- 2 months ago
During a House Appropriations Committee markup meeting before the Congressional recess, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) spoke about funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
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00:00Gentle lady from Maine, Ms. Pingree, is recognized for the purpose of an amendment.
00:09Thank you, Mr. Chair.
00:11I have an amendment at the desk.
00:12Can I move the reading be dispensed with?
00:14Without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with.
00:17And the gentle lady is recognized for remarks on her amendment.
00:20Thank you, Mr. Chair.
00:22I want to discuss a portion of the bill that I consider underfunded, and that is the funding
00:27to the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.
00:31This is one of my favorite parts of this bill to work on, and one of my favorite parts that
00:37we fund here are funding for our arts and cultural agencies.
00:40And while it's a very small portion of what we do, the funding that comes through the federal
00:45government, through the NEA and NEH, is some of the only funding that goes nationally to
00:50the arts.
00:51Now, many people would be like, oh, what's the importance of the arts?
00:53We've got a lot of other critically important things to fund, and we do.
00:57Medicaid, SNAP benefits, there are a lot of important things that we should be funding,
01:01but we should not be leaving it out.
01:03And the levels of this bill are as low as they have been since 2007, and that is a tragedy
01:12to see.
01:13These are very small but mighty agencies, and they work far above their weight.
01:19These support communities in all of our districts, and whether you know about them or not, you
01:25would probably likely have funding for arts programs through the National Endowment of
01:28the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities that would not be funded any other way.
01:33This is visiting artists in the school.
01:36This is small community theaters.
01:38These are historical societies, and libraries, and reading programs for veterans.
01:43In fact, there are 678 counties across the country, most of them in rural areas, where the NEA does
01:50more to fund the arts than the top 1,000 foundations.
01:53In many communities, this is the only source of outside funding.
01:57And I know, having served on a school board, how critically important it is to get arts in
02:02our school curriculum.
02:03And often, the only way you can fund them is through funding that comes from the outside.
02:09The arts and culture sector contributes over a trillion dollars a year to our economy.
02:15It's a significant part of the economy.
02:17Arts and culture is more than agriculture, transportation, or construction.
02:21Yet, we often dismiss it as if it's sort of an add-on, or something we do for fun.
02:27But it's a critical part of what we do.
02:30Now, I appreciate the fact that the Republicans, when they wrote the bill, put back into this
02:38funding mechanism $135 million.
02:41So, the Trump administration cut it to zero.
02:43It was at $207 million, which is not a very large sum of money.
02:48But they added back $135 million.
02:51My amendment here would put in the next 72 and get us back to the 207.
02:56That is the level, as I said, the lowest level we've been at.
03:00Well, no, the $135 million is the lowest level we've been at.
03:05That would get us back to the level that we've been at.
03:07All I'm trying to do is keep the status quo for arts and culture.
03:11Now, I think the chair earlier said, is it okay to put arts in, not arts in, funding in, not in?
03:17Okay, I really do appreciate that you put the funding in.
03:19So, thank you very much for that.
03:21What I don't like is this administration zeroing it out, but then deciding, well, it's arts funding that they determine how it goes.
03:30For instance, if they get the $250 million for the Kennedy Center and they decide how it goes, then that arts and culture is allowed.
03:36And what they've done with the NEA and NEH is taken $17 million that was allocated to the NEA and $17 million to the NEH and $40 million that they got through the reconciliation bill to create a sculpture garden of heroes that the president determined would be a good idea.
03:53So, he's taking this money that was purposed for our communities, for our local funding, and using it for something that he determined would be a good idea for the arts.
04:02And just to make it clear, this sculpture garden of heroes are 200 heroes of the president's choosing created by artists of the president's choosing out of materials of the president's choosing in a state of his choosing.
04:19So, again, I appreciate that this administration has determined that there are good places for arts and culture, but this should be a decision that we all make.
04:29This should be funding that comes to all of our communities, and particularly when it comes to the NEA and NEH.
04:35This is money that should be restored, should be returned to its current level, staffing should be returned to its current level, and we should go back to granting funds to our local communities.
