House Appropriations Committee Approves Funding for the NEA, NEH, and CPB

DPE
DPE
Jul 20, 2017 · 2 min read

The full U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has approved the funding necessary for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to continue functioning in the coming fiscal year. This comes after the House Appropriations subcommittees responsible for NEA, NEH, and CPB funding approved the same funding levels during markups last week.

On Tuesday evening, the full House Appropriations Committee met and approved $145 million in FY 2018 funding for the NEA and NEH each with the passage of the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. The money allotted by the committee is $5 million less than Fiscal Year 2017 funding levels for the NEA and NEH. Though disappointed by these needless cuts to the NEA’s and NEH’s budgets, the funding approved by the House Appropriations Committee will allow the institutions to continue to carry out their vital missions.

Yesterday, the full House Appropriations Committee marked up the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education funding bill, which contained funding for the CPB in the form of an advanced appropriation of $445 million for Fiscal Year 2020. While certainly pleased to see a full appropriation for the CPB, the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) remains concerned about other provisions within the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education funding bill that would undermine professionals’ workplace rights.

President Donald Trump’s budget proposed eliminating the NEA and NEH, and privatizing the CPB. The funding levels proposed in President Trump’s budget, $29 million for the NEA, $42 million for the NEH, and $30 million for the CPB, were intended to begin the process of shutting down the three institutions.

DPE and its affiliates representing professionals in the arts, entertainment, and media industries as well as the professionals employed at NEA and NEH united to protect the NEA, NEH, and CPB from elimination by making members of Congress aware of the impact the institutions have on the country’s economy and culture, particularly in rural communities far from the bright lights of Hollywood and the stages of Broadway. DPE also organized a sign-on letter that brought together arts, entertainment, and media unions and a broad range of employers from across the country to tell Congress that the NEA, NEH, and CPB provide support for good jobs in every state and that private funding could not be counted on to replace lost federal funding.

DPE and its affiliates are pleased to see members of the House Appropriations Committee validate the continued need for the NEA, NEH, and CPB. As the appropriations process continues, we remain united in support of full funding for all three institutions.

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DPE

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DPE

A coalition of 24 national unions representing more than four million professional, technical, and other highly skilled workers

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