Legislative News
Read the latest arts news
09-12-2011: President Obama released the American Jobs Act, which attempts to address sagging job growth with a combination of tax and spending policies aimed at encouraging private sector hiring.
07-28-2011: An amendment to the U.S. House FY 2012 Interior Appropriations bill proposed by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) that sought to cut an additional $10.6 million from the National Endowment for the Arts failed by a vote of 240-181.
07-12-2011: The full U.S. House Appropriations Committee passed FY 2012 budget legislation that included a $20 million cut in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts from the agency's FY 2011 level of $155 million.
07-07-2011: The U.S House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee approved FY 2012 budget legislation that funds the NEA at $132 million, which is a reduction of $20 million from the previous year's funding.
05-25-2011: The House Education & Workforce Committee approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) that seeks to terminate 43 programs at the U.S. Department of Education, including the Arts in Education program. View the webcast here.
05-13-2011: Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA), chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, introduced education reform legislation that would eliminate 43 programs at the U.S. Department of Education, including the Arts in Education programs.
05-11-2011: NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman testified before the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee on his agency’s FY 2012 Budget Request. The Administration’s request is $146.2 million, $9 million less than was enacted for FY 2011.
04-12-2011: Congress passed the final FY 2011 budget agreement which includes $155 million in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
03-04-2011: Senate Democrats released their long-term funding plan for FY 2011 that includes level-funding for the National Endowment for the Arts at $167.5 million and $25 million for Arts in Education programs at the U.S. Department of Education. This version did not meet the 60 vote threshold needed to move forward however.
03-01-2011: Congress passed a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to extend funds for FY 2011 for the next two weeks to avoid a federal government shutdown. The CR makes $4 billion in cuts to domestic spending, including a number of federal education programs. Among these programs designated for cuts is the $40 million Arts in Education program, which also funds VSA and Kennedy Center arts education programs as well.