04:45This is a vital engine for the arts. This is a vital source of funding. This matters in each and every one of our communities.
04:52This funding was cut dramatically by the president. I want to see it restored, and I want to see this funding restored.
04:58So, I hope you will support my amendment and restore the funding back to $207 million for both the NEA and NEH to return to where we were.
05:09And I yield back.
05:12Thank you, gentlelady. Gentleman from Idaho, Mr. Simpsons, recognize and respond to the amendment.
05:17Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a tough one. I don't think there's anybody in Congress that supports the arts or humanities more than I do.
05:24Except maybe Mrs. Pingree. Unfortunately, this exceeds, would put a, there's no offsets on this.
05:32It would exceed the 302 , which has been approved by the full committee, which means this bill couldn't make it to the floor.
05:41Let me tell you what we, what we did though. The administration or the OMB recommended zeroing out the arts and humanities.
05:50We didn't do that. We reduced them substantially by, what, 37, 35%, from the 207 down to $135 million each.
06:01The way it traditionally works and has worked, and according to statute, is out of the 207 that goes, let's pick the national down for the arts.
06:11They get $207 million, 40% of that, which would be about, what, $83 million, goes to the states, and that supports state arts councils and so forth.
06:23My concern was, what if we give the $207 million or the $135 million to the arts, but there's nobody there to take it?
06:36Because they haven't appointed anybody to the National Endowment for the Arts or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
06:41What happens to the money then?
06:43So what we did is say, listen, if there's nobody at the National Endowment for the Arts to accept this $135 million,
06:50then it all goes to the states divided by the formula.
06:54Which means instead of getting $84 million, $83 million divided among the states, they would get $135 million divided among the states.
07:03But guess what?
07:04The states arts councils that I've talked to said, hey, that's not a bad deal.
07:08So maybe this is the right way to do it.
07:11But I want to preserve the arts and make sure that we do that with the arts and humanities.
07:17Unfortunately, as I said in the beginning, this would exceed our 302 , and that meant that we wouldn't be able to get this bill to the floor.
07:26So I reluctantly, very reluctantly, oppose the gentlelady's amendment.
07:35Are there other members wishing to address the amendment?
07:39Ms. DeLorell from Connecticut is recognized to address the amendment.
07:43Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
07:44I rise in support of Ranking Member Pingree's amendment that restores the base level of funding from last year for the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities.
07:53I can think of no more fitting example of the Trump administration's dismal vision for the future of America than cutting $72 million each from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
08:07The American people are struggling with the cost of living crisis, but this administration is not only cutting the programs that help people to survive, like food stamps, Medicaid, and public housing, but also the programs that help Americans experience life fully.
08:23At one time, I served as president of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven.
08:28I learned firsthand how much the arts mean to people.
08:31They make a stop and appreciate the beauty and the mystery of the world.
08:35They open us up to new ideas.
08:37They teach us new ways of communicating with those around us and force us to reckon with the bigger questions in life.
08:44The arts are about our humanity.
08:46In the words of one of my personal heroes, the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, and I quote,
08:52The arts are not a frill.
08:54The arts are a response to our individuality and our nature and help to shape our identity.
09:00What is there that can transcend deep difference and stubborn divisions?
09:04The arts, end quote.
09:07These words stuck with me, and I think about them every year when I open the ceremonies at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, which just celebrated its 30th successful convening of arts and performers from around the world, right in my own home on the New Haven Green.
09:25This festival is an event for the whole community, where people from all cultures can come together to appreciate music, dance, sculpture, and more.
09:34There are countless programs like this all across the nation that benefit from the efforts of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, either directly through funding and logistical support or indirectly through the broader ecosystem of artists and conveners that the NEA and the NEH have helped to nurture, grow, and sustain.
09:52I've always believed that our lives are richer and fuller when we take the time to appreciate art, reflect on it, and perhaps most of all, to make it.
10:03And public support and access is essential for the arts to flourish rather than become stagnant and dependent on private philanthropy.
10:12That is why I've always fought to protect funding for our national arts programs.
