Urge Congress to Support FY24 Arts Funding!

October 6, 2023

With just hours left on the clock last weekend, the U.S. Congress managed to pass a 45-day continuing resolution that prevented a shutdown of the federal government. However, the upheaval in the leadership of the House majority makes for an uncertain path toward finding a funding compromise before the threat of a shutdown looms once again. Already, there have been calls for reductions and eliminations to several sources of federal arts funding, so it is crucial for elected officials to hear from their constituents about how the arts benefit local communities. The League has a broad slate of e-advocacy campaigns at the ready, but here is where things stand on NEA and arts education in particular:

National Endowment for the Arts

• The House Appropriations Committee passed a recommendation that includes an approximately 10% reduction for the NEA’s budget, which would amount to an FY24 allocation of $186.3 million. The full House has not yet held a vote, but a variety of harmful amendments are likely to be offered on top of whatever revised recommendations are put forward. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a recommendation for level funding, which would allocate $207M to the NEA. The full Senate has not yet held a vote either.

Arts Education

• The House Appropriations Committee has yet to vote on the Subcommittee recommendation for FY24 Labor, Health, and Human Services funding, which called for eliminating the Arts in Education Program at the U.S. Department of Education. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a funding recommendation that calls for a $6.5M reduction from current level funding, which would amount to $30M for the Arts in Education Program in FY24.

Please join us in advocacy by taking action today!