Attention, Advocates: President's FY2024 Budget to Be Released

This week, President Biden is expected to release his budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2024. While not a binding document, the President’s budget is an important first step in the budget process as it communicates to the legislative branch the initiatives and programs the administration would like to see funded. It is also an important marker regarding the value and emphasis the President plans to place on the arts.

Last year, the President proposed increasing the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) budget to $203.5 million, which was $23 million above the agency’s level at that time. The House chose to further raise that figure to $207 million in its end-of-year spending package. This year, the circumstances are quite different. Not only is the nation still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, but inflation has the administration very worried about the impact of federal spending. This worry is enhanced by the fact that the Republican Party has assumed control of the House of Representatives and will likely be expressing their concerns about the administration’s handling of the economy.

For us at NASAA, the release of the President’s budget is also an important start to our advocacy season. Once the funding levels are proposed, the House and Senate Appropriations committees begin the process of writing and then approving budget bills for every agency in the federal government. Our role will be to support as robust a figure as possible for the NEA while also sustaining continued support for the federal-state partnership, which allocates 40% of NEA grant funding to state arts agencies and regional arts organizations.

When the President’s FY2024 budget has been released, we will be in touch to report the news and offer our counsel about how to effectively engage Congress as we enter this critical phase in the process.