[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 98 (Monday, July 25, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                                  VOTE

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct. Under the previous 
order, the question occurs on agreeing to the motion to instruct the 
Sergeant at Arms to request the attendance of absent Senators.
  The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from California [Mrs. Boxer], 
the Senator from Iowa [Mr. Harkin], the Senator from Hawaii [Mr. 
Inouye], the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Kennedy], and the Senator 
from Ohio [Mr. Metzenbaum] are necessarily absent.
  Mr. SIMPSON. I announce that the Senator from Utah [Mr. Bennett], the 
Senator from Rhode Island [Mr. Chafee], the Senator from New York [Mr. 
D'Amato], the Senator from Utah [Mr. Hatch], the Senator from Idaho 
[Mr. Kempthorne], the Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell], the 
Senator from Pennsylvania [Mr. Specter], and the Senator from South 
Carolina [Mr. Thurmond] are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 74, nays 13, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 228 Leg.]

                                YEAS--74

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boren
     Bradley
     Brown
     Bryan
     Bumpers
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Coats
     Cochran
     Cohen
     Conrad
     Coverdell
     Danforth
     Daschle
     DeConcini
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durenberger
     Exon
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Glenn
     Gorton
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hatfield
     Heflin
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Jeffords
     Johnston
     Kassebaum
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lugar
     Mathews
     Mikulski
     Mitchell
     Moseley-Braun
     Moynihan
     Murray
     Nunn
     Packwood
     Pell
     Pryor
     Reid
     Riegle
     Robb
     Rockefeller
     Roth
     Sarbanes
     Sasser
     Shelby
     Simon
     Simpson
     Stevens
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wofford

                                NAYS--13

     Breaux
     Craig
     Faircloth
     Gramm
     Helms
     Lott
     Mack
     McCain
     Murkowski
     Nickles
     Pressler
     Smith
     Wallop

                             NOT VOTING--13

     Bennett
     Boxer
     Chafee
     D'Amato
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Inouye
     Kempthorne
     Kennedy
     McConnell
     Metzenbaum
     Specter
     Thurmond
  So the motion was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending business is H.R. 4602, the 
Interior appropriations bill. The pending question is a committee 
amendment on page 48 line 16.
  Mr. BYRD addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, this would be a good time for a Senator to 
call up an amendment. There will be a rollcall vote at 3:30 p.m. on an 
amendment. But there are several amendments on the list by Senators, 
and it is not inconceivable that if Senators would come over and call 
up their amendments, some of the amendments might be accepted. It is 
easily also very conceivable that a number of the amendments that are 
on the list may indeed not be called up.
  So it is likewise easy to imagine that we might be able to finish 
this bill today by going into the evening. Tomorrow there are going to 
be some interruptions during the day, brought about by the visit of Mr. 
Rabin and King Hussein and a joint session of the House and the 
luncheon. It is, therefore, necessary that we make as much progress as 
we possibly can this afternoon. It is my understanding that the leader 
has no desire to go out early or to provide a window. So as far as I am 
concerned, with my colleague, Mr. Nickles, we could plow right on 
through and make as much progress today as we possibly can.
  May I inquire of the distinguished Senator from North Carolina [Mr. 
Helms] if he plans to call up an amendment momentarily?
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I say to my good friend from West Virginia 
that I do. I have an amendment to the committee amendment on page 81. 
Would the Senator like me to call it up?
  Mr. BYRD. Yes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair would indicate to the Senator from 
North Carolina that there are three committee amendments on page 81. 
Will the Senator please specify which particular amendment?
  Mr. HELMS. I was busily adjusting my hearing aid. Would the Chair 
repeat that?
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending 
amendment be temporarily set aside.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.


Amendment No. 2396 to the Excepted Committee Amendment on page 81 line 
                                   7

(Purpose: To prohibit the use of National Endowment for the Arts funds 
  to provide financial assistance for projects or works involving the 
mutilation of living or dead human beings, or the drawing or letting of 
                                 blood)

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for 
its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from North Carolina [Mr. Helms] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2396.

