House Defeats Brecheen Amendments, Senate Acts Next

July 25, 2024

After supportive remarks by Interior Subcommittee Chair Mike Simpson (R-ID) and Ranking Member Chellie Pingree (D-ME) on behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the House defeated a pair of amendments offered by Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK). Rep. Brecheen’s amendments would have made significantly deeper cuts to the budgets of both agencies, in addition to the Subcommittee’s recommendation for an approximately $4M decrease. The full chamber passed the Interior bill with a recommendation for $203.895M for the NEA and NEH. While a recorded vote was not requested for the NEA amendment’s defeat, bipartisan support is detailed in the recorded vote on the NEH amendment.

Action now turns to the Senate, which will consider its own Interior bill that includes an Appropriations Committee recommendation of $209M each for the NEA and NEH, a slight increase from current funding and just shy of the Administration’s proposal for FY25. With the Senate scheduled to adjourn for more than a month beginning August 3, now is a good time to weigh in to urge your Senators to support robust funding for the arts.

Whether you communicate via our updated e-campaign in support of the NEA or have plans to meet with your officials in person during the August recess, please be sure to speak up about the value of the arts in your community!