Legislative Update
Congressional Panel Considers Economy’s Impact on the Arts Across the country, the current economic crisis is creating hardships for arts organizations struggling with declining budgets, job losses and lost sources of revenue, according to witnesses testifying before a congressional committee on March 26. The hearing, convened by the House Education and Labor Committee, is the […]
Legislative Update
President Signs Economic Stimulus Package with Funding for the Arts On February 17, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1), the economic stimulus legislation, which includes $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The compromise version of the bill approved by the House and Senate before leaving for […]
Legislative Update
Congress Moves Economic Stimulus Package with Funding for the Arts The House of Representatives on Wednesday, January 28, passed economic stimulus legislation – H.R.1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – with tax breaks and spending totaling $819 billion. The package includes $50 million allocated for the National Endowment for the Arts (in addition to […]
Legislative Update
Congress to Convene in January for Funding, Stimulus Package Bills After Congress adjourned on December 10 and before returning on January 6, work continued on development of an economic stimulus package and final appropriations legislation. NASAA and our advocacy colleagues are collaborating on identifying areas of possible interest for addressing the needs of the arts […]
Legislative Update
Congress Meets Briefly in a Lame Duck Session, with More Work for Congress in 2009 Apart from a brief lame duck session in the middle of November to address the extension of unemployment benefits, the 110th Congress has finished its business. The remainder of 2008 is taken up with the orientation of new members and […]
Legislative Update
Congress Adjourns, Leaving Unfinished Business Much of the arts advocacy legislative agenda for the 110th Congress, though favorably received, did not see completion by the end of the legislative session in October. Action on appropriations and most other issues was deferred until the new Congress takes office in January. Appropriations: Eager to adjourn without doing […]
Legislative Update
Congress Prepares Omnibus Funding Bill for 2009 Spending With the start of the 2009 fiscal year looming at the end of September and the date for adjournment of the current legislative session not far behind in early October, Congress passed an omnibus continuing appropriations bill that would carry FY09 spending into March 2009 at the […]
Legislative Update
Appropriations on Hold as Congress Adjourns For August Recess In this highly charged election year with both political parties looking to use legislative voting records to score campaigning points, there is no chance Congress can have its spending work done by the October 1 beginning of the new fiscal year. Republicans in the House have […]
Legislative Update
House Appropriations Panel Votes $15 Million Increase For NEA On June 11, the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee agreed to increase funding to $160 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in the coming 2009 fiscal year. This is the same funding level proposed by the House a year ago for 2008; the current […]
Legislative Update
House Authorizing Panel Hears NEA Chair While Congress has no apparent plans to pass legislation this year to renew the authorizing statute for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)—whose funding authority technically expired in 1993—the House subcommittee with authorizing jurisdiction over the NEA and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) on May 8 […]