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       At the end of the amendment, add the following:
       ``Sec.   . Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none 
     of the funds made available under this Act to the National 
     Endowment for the Arts may be used by the Endowment, or by 
     any other recipient of such funds, to support, reward, or 
     award financial assistance to any activity or work involving:
       (a) human mutilation or invasive bodily procedures on human 
     beings dead or alive; or
       (b) the drawing or letting of blood.''.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending question is the Helms amendment to 
the committee amendment on page 81, line 7.
  Mr. HELMS. Page 81, line 7 is correct, Mr. President.
  Mr. President, I have tried, without success, to establish in my own 
mind when, if ever, the liberal news media of America have engaged in 
more distortions of the truth than in the public discussion of the 
National Endowment for the Arts. The media have, in fact, been obsessed 
for at least 5 years, to my knowledge. They have been obsessed with 
trying to prove that black is white and white is black, and that 
disgusting, insulting, revolting garbage produced by obviously sick 
minds is somehow art, and that this art is worthy of being subsidized 
and rewarded by and with grants of Federal funds--the taxpayers' money, 
mind you--distributed by the National Endowment for the Arts.
  This has been going on, as I say, Mr. President, for at least 5 
years, and longer, I am confident, than that.
  The Washington Post and similarly oriented newspapers around the 
country all get their big guns to pulverize anybody who suggests that 
filth should not be subsidized and rewarded with the taxpayers' money. 
These newspapers have mocked and ridiculed Senators and Congressmen who 
have tried to restore some degree of reason to the NEA process. Salvos 
of accusations have proclaimed that these Members of Congress--and 
particularly Jesse Helms--are engaged in nefarious censorship. But how 
self-righteous they are when they write about censorship. They accuse 
us of censorship at even the slightest suggestion that the Federal 
funds authorized and appropriated to and for the National Endowment for 
the Arts should not be spent on such things as photographs of a naked 
homosexual with a bull whip protruding from his rear end, or a naked 
woman on a stage, her body covered with chocolate, or photos of 
mutilated human corpses, or blood soaked towels dispatched on a pulley 
over the heads of an unsuspecting audience terrorized by such a 
surprising development.
  This is art, say the media. The Washington Post insists that it is 
art, and so do newspapers all across the country, many in my own State 
of North Carolina. They publish sophomoric editorials and stamp their 
little feet. But, the public disagrees with the editors. The public 
disagrees with the National Endowment for the Arts.
  Now I tried a little experiment back during the Mapplethorpe era. The 
editors at Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Raleigh spoke with one voice 
in condemnation of Jesse Helms because he did not understand art.
  So I sent a little telegram to each of the editors at Charlotte, 
Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Raleigh. I said, ``I'll tell you what. 
Let me send to you by Federal Express--I'm not going to send them 
through the mail because you would complain about that--but let me send 
you some of Mapplethorpe's photographs and you put a little notice in 
your paper that people sincerely and genuinely interested are invited 
to come by your paper and take a look at the pictures--paid for by the 
taxpayer--of the homosexual with the bullwhip protruding from his rear 
end, for example.''
  The Greensboro Daily News editor said, ``We're not an art gallery. 
We're a newspaper.'' What a pious--well, I shall not finish the 
sentence.
  But this is the way the news media have operated. And they are not 
going to tell the truth about this debate today, either.
  Much of the public has no specific idea of what is afoot, but I can 
tell you this: Thousands upon thousands of Americans, indeed, millions 
of them, I believe, have gotten enough of the message--despite the 
coverup by the news media and by some of the self-proclaimed experts in 
the art community.
  The self-proclaimed art experts pretend that even if the art is gross 
and even if it is vulgar and offensive, it is art, and it ought to be 
