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The President released his proposed FY18 budget on Tuesday, and the news for arts organizations and other cultural programs is not good. In this proposal, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services would all be eliminated. The only funding proposed for the agencies would cover the administrative costs related to shuttering the agencies for good.
While the news is bad, it isn’t hopeless-yet. As AAM’s Laura Lott stated yesterday:
“It is Congress—not the President—that will ultimately determine funding levels for these vital agencies. After a record-setting presence at Museums Advocacy Day 2017, the Alliance will continue to work with our allies to build on Congress’ tradition of strong bipartisan support for these agencies. We hope you will join our efforts today.”
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have deep reservations about elements of the President’s proposal, and their task is now to review the budget and make changes.
This is where you come in
: we need to be a unified voice, talking to our legislators about how these programs provide critical, positive support for our communities. It is imperative that you reach out to your Congressional representatives today. We have limited time to get our message across!
Here are some resources that can help make this an easy task that takes less than 5 minutes. What is 5 minutes, when it could mean the difference between having these programs and watching them disappear?
American Alliance of Museums website has letters for you to sign for each of these programs—they are pre-populated, and entering your address will automatically send the letter to the appropriate Senator and Representative.
Start here
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Want more information to share?
- This one pager summarizes the NEH, NEA and IMLS impact specific to Virginia.
- This VAM infographic explains all that Virginia’s museums do for our state.
- This infographic from the Virginia Tourism Corporation is a good summary of the general importance of museums to the overall health of Virginia.
- Libraries, too, benefit greatly from IMLS. The Library of Virginia has some information that can help you add them to your conversation.
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