Press Releases

Today, Congressional Arts Caucus Co-Chairs Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Congressman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) led more than 120 of their colleagues in urging President Trump to restore National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant funding approved by Congress. The bipartisan push comes after the Trump Administration canceled NEA grants to hundreds of community organizations, many of which had already begun the projects for which they had been awarded. 

“Many grantees are anchors in their communities, whether as employers and educators, prominent Main Street destinations, and tourist attractions,” the lawmakers wrote. “Lost grants will hurt budgets, contract programming, and may lead to layoffs – right as the crucial summer season kicks off for many organizations and small businesses.”

They further explained that the NEA underpins a $1.2 trillion cultural sector, representing 5.4 million jobs and a $36.8 billion trade surplus. “In short, the bang for our buck delivered by the NEA is too significant to ignore,” Pingree, Turner, and their colleagues said. 

The full text of the letter is copied below and available here. 

In addition to cancelling NEA funds already appropriated by Congress, the President has proposed eliminating the agency entirely in his budget.

Pingree recently penned an op-ed in the Portland Press Herald condemning President Trump’s attacks on arts and culture and warning that his actions mirror the authoritarian playbooks of regimes in Turkey and Hungary.

Pingree is Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, which oversees the NEA, and is an ex-officio member of the National Council on the Arts.

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Dear President Trump,

We write to express our deep concern about recent grant cancellations at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). These cancellations will have a resounding impact on communities in every part of the country, costing jobs and harming local economies. We urge you to direct their immediate reversal and restore full funding of the NEA as authorized by statute and approved by Congress.

The NEA is a small but efficient agency, using its modest resources to ensure that the benefit of federal funds reaches every Congressional district. The cancellation of hundreds of grants threatens a wide range of initiatives, from apprenticeship programs to youth engagement to economic development planning. Many grantees are anchors in their communities, whether as employers and educators, prominent Main Street destinations, and tourist attractions. Lost grants will hurt budgets, contract programming, and may lead to layoffs – right as the crucial summer season kicks off for many organizations and small businesses.

Our relatively minimal federal investment reaches Americans who would not otherwise benefit from the arts. In 678 counties across the country – primarily in rural areas – the Endowment does more to fund the arts than the top 1,000 foundations. And the benefit is not just local. It underpins the $1.2 trillion economic powerhouse that is the cultural sector, representing 5.4 million jobs and a $36.8 billion trade surplus. In short, the bang for our buck delivered by the NEA is too significant to ignore.

The NEA fulfills an essential role in our nation’s economic and cultural life, particularly as we look toward America250 celebrations next year. The Endowment’s support for local arts organizations remains a cornerstone of its statutory purpose and of its value to local communities across the country. We urge you to restore the full potential of that value by reversing grant cancellations to local arts organizations.

Sincerely,

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