June 28, 2021

Today, the House Appropriations Committee released its draft appropriations bill for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for fiscal year 2022. I am pleased to convey that the bill, as drafted, matches the President’s proposed funding level for the agency of $201 million. Should the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the NEA’s budget, approve the bill at its markup session this evening, it would mean an increase of $33.5 million over the agency’s current level.

Given that the subcommittee is meeting this evening to vote on the bill, we understand that getting in touch with members of the panel beforehand will be extraordinarily difficult. Therefore, we encourage any NASAA member who is represented by a member of the full committee to reach out to urge their support. In doing so, please consider:

• thanking them for their support of the arts over the past year, and specifically recognizing the need to support artists and venues during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• urging them to support funding the NEA at $201 million for FY2022, and reinforcing the tremendous success of the federal-state partnership that directs 40% of the Arts Endowment’s grant funding to state arts agencies and regional arts organizations;
• using the opportunity today to update their staff about recent developments at your agency, and how an increase of this size would positively impact communities in your state.