Americans for the Arts president and CEO Robert L. Lynch issued the following statement following the signing of the bipartisan agreement: 

 

“The best part about the FY2017 Omnibus agreement is that it was bipartisan. Seven months late and spanning two administrations, the final bill sailed through Congress this week. None of the nation’s arts and cultural agencies and programs were cut and, in fact, several received small funding increases. The agreement will not only allow the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to continue to do their good work of funding nonprofit arts and humanities organizations in all 50 states and every Congressional district, but it will also allocate $2 million more to each agency, bringing their budgets to $150 million, respectively. This is also a tremendous example of how grassroots arts advocacy efforts proved effective with sending thousands of letters, emails, phone calls, personal visits, op-eds, news articles, targeted advertising, and research to make our case to Congress. And, it is a tribute to the hard work of pro-arts appropriators in Congress, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Interior, Environment Appropriations Committee and recipient of our 2017 Congressional Arts Leadership Award; Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN).

 

“While this is good news for the arts and culture sector, there is a note of caution—the FY2018 appropriations bill for funding the federal government from October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018 is still very much in play and going through the legislative process. This FY18 bill is where the President recommended eliminating all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for the Museum and Library Services. We remain focused on getting these agencies fully funded again in the coming months.”

 

For resources and information to help make the case for the arts and arts education, visit the Americans for the Arts Arts Mobilization Center.