Thank you to all our amazing arts advocates for taking action! Because of your efforts, we successfully prevented significant cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). See how your member of Congress voted.
Late last night, two amendments were introduced on the House floor by Freedom Caucus member Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK). These amendments aimed to slash NEA and NEH funding by $48 million each. However, thanks to your advocacy, these amendments were decisively defeated—a voice vote stopped the cuts to the NEA, and a roll call vote defeated the cuts to the NEH with a resounding 269 to 147.
We want to extend a special thank you to arts champion Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-St. Paul) for once again standing up for the arts. Rep. McCollum passionately spoke out against both amendments, declaring that cuts to the arts and humanities were unacceptable.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) opposed the amendments and stated “I'm not worried about the arts in Washington, New York or Los Angeles. But I am worried about the arts in Shelly, Idaho, a small town...I continue to see the impact that funding has to small communities to help with their arts councils.”
Thank you again for taking action and we will now see how the Senate responds.