Advocate Now for Federal Arts Funding

Congress returned to Washington this week facing an immediate deadline: current federal funding expires on September 30, and the likelihood of a government shutdown is higher now than at any point in President Trump’s second term. Unlike July’s reconciliation bill, which Republicans passed on a party-line vote, appropriations bills require at least seven Democratic senators to cross the aisle. That bipartisan hurdle makes a full set of appropriations bills unlikely in the coming weeks.

Instead, Congress will probably turn to a short-term continuing resolution (CR). A CR would buy time for negotiations, but even that path is difficult. Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on overall funding levels, and the President’s continued use of rescission packages—allowing the executive branch to cancel funding that Congress already approved—complicates matters further. Many lawmakers are hesitant to negotiate when they fear agreements could later be undone.

Within this broader debate, serious work remains on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) budget. The House has proposed cutting NEA funding to $135 million, a 35% reduction from current levels. The Senate, by contrast, has proposed $207 million, which would maintain the Arts Endowment at last year’s level. This difference is not unusual: in recent years the Senate has generally favored stability, while the House has pressed for deeper cuts.

That is why advocacy from state arts agencies is so important. Members of Congress need to hear from their states about how the House’s proposed cuts would diminish the ability of their arts agencies to serve communities. A reminder is always useful here: through the federal-state partnership, 40% of NEA grant dollars flow directly to state arts agencies and regional arts organizations. Remember to stress with your lawmakers that public funding for arts and creativity is a high-return investment that benefits every American in every city, town and rural community nationwide. (For additional talking points, see NASAA’s Statement on Proposed Elimination of the NEA and our Arts and Creativity Strengthen Our Nation messaging guide.)

The next month will be dominated by budget debates and the politics of shutdown brinkmanship. Amid all of that, the arts community’s message should remain clear and consistent: federal arts funding matters, and reducing it would weaken the capacity of state arts agencies to deliver for the people they serve.