Congressional Appropriators Consider Cutting NEA in Half

Full Appropriations Committee Yesterday, July 31

In mid-July, the appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) met to approve a funding bill for fiscal year 2014, which begins on October 1^st. Their bill calls for the NEA to receive a 49% cut totaling $71 million, which would bring the agency’s budget down to $75 million, a level not seen since 1974!

Yesterday, the full appropriations committee began their consideration of the bill, expected to take a few hours. However, they faced numerous amendments and rising tempers, and everyone has had an eye on adjourning for August – so they suspended the committee markup until September.

Before they stopped, they did consider an amendment offered by senior appropriator Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Rep. David Price (D-NC) to fund the NEA (and the National Endowment for the Humanities) to the president’s request of $154 million. The amendment was defeated along a party-line vote of 19-27.

The 49% budget cut that remains in place is shocking, but not necessarily surprising. Leading up to the committee’s action, the House of Representatives approved a budget resolution which included the sequester cuts of about 5% to agency budgets, and an overall funding plan that reduced the entire bill by 19%. So, arts advocates and those who were closely watching from the environmental and natural resource communities were not surprised to see significant cuts proposed. However, a 49% reduction to an independent federal agency is misguided, counterproductive, and entirely disproportionate.

The arts community recognizes the challenges our elected leaders face in prioritizing federal resources. In fact, funding for the NEA has already been cut by more than $29 million over the past three years. These disproportionate cuts recall the dramatic decline of federal funding for the arts in the early 90s, from which the agency has still not recovered.

• The chairman of the subcommittee, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) stated, in part, “In order to fund critical ‘must-do’ priorities, like human health, public safety, and treaty obligations and responsibilities, we’ve had to reduce and even terminate some programs that are popular with both Members of Congress and the American people.”
• The senior Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) described the cuts to cultural organizations as, “Far from being a drain on the Treasury, these entities deliver programs that enhance our quality of life and provide an economic boost here in Washington DC and in communities across the country.”
• In a gesture indicating the severity of the cuts, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), commented that these cuts “harken back to a time when a misguided war on the arts and culture ignored the educational and cultural benefits they provide our communities.”
• In an interview with an online publication Congressional Arts Caucus co-chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY) described the subcommittee action, “They are slicing, cutting stupidly. I’m absolutely amazed. What a short-sighted thing for them to do.”

If this budget is enacted, we project that one out of every two grants across the country would be terminated, the NEA would have to cut in half the grant support it provides through state partnerships, and major staff changes would take place at NEA and at arts agencies around the country. In addition to the direct support lost, the impact on arts organizations would be even broader as each dollar from an NEA grant helps to leverage at least $8 from other state, local, and private sources, expanding tax bases and creating jobs. Interestingly, in 1974, when the NEA was funded at $75 million, if adjusted for inflation, that level would be $350 million in today’s dollars.

While the subcommittee cuts are likely to be endorsed by the full House Appropriations Committee if they complete action on this bill, the steps beyond that are unclear as the appropriations process this year appears to be heading toward a dysfunctional ending. This is because the Senate and the House have vastly different appropriations levels on a variety of bills, and if they can’t find a compromise position, the most likely outcome would be a “continuing resolution” that would maintain the current NEA funding level ($138 million) into the next fiscal year. There is a real possibility of a government shut-down should Congress be unable to find a compromise.

For arts advocates, a continuing resolution is likely to be the best outcome.

Americans for the Arts has been calling on its grassroots advocates, and readers like you, to take action to prevent this cut from taking place. We’ve called on them to register their concerns with their member of Congress through a well-timed message to arrive in advance of final House action.