"The economic benefits are undeniable — for big cities, small towns, and everywhere in between. The arts and culture industry contributes $764 billion to our economy every year." — Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Conversations In Advocacy #27
In good news for music and the arts, on July 18 the House of Representatives voted to reject a proposal that would have slashed the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities each by 15 percent for the upcoming fiscal year. With a bipartisan vote of 297-114, the House again made it clear that the arts have a vital place in our cultural landscape. The next day, the House voted to pass a spending package that included a $2 million increase for the NEA to match the level requested by the Recording Academy earlier this spring.
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The initial proposal to cut NEA funding for the 2019 fiscal year was introduced by Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) as a measure to reduce government spending via an amendment to the larger spending package. But as advocates such as Pingree pointed out, the NEA makes up a small amount of the federal budget and returns financial gains at an exponential level.
"NEA and NEH use minimal federal investment — just 0.0004 percent of the federal budget — to create jobs, support families and sustain communities in every Congressional district," said Pingree in opposition to the proposed cuts. "We'd be foolish to cut that back."
Luckily, her colleagues agreed. Instead of a budget cut, the NEA has been allocated with approximately a $155 million budget for FY2019, a step that represents the continuing recognition of the importance of the arts in the U.S. Advocates pointed out that the NEA supports veterans as well thanks to art therapy programs.
"I am the Republican chair of both the Arts Caucus and the Humanities Caucus in this House," said Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.). "These programs do wonderful work throughout the entire nation, in every hamlet in America and, of course, supporting our veterans."
This vote to protect NEA funding follows the unanimous passage of the Music Modernization Act in the House in April, demonstrating the growing momentum between official recognition of the importance of music in our community. With the good news of the protection of the NEA, we can only hope that codifying modern law to fairly compensate music creators will soon follow.
Tell Congress to Pass the Comprehensive Music Modernization Act!
"Conversations in Advocacy" is your weekend digital tip sheet on the policies that affect music makers and their craft. New installments post every Friday.
