Legislative News
Read the latest arts news
07-22-2010: The U.S. House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which sets the initial funding level for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), approved a $2.5 million increase to for the NEA in its FY 2011 spending bill. Currently funded at $167.5 million, this increase would bring the NEA's budget to $170 million.
07-15-2010: The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies passed initial legislation to fund the FY 2011 U.S. Department of Education’s Arts in Education programs at $40 million, which is level funding from last year. The subcommittee bill also maintains the current structure of federal arts education support, grants to model projects, and professional development.
04-30-2010: Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter among his fellow senators in support of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This letter is an opportunity for senators to make a statement of support for the NEA, and it has been four years since the last Dear Colleague in support of the NEA was circulated in the Senate.
04-13-2010: Americans for the Arts, in conjunction with 86 national organizations, hosted the 2010 Arts Advocacy Day. More than 500 arts advocates from across the country held meetings with congressional offices. Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.
04-13-2010: Rep. Jim Moran convened the House Interior & Environment Appropriations Subcommittee for a special hearing on the arts entitled "Arts Build Communities", marking Arts Advocacy Day. Actors Kyle MacLachlan and Jeff Daniels; Terri Aldrich of Minot (ND) Council on the Arts; Ovation TV CEO Charles Segars; U.S.
03-23-2010: The final healthcare package is signed into law and provides a tax credit beginning in 2010 through 2013 for small businesses and 501(c) organizations with less than 25 employees and average wages below $50,000.
03-18-2010: The HIRE act is enacted into law in an effort to combat nationwide unemployment rates. This $17.6 billion comprehensive job package encourages employers to hire new workers. Of particular importance to nonprofits, it relieves nonprofit employers from paying their 6.2 percent share of Social Security payroll tax for each new hire for the remainder of 2010. The U.S.
03-15-2010: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Obama administration release broad principles for renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as the No Child Left Behind Act.
03-04-2010: President Obama signs the Travel Promotion Act into law. The legislation proposes a nationally coordinated campaign to promote and communicate to an audience abroad the benefits of tourism in the United States, including cultural tourism. It would also set up a nonprofit board consisting of travel-related industry representatives to advise promotional strategies. For more information on this legislative please visit the U.S.
02-25-2010: United States Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan testifies before two important committees and explains the President's FY 2011 appropriations request for his agency. Of particular interest to the arts community is the proposed consolidation of the Arts in Education programs into the Effective Teaching and Learning for a Well Rounded Education program.