10:16Every great nation around the world funds its arts, its galleries, its museums, because they recognize that the arts are not a luxury or a distraction.
10:27They are essential. They are common heritage and a way to celebrate a shared national identity.
10:34That is one more reason why this bill is so disappointing.
10:37These cuts, as well as cuts to the Smithsonian Institution, are the definition of penny wise and pound foolish.
10:45And arts and cultural industries generated over $1.2 trillion in economic activity last year, according to a collaboration between the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
10:59The NEA and NEH are crucial funding sources that help this fast-growing sector thrive.
11:05America's achievements and contributions to the arts are critical to our national identity and unity, and these programs ensure all Americans can join our shared culture.
11:16I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back.
11:20Thank you, gentlelady, the gentlelady from Ohio.
11:23Ms. Kaptur is recognized to address the amendment.
11:27Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
11:29I rise in strong support of Ms. Pingree's amendment to restore funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities,
11:36which have been cut $144 million, or 41% below the 2025 enacted level.
11:45The country could actually use a little more humor at this point in its history, and the arts and humanities really are the heartbeat of our country and our communities.
11:55They create joy, music.
12:00They create understanding, and promote creativity, which is at the fundamental definition of what it is to be an individualist in this society,
12:14and to enjoy the blessings of liberty.
12:16They preserve our shared history, give voice to the voiceless, and help us understand one another across generations, across backgrounds, and across beliefs.
12:26In the part of America I come from, from local theaters to museums, to our zoos, to our cultural festivals and community murals, we see how creativity builds civic pride.
12:37It is who we are.
12:38My hometown of Toledo is where the literary heroine Nancy Drew first came to life.
12:44The Carolyn King pseudonym actually was stated in the Toledo Blade, our local newspaper, by journalist Mildred Wirt Benson, who wrote many of the first Nancy Drew mystery novels before 1953.
13:02A documentary project to honor this American icon came to a grinding halt in April when filmmaker Kathleen O'Connell received a letter from the federal government saying her production grant from NEH had been terminated.
13:17The letter came with no explanation.
13:20This is a very unfortunate example of this administration's holding back already appropriated funding promised to our communities.
13:29Handcuffing art, handcuffing artists who tell America's story and share it with the American people deserves honor.
13:38I really do wonder who some of those folks are over at OMB humorless.
13:43When I see them on TV, they never smile, they always look down, they look really dour.
13:48I think they haven't been exposed to the arts and humanities enough.
13:51Now, Miss O'Connell had planned to present the documentary at community screenings at local libraries around our country,
13:58allowing a new generation of readers to fall in love with Nancy Drew and her adventures,
14:04and most importantly, reading, reading, reading.
14:08In January of this year, the Wall Street Journal reported,
14:11literary scores among youth, literacy scores among youth in our country were at the lowest level since the 1990s,
14:20with only about 60% of 4th graders and 67% of 8th graders reaching basic proficiency.
14:29That means a whole lot of our youth are falling by the wayside.
14:34This is a problem, America. Wake up.
14:37This Nancy Drew documentary was also going to air on public television,
14:41allowing it to reach almost everyone in the country.
14:44But last week, my colleagues across the aisle voted to gut funding for the public broadcasting system.
14:51Gut funding for Big Bird. Gut funding for creativity.
14:55Gut funding for food, housing, and healthcare.
14:58Where will it stop?
15:00One has to be pretty dour to think of America in the way they are over at OMB.
15:05I urge my colleagues to please support this amendment when we invest in the arts,
15:10when we invest in education, in innovation, and in healing.
15:14Support this amendment to keep America's culture and history alive,
15:19not just in Washington, New York, and Chicago, but in all of our communities and available to all Americans.
15:25Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
15:26I support the gentlelady's amendment with full throttle.
15:29I yield back.
15:30Thank the gentlelady.
15:35The gentleman from Maryland is recognized to address the amendment.
15:38Thank you very much.
15:40Mr. Case and I make the argument, and others have made the argument, that if you lead with the argument that we have a cap,
15:52and therefore we can't take the bill forward, that was a decision that was made.
15:59Life's a series of trade-offs.
