National Issues
Advocacy efforts at the national level include monitoring and informing the
efforts by Congress and the Executive Branch in Washington, D.C. to adequately
recognize and fund arts and culture. Our advocacy partner, American
for the Arts (AFTA) , and our national funder, National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA), often promote national advocacy campaigns
for the arts.
For the last few years, RACC has been a partner in AFTA's national arts education
campaign — Art. Ask for More, encouraging
our local community to support more arts education in the schools.
Latest News
6/11/08 NEA Receives Funding Increase in House Subcommittee. Americans for the Arts announced that the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which sets the initial funding level for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), approved a $15.3 million increase for the NEA in its FY 2009 spending bill. Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA) has once again proposed an increase in funding for arts and culture in the face of a dramatic cut proposed by the president's recent budget. Please click here to send a message to your Members of Congress telling them to support this important funding increase!
Currently funded at $144.7 million, this increase would bring the agency's budget to $160 million. President Bush requested a cut to $128 million for the NEA for FY09 from the current $144.7 million level. On Arts Advocacy Day, Americans for the Arts presented a panel of witnesses before Chairman Dicks' Appropriations Subcommittee calling for a significant increase in funding for the NEA. Witnesses included actor/director Robert Redford, musician John Legend, and actor Kerry Washington. Video of the hearing and further details including the witnesses' testimony are available online here.
RACC Staff to Contact
Mary Bauer
Communications Associate
503.823.5426
mbauer@racc.org
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