financed and subsidized by the American taxpayer.
  Every time I hear that, I think of Abraham Lincoln, who was asked one 
time: ``Mr. Lincoln, if you count a cow's tail as a leg, how many legs 
does a cow have?''
  And Mr. Lincoln replied: ``The cow has four legs, because calling a 
cow's tail a leg, doesn't make it a leg.''
  And calling this art--which I am going to display an example or two 
of in just a minute--calling it art does not make it art.
  So the news media's intellectual dishonesty in calling this perverse, 
filthy and revolting garbage, calling it art does not make it art. It 
is still filth; it is still perverse--and it is still unworthy of being 
subsidized with the American taxpayers' money.
  And if you do not believe the American people agree with that, ask 
them a specific question.
  Nobody in the Senate, nobody in the House of Representatives, has 
ever once suggested censorship of the National Endowment for the Arts. 
If homosexual or otherwise perverse mentalities want to produce such 
garbage, they are free to spend their own money and their own time 
doing it--then let them try to sell it in whatever marketplace they 
choose.
  Now another ploy by the defenders of such filth is to contend--now 
just listen to them, they probably will in this debate, they probably 
will contend that, ``Well, after all, only a few such grants have been 
made.'' And think of the thousands upon thousands of other grants. They 
prate on and on about thousands of grants being made for symphony 
orchestras, choral groups, public school art forms of all kind.
  I remember one Senator in this Chamber a couple of years back, he 
rolled his eyes to the heavens and said, ``not many controversial NEA 
grants have been made''--so what is the big deal?''
  Not many? Well, then, Mr. President, how many are too many? And I 
guess that is the fundamental question.
  Mr. President, in a friendly exchange with that delightful lady, Jane 
Alexander, I posed that very question. As I have stated many times to 
Mrs. Alexander, who, of course, is the Chairman of the National 
Endowment for the Arts, I have never heard one complaint, let alone 
made one myself, about any grant to a symphony orchestra or a choral 
group or a program to teach young people how to play instruments or 
sing songs and that sort of thing.
  As a matter of fact, I was pretty active in a group, an opera group, 
before I came to the Senate.
  Now, there have been complaints for years and years about filth and 
perversion being rewarded time and time again with sizable grants of 
the American taxpayers' money. And, yes, I have voiced some of those 
criticisms and complaints and I shall continue to do so as long as 
there is breath in me.
  I asked NEA Chairman Jane Alexander if just one cockroach in a pot of 
soup would be enough, too many, or not enough. The dear lady sort of 
avoided that question. She responded that, as a matter of fact, she and 
her husband had, on one occasion, found a cockroach in their soup 
served in a restaurant, and that the manager of the restaurant had 
quickly not charged them for their meals, to make amends for the 
cockroach in their soup.
  Now that is all very interesting, and one can assume that one 
cockroach in one soup is one cockroach too many. I feel the same way 
about the National Endowment for the Arts.
  But how about those human cockroaches who have repeatedly bullied 
their way into the pocketbooks of American taxpayers who pay the taxes 
to provide the money for the National Endowment for the Arts to hand 
out? We are going to get specific here in just a moment.
  You are darn right; if a poll could be taken, I suspect that the vast 
majority of America's taxpayers would be totally opposed to subsidizing 
that figurative human cockroach masquerading as an artist.
  So, Mr. President, what can be done to remedy the situation, in light 
of the fact that Congress has been manipulated, year after year, into 
refusing to prohibit subsidies for obscenity defined in any broad 
sense? Maybe the amendment which I now have sent to the desk will 
enable the Senate to address at least one specific obscenity that the 
taxpayers have been forced to subsidize to the tune of $20,000.
  Now let me, Mr. President, read the text of the pending amendment 
once more. This amendment, when it is voted upon, will establish 
precisely how each Senator feels about using tax funds to subsidize and 
reward an artist who used NEA funds to mutilate the cadavers of human 
beings.
  The amendment at the desk provides:

       Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the 
     funds made available under this Act to the National Endowment 
     for the Arts may be used by the Endowment, or by any other 
     recipient of such funds, to support, reward, or award 
     financial assistance to any activity or work involving:
       (a) human mutilation or invasive bodily procedures on human 
     beings, dead or alive; or
       (b) the drawing or letting of blood.

  Mr. DODD. Will my colleague yield on that point?
  Mr. HELMS. I would rather finish my statement, if the Senator will 
permit me to do so.
  Now, as I said, Mr. President, when I first proposed some years ago 
that some standard of decency be required of the National Endowment for 
the Arts, the Senate was supplied some examples of the art that the 
American taxpayers were being forced to subsidize at that time. There 
was the bullwhip, which I mentioned earlier. There was the crucifix 
that another artist had submerged in a jar of his own urine and 
photographed and submitted to the NEA. And he got paid for it. There 
were other sickening, blasphemous and obscene so-called art.
  These were supported and defended by newspaper editors. They have 
said, ``Well, this is just one out of many. You should not be worried 
about just a few examples.''
  Well, why should the taxpayer not be worried? Why is there even one 
example?
  Last year, there was the artistry of an NEA beneficiary named Joel-
Peter Witken, who the NEA art experts knew at the time had a 20-year 
track record of mutilating, dissecting, and dismembering human corpses 
and then photographing them.
  For one photograph he submitted while seeking tax funds Congress had 
appropriated for the NEA, Joel-Peter Witken had severed the head from a 
corpse, skinned it, and scooped out the brain and transformed that 
mutilated head into a flower vase.
  And those watching on C-SPAN can view the flowers in that artistic 
flower pot.
  He then photographed it and he submitted, as I say, the photograph to 
the NEA. His cash reward from the NEA for that was $20,000, taxpayers' 
money.
  In another example of his unique artistry, Joel-Peter Witken twisted 
a human head off of a corpse in a way to assure that a jumble of veins 
and muscles protruded from the neck.
  Maybe the C-SPAN cameras can focus on what developed after that. Mr. 
Witken then sawed the head of that cadaver in half, beginning at the 
top of the forehead, down, through the nose to the lip and the chin, 
and then he placed the two halves together in a fashion that made it 
appear that the cadaver was kissing himself. This is one-half of the 
guy's head, this is the other half. That is what you call beautiful 
art, and I am sure it was worth $20,000 to somebody, but I do not think 
you will find many American taxpayers who will agree that their money 
ought to be used to pay or reward the guy who did that.
  By the way, Mr. Witken titled his award winning photograph ``The 
Kiss.''
  Speaking of depravity, this past March brought reports of yet another 
NEA-subsidized performance by one of these artists, a man named Ron 
Athey. It is spelled A-t-h-e-y, but he insists that it be pronounced 
like ``A-thee'', Ron ``A-thee,'' and I will try to remember to call him 
Ron ``A-thee,'' as I refer.
  That is his picture, a very handsome man, if you like that kind of 
man. But let us talk about it. He appeared as a part of the Minneapolis 
Walker Art Center's Celebration of the Fifth Annual Minneapolis 
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film Festival. I do not need to 
identify it further, it was a homosexual film event which the NEA 
supports annually with your money.
  Here is how Mr. Athey's performance went. He informed his audience 
that he has the AIDS virus. Then he begins his bloody performance, but 
he tells them nothing about the HIV status of the other performers whom 
he later slashes and slices on the stage. He keeps that a secret.
  Mr. Athey himself described the NEA-supported performance in the Los 
Angeles Weekly--a homosexual newspaper. He described the three 
different sets of three parallel lines arranged in a stair-step fashion 
that he sliced onto, and into, another man's back, and then he carved a 
triangle, which he called, appropriately, ``The Symbol of Queerness.''
  Just so the Record will be complete about the artistic talents of Mr. 
Athey, I think I should quote his own description of his performance, 
which was subsidized, do not forget, by whom? The National Endowment 
for the Arts.
  Mr. Athey said of his own performance:

       Bleeding is always heavy at first, but it slows down. Paper 
     towels are pressed against the wound, making an imprint, then 
     they are alternately passed to two assistants, who clip 
     prints to the line and send them out over the audience. The 
     prints are not touching any heads. They only come close to a 
     couple of people, mostly over the aisles or completely stage 
     right.

  Then he continues to describe his act:

       This act has been performed for at least 2,000 people: 
     Three nights at Highways, one night at Los Angeles Theater 
     Center, three club nights.
       When the lines are full, the factory workers and three 
     trained tech dykes strike the lines keeping them taut so they 
     don't droop or brush anyone, although this happened once the 
     first night at Highways.

  Highways is a so-called performance arts venue in Santa Monica, CA. 
But that is Mr. Athey's own description of his great moment of artistry 
in a performance subsidized by the National Endowment for the Arts.
  According to the Walker Art Center, at least two members of the 
audience in Minneapolis fainted. I do not doubt that. Another member of 
the audience was quoted as saying:

       The bloody towels were most upsetting to the audience. It 
     appeared that the towels were going to drip or fall apart 
     because they appeared to be paper towels. People knocked over 
     the chairs to get out from under the clothesline.

  I know what some of the supporters of the NEA are going to say, ``Oh, 
that report is false.'' To say that that report is false is false 
itself, and I will demonstrate that when the defenders of the NEA try 
to downplay the significance of this so-called artistry in Minneapolis.
  There has been a concerted, unfair, and unfounded effort by the NEA 
and its obsessive defenders in the news media to discredit descriptions 
of the performance by a reporter in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. But 
Mr. Athey is remarkably boastful about his performance. He said:

       The individual chemical reactions people have toward 
     demonstrations of pain, blood and mutilation are involuntary. 
     One or two people usually faint.

  Mr. Athey also acknowledges that one or two people usually leave each 
performance.
  Of the Walker Art Center, the organization that used part of its NEA 
grant to support the Athey performance, he says:

       They knew exactly what I did and wanted to present me.