16:01You decide what you think is important, and you spend money on that.
16:08But if you cap, and I will argue this, frankly, when the financial services bill is considered sometime in September,
16:18we have made a decision to cap our dollars.
16:22It's called the 302B.
16:25We all voted against that 302B and really had no input into it.
16:29But the other side made a decision through the reconciliation bill to cut a lot of funding.
16:35And they had to offset that.
16:37They had to offset their tax breaks for mostly wealthy people.
16:4267% goes to the top 1%.
16:45So we are left not with an argument that this is not important, because the chairman, to his great credit, has said today, and he has said repeatedly.
16:58He believes this is a very important enterprise for us to pursue.
17:02And my judgment is, I may be wrong, that if we had sufficient resources for this committee to cover both environmental and other matters,
17:11as well as the NEA and the NEH, that the chairman would be in favor of the fiscal year 24 level that was passed in 23.
17:24So this is not a great sum that we are marking to.
17:30And I would say that this is about our values, and the vote will be about our values.
17:39Do we think this is important?
17:41Do we think pursuing the arts and humanities is important for the welfare of our country?
17:47Now, very frankly, if you're very wealthy, you can access all the arts and humanities you want to access, see, hear, enjoy.
17:58But if you're not, and you're in the local school system, or the local arts club, they don't get a lot of money, but they enrich the community.
18:08And they enrich each one of those who participate in it.
18:12So I would rise in strong support of the gentlelady's amendment.
18:18Very frankly, we can ask for a waiver.
18:23We can move forward with this.
18:26And it's important to do.
18:28I urge its support.
18:30Thank you, gentlemen.
18:31The gentlelady from Florida, Ms. Frankel, is recognized to address the amendment.
18:39Thank you, thank you.
18:48I rise in strong support of Representative Pingu's amendment to restore funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
18:58That is a mouthful there.
19:01But listen, this is very personal to me.
19:04Many of you know that as I listen to our debates, I like to doodle.
19:11Oh, here's one of my doodles today.
19:15Not one of my best doodles, but it is a doodle.
19:18And, you know, it helps keeps me focused on these lengthy discussions back and forth with our colleagues.
19:26And later, Mr. Chair, with your permission, I have an exhibit.
19:30Later, I take these doodles and I put them on canvas.
19:35That does not represent anybody I know, but that is one of my doodles.
19:39And that's where the joy begins, because I go into my little paint room.
19:46I put on my favorite music, Diana Ross, the Beach Boys, sometimes Carole King.
19:53You could tell when I was growing up.
19:56And then I paint.
19:58And like millions of Americans, I suspect like some in this room, I'm looking right at one.
20:05Mr. Alford, I suspect that the arts bring so much joy into people's lives.
20:14Whether it could be, you know, painting or playing an instrument or seeing a play or visiting a local museum.
20:21Because arts lift us up.
20:23They give us meaning and connect us in ways that you can't put a price tag on.
20:30Is it?
20:31Are you okay?
20:33Okay.
20:34And that's why gutting funding for the arts and humanities by nearly 40% is so sadly wrong.
20:43Because when we invest in the arts and humanities, we're investing in education.
20:47We're investing in jobs.
20:49We're investing in our own stories.
20:51The arts and humanities help us understand our past, see the world through someone else's eyes and imagine a better future.
20:59They preserve history, give a voice to people too often ignored.
21:03And importantly, they build bridges in a time when division and distrust are running wild.
21:10And so at Cutting the Arts, it's an attack on learning, on creativity, on critical thinking, and the soul of our democracy.
21:19And the impact is real.
21:21It will hurt museums, libraries, cultural centers, schools, especially those serving kids and underserved communities.
21:29We know art education keeps students in schools.
21:32They boost test scores and even help kids graduate.
21:35And let's not forget the economic impact that some of my colleagues have discussed so far.
21:41In my own home area, which I'm so proud of.
21:44And we have places like the Kravitz Center and the Norton Museum, the Morikani Museum, the Cox Science Museum.
21:52I could go on and on.
21:54The arts generate over $300 million a year just in Palm Beach County, supports over 4,000 jobs, and attracts millions of visitors.
