July 26, 2022
From: Isaac Brown, Legislative Counsel
Vol. 22:04

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives took an important step toward increasing funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) when it passed the fiscal year 2023 Interior Appropriations bill. Should this legislation become law in its current form, the NEA’s funding would increase from its current $180 million to $207 million.

The House considered an amendment that would have cut funding for the NEA and the National Endowment for the Humanities to $149.8 million. That amendment was part of a group of amendments which were all voted down, 230-197.

Now that the bill has been passed in the House, the Senate will begin its consideration. Arts advocates are encouraged to support the NEA appropriation approved by the House by:

• thanking your representatives for their support of public funding for the arts;
• contacting your senators to urge them to uphold the House-passed figure of $207 million for the NEA for FY2023;
• reminding your senators that 40% of the NEA’s program funds are allocated to states and regions, to distribute based on their needs and priorities.

Because it is so late in the legislative calendar, it is almost certain that Congress will first have to pass a continuing resolution of at least a few months before it can complete its work on this and other appropriations bills.