yarmuth – KY
FY2012 Cosigners Yet to Sign on for FY2013
(of 61 total)
1. Berkley – NV
2. Berman – CA
3. Bordallo – GU
4. Brady – TX
5. Capps – CA
6. Capuano – MA
7. Christensen – VI
8. Cicilline – RI
9. Conyers – MI
10. Critz –PA
11. Davis, Danny K. – IL
12. Davis, Susan – CA
13. DeGette – CO
14. Deutch – FL
15. Dingell – MI
16. Ellison – MN
17. Engel – NY
18. Frank – MA
19. Grijalva – AZ
20. Jackson, Jesse – IL
21. Kildee – MI
22. Kucinich – OH
23. Langevin – RI
24. Loebsack – IA
25. McDermott – WA
26. McGovern – MA
27. Murphy, Chris – CT
28. Nadler – NY
29. Neal – MA
30. Pallone – NJ
31. Pascrell – NJ
32. Peterson, Collin – MN
33. Pingree – ME
34. Quigley – IL
35. Rothman – NJ
36. Schakowsky – IL
37. Waxman – CA
38. Wilson, Frederica – FL
Support FY13 Funding for the National Endowment for the Arts
From: The Honorable Todd Russell Platts
Sent By: kate.williamson@mail.house.gov
Date: 3/7/2012
Support the National Endowment for the Arts!
Deadline: March 15
Dear Colleague:
As co-chairs of the Congressional Arts Caucus, we invite you to join us in sending the attached letter to Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Simpson in support of increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
The letter asks for the President’s request of $154.255 million for the NEA in the Fiscal Year 2013 Interior Appropriations bill to support the NEA’s core mission to bring arts to every American. The NEA reached its peak in funding ($176 million) in 1992, and has never recovered from a 40 percent budget cut in FY 1996.
The FY 2013 request nearly restores the FY 2011 funding levels and represents an $8 million increase from the NEA’s FY 2012 appropriation. In all, this figure proposes an increase of $6.7 million for the NEA’s grant making over the FY2012 enacted budget, of which $2.7 million would go specifically toward state and regional arts organizations and $4 million would go directly to not-for-profit arts organizations across the country.
Continued funding for the NEA is a matter of American jobs. The non-profit arts industry supports 5.7 million full-time jobs and generates $166.2 billion in economic activity. America’s arts and entertainment are also leading exports, with estimates of more than $30 billion annually in overseas sales. From the work of nonprofit arts agencies to the impact of cultural tourism, the creative sector is important to local and state economies all across the country.
The American public wants and needs an affordable investment in the arts. We urge you to join us in supporting the President’s budget request at $154.255 million in the FY 2013 Interior Appropriations bill. The deadline to sign onto the letter is Thursday, March 15th. For more information or to sign onto the letter, please contact Stefanie Winzeler with Rep. Slaughter at stefanie.winzeler@mail.house.gov, or Kate Williamson with Rep. Platts at kate.williamson@mail.house.gov.
Sincerely,
| Louise M. Slaughter | Todd Russell Platts |
March XX, 2012
The Honorable Mike Simpson
Chairman
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
B-308 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Simpson:
We urge you to support a funding level of $154.255 million for the National Endowment for the Arts in the Fiscal Year 2013 Interior Appropriations bill to support the NEA’s core mission to bring the arts to every American. The NEA reached its peak funding at $176 million in 1992, and has never fully recovered from a 40 percent budget cut in FY 1996.
Thanks to your leadership, the NEA received $170 million in funding in the FY11 subcommittee markup, though the final NEA funding level in FY11 was set at $155 million before the across-the-board cut and was further reduced in FY12 to $146 million. Fulfilling the President’s funding request at $154.255 million is a responsible way to utilize one our most effective and virtuous investment tools. For every one dollar we spend on federal arts initiatives we see eight non-federal dollars leveraged while at the same time enriching our children and communities with access to the arts they might not otherwise have.
This level of funding for FY13 will help the NEA maintain its extremely successful programs, including The Big Read, Our Town, Challenge America, The Mayor’s Institute on City Design 25th Anniversary Initiative, Blue Star Museums, Shakespeare in American Communities, and Operation Homecoming, which help the NEA reach every congressional district in the country. In FY11, the NEA awarded over $118 million in appropriated funds through just over 2,100 grants reaching all 435 congressional districts. Few other federal investments have such a widespread impact and magnifying effect across the entire nation.
The NEA contributes to the development and economic growth of communities nationwide. Each year, the nonprofit arts industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity, and provides 5.7 million full-time jobs. At the same time, this industry returns $12.6 billion to the federal government in income taxes. The National Governors Association and the U.S. Conference of Mayors recognize the enormous value of the arts in our communities and regional economies. Arts and culture-related industries provide direct economic benefits to states and communities: they create jobs, attract investments, generate tax revenues, and stimulate local economies through tourism and consumer purchases. These businesses employ 2.99 million people, representing 4.14 percent of all businesses and 2.17 percent of all employees, respectively. America’s arts and entertainment are also leading exports, with estimates of more than $30 billion annually in overseas sales. From the work of nonprofit arts agencies to the impact of cultural tourism, the creative sector is important to state economies all across the country.
The NEA supports life-long learning in the arts. The NEA’s education programs have helped to sustain support in local communities for arts education, which has been proven to help close the education achievement gap and also benefit children and adults in many important ways throughout their lives. Students with an education rich in the arts have better grade point averages in core academic subjects, score better on standardized tests, and have lower drop-out rates than students without arts education.
We strongly urge you to support NEA funding at $154.255 million in the FY13 Interior Appropriations bill. By approving this level of funding, you will maintain the NEA’s ability to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to benefit from the arts. We appreciate your attention to this request, and hope we can count on your continued support.
Sincerely,
| Louise M. Slaughter, Member of Congress | Todd Russell Platts, Member of Congress |