FY2026 Appropriations Top Agenda for Congress

Congress has returned to Washington following the holiday recess, and lawmakers in both chambers are now laser-focused on completing a full fiscal year 2026 appropriations package before current funding expires on January 30. At this stage, there appears to be little appetite among House or Senate leadership—of either party—for another government shutdown, and appropriators are moving quickly to show progress.

We saw tangible evidence of this momentum on January 5, when the House Appropriations Committee unveiled legislation funding several federal agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), with the goal of advancing the bill in the coming days. While negotiations are ongoing and final outcomes are never guaranteed, this proposal includes important and encouraging news for arts advocates.

Most notably, the legislation preserves the NEA’s current funding level of $207 million. This represents a significant improvement over the House’s original proposal earlier this year, which would have cut the agency’s budget by roughly 30%. At a time of real fiscal constraints, maintaining level funding for the NEA is a meaningful statement about the continued value of federal support for the arts.

As the House considers whether to move this bill forward, we strongly encourage you to reach out to your elected officials and express your appreciation for the committee’s support. Members need to hear that funding the NEA at this level matters—to states, to local communities and to the cultural organizations that serve them.

We recognize that this is a challenging budget environment, and sustaining funding at $207 million is no small feat. Doing so reflects a clear acknowledgment that arts funding plays a vital role in strengthening communities, supporting local economies and expanding access to creative expression across the country.

NASAA will continue to closely monitor developments as the appropriations process moves forward and will keep you informed as negotiations continue in the weeks ahead.