Support the NEA funding increase

From Jason Grote.

____


This morning in Congress, the House Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee, which sets the initial funding level for the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA), approved a $15 million increase for the
NEA in its FY 2010 spending bill, setting it on a path towards final
House consideration. Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA) has once again
championed the arts and culture and proposed an increase in funding.
Please send a message to your Members of Congress telling them to
support this important funding increase!
http://capwiz.com/artsusa/utr/1/EUAYKQOEMA/LHNOKQOFBF/3464869781

Currently funded at $155 million, this increase would bring the
agency's budget to $170 million. In his statement, Chairman Dicks
referenced the Arts Advocacy Day hearings the subcommittee held as
demonstrating that "the endowments are vital for preserving and
encouraging America's arts and cultural heritage." On Arts
Advocacy Day, Americans for the Arts presented a panel of witnesses
before Chairman Dicks' Appropriations Subcommittee calling for a
significant increase in funding for the NEA. Witnesses included
Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center Wynton Marsalis, renown
singer-songwriter Josh Groban, legendary singer Linda Ronstadt,
Reinvestment Fund CEO Jeremy Nowak and Americans for the Arts President
& CEO Robert Lynch. Pictures from the hearing and further details
including the witnesses' testimony are available online here:
http://capwiz.com/artsusa/utr/1/EUAYKQOEMA/MYYRKQOFBH/3464869781

Thanks to all of the grassroots advocates for your letters and calls to
Congress and for attending Arts Advocacy Day. We're seeing the results!

Next Steps:
The FY 2010 Interior Appropriations bill will next go to full committee
and then to the House floor for final consideration where your help may
be needed to defend against floor amendments attempting to cut this
increase. We must now put pressure on the Senate to match this funding
level. Please take two minutes to visit the Americans for the Arts
E-Advocacy Center to send a letter to your Members of Congress letting
them know that the arts are important to you!
http://capwiz.com/artsusa/utr/1/EUAYKQOEMA/AWNBKQOFBI/3464869781

Please help us continue this important work by becoming an official
member of the Arts Action Fund. Play your part by joining the Arts
Action Fund today -- it's free and simple:
http://capwiz.com/artsusa/utr/1/EUAYKQOEMA/BHVTKQOFBJ/3464869781