22:02And across the county, the arts power local businesses, fuel tourism, and keep main streets alive.
22:09But beyond arts, the dollars and cents, the arts binds us together.
22:16I think everyone can think of a painting, a song, a performance, or a film that moved us.
22:24Maybe this painting is moving somebody.
22:27My cat liked it, I will tell you that.
22:30But listen, something that stayed with us opened our eyes or made us feel less alone.
22:37The power of arts is part of what makes life worth living.
22:44And we can't afford to lose that.
22:46So let's stand up for our educators, our artists, our curators, our historians and dreamers who help us better understand ourselves and each other.
22:55And let's pass this amendment to restore funding and send a message.
22:59The arts and humanities are as essential to our communities as schools and roads and hospitals.
23:06They are the heartbeat of who we are.
23:09Let's keep those doodles alive.
23:11I urge my colleagues to vote yes and I yield back.
23:15Thanks, gentlelady.
23:16Gentlelady from Pennsylvania.
23:18Ms. Dean is recognized for comments on the amendment.
23:21And I rise in support of this amendment too, which would restore the base level funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for Humanities to the 2025 levels.
23:40But if I'm doing the math correctly, I think that would really be what was the 2024 enacted levels.
23:46In my community, PA Humanities supports expanded access and awareness of the humanities, including by making grants to nonprofit organizations, which funds are provided by NEH.
23:59In my districts, and I really urge you all to take a look at summaries of that which has been funded in your own districts, it is really important.
24:08It's not a huge amount of money, but these grants are incredibly important to our communities so that we too might have budding Lois Frankels among us.
24:18What we have in my community, we have care grants for many libraries, including Muhlenberg, Boyertown, Pottstown, Huntington Valley, North Wales, Lower Providence.
24:31We have art centers, White Marsh Arts Center, North Wales area libraries, Kutztown, Muhlenberg, Brandywine community libraries, getting support for the arts through federal funding.
24:45And so much more. So much of it has to do with our children. So much of it has to do with whether it's performance or art and seeing budding artists along the way.
24:57It enriches all of us. As my colleagues are likely aware, on April the 2nd, DOGE terminated the contracts of all state humanities councils.
25:08You know what that meant for Pennsylvania? 1.2 million in general operating funds to support their staff, operations and programs. Gone. Wiped out. Thank you, DOGE.
25:20PA Humanities has had to reduce staff, work hours, pay, as well as stop grant making and pause programming all at the time of summer when so much could be going on for our young people.
25:33On June 25th, NEH rescinded PA Humanities grant termination, but it did not reinstate their appropriated funding and de-obligated, I love these verbs, de-obligated additional dollars, meaning 1.1 million is still lost to the state for FY25.
25:51To me, this is simply unacceptable. This hurts ourselves when we do this.
25:58We must push back against these unconscionable cuts and continue to demonstrate robust, bipartisan, increasing, not flat level, not cuts, support for arts and humanities.
26:11And so I'm very delighted that Representative Pingree has brought forward this amendment and I urge my colleagues to support it.
26:18I yield back.
26:20Thank you, gentlelady. Are there any other members wishing to address the amendment?
26:25Seeing none, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute to close.
26:30Thank you, Mr. Chair. You've heard compelling arguments about how the arts play a vital role in our community or a vital role in our lives.
26:41This is often the only source of funding for many of our communities.
26:46And we have the opportunity to do something very good here today to make sure we restore that funding so that our communities are whole, so that our schools continue to have arts in the schools, so our local community theaters and dance troops and music organizations all can thrive.
27:04So people can have these opportunities no matter whether they come from a wealthy community that has plenty of resources or one that's strained for resources but can use these federal dollars to do these good things for our communities, for our kids, to bring us closer together, to bring us all the same opportunities.
27:18So I urge you to support this amendment and I yield back my time.
27:23I thank gentlelady. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from Maine. All those in favor say aye.
27:32Aye. All those opposed say no. No.
27:36Depending on the chair, the no's have it. And the amendment is not adopted.
27:44Gentlemen.
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