  But back to Mr. Athey's performance. After sending those bloody 
towels over the audience, he then proceeded to stick acupuncture 
needles and other sharp objects through the skin, the scalp, the 
cheeks, and other body areas on himself and his cohorts on stage.
  The Washington Blade, another homosexual newspaper, described the 
performance this way:

       Two assistants allow Athey to pierce their cheeks with 
     slender barbs; he in turn stands immobile while they weave 
     spinal tap needles through the skin of his shaved head and 
     then wind them with wire to create a ``crown of thorns.''

  Mr. President, during her confirmation hearings, Jane Alexander 
pledged that under her watch the National Endowment for the Arts would 
be guided by what she described as ``a commitment to funding only the 
best art America has to offer.''
  And knowing Jane Alexander, I do not doubt her sincerity in this 
commitment. She frequently has stated good music and good theater and 
good painting elevate us all and, of course, nobody disagrees with 
that. And I told her so.
  But something is seriously amiss, Mr. President. In a larger sense, 
the pending amendment reaches beyond the work of Mr. Athey and his 
admirers at the National Endowment for the Arts and around the 
editorial offices and the country.
  The broader issue, if any, is the sober realization that for the past 
two decades, an unmistakable decadence has saturated American society. 
A furious assault on the traditional sensibilities of the American 
people has taken its toll. So many have become afraid to stand up and 
declare the difference between right and wrong, what is ugly and what 
is destructive and what is noble and what is degrading. No wonder--no 
wonder--Mr. President, there has been a cultural breakdown.
  Is it not time for millions of Americans, the people more than one 
President has referred to as the great silent majority, to go on the 
offensive to regain control of their social and cultural institutions? 
Taking this small step to put those at the National Endowment for the 
Arts who have abused and ridiculed our most deeply held beliefs in 
their place, I think, is a good beginning.
  British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan 
said the same thing essentially. They said: If not us, then who? If not 
now, then when?
  Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. HELMS. I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the Senator yield to me?
  Mr. DODD. I will be glad to yield to the distinguished chairman.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a vote occur on 
or in relation to the amendment by Mr. Helms immediately following the 
vote which will occur at 3:30 p.m. on an amendment, the vote which was 
ordered earlier today.
  Mr. DODD. Reserving the right to object, I thought that vote was 
going to occur at 3? Was it 3:30?
  Mr. BYRD. The other vote was to occur at 3:30.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BYRD. I thank all Senators and I thank the distinguished Senator 
for yielding.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I had not intended to become involved in a 
debate on this particular amendment because I had heard that it would 
be accepted and that it was a relatively harmless amendment that would 
do no significant damage to the National Endowment for the Arts. And 
therefore it seemed that Members might just accept it. I was prepared, 
frankly, to depart the Chamber. I have a conference committee meeting 
on the House side involving interstate banking and a number of other 
issues.
  But I guess I made the mistake that we should not engage in too often 
around here. I read the amendment.
  I want to read the amendment aloud because I want Members to pay 
close attention to exactly what this amendment says and recognize the 
implications, if this amendment were to be adopted, as innocuous as it 
may seem to some.

       Nothwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the 
     funds made available under this Act to the National Endowment 
     for the Arts may be used by the Endowment, or by any other 
     recipient of such funds, to support, reward, or award 
     financial assistance to any activity or work involving:
       (a) human mutiliation or invasive bodily procedures on 
     human beings dead or alive; or
       (b) the drawing or letting of blood.

  That is the amendment.
  ``Any activity or work involving human mutilation or invasive bodily 
procedures.''
  Mr. President, it does not take much imagination for anyone, even 
looking around this building to see where this would apply. I have just 
been casually going through a book here called ``Art Of The United 
States Capitol.'' There are countless examples in this book of art in 
this very building which involve human mutilation or invasive bodily 
procedures--people being shot, people being knifed, the Battle of 
Lexington, the Battle of Concord, Daniel Boone, and the Indians. The 
standard incorporated in this amendment, would preclude that art from 
being supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
  Even the most casual observer of art will certainly recall some of 
the great paintings in religious art over the centuries. The 
crucifixion of Christ, done in even the simplest of ways, is the 
mutilation of a human being in an invasive procedure. A representation 
of the nailing of Jesus Christ to a cross would be prohibited under 
this amendment as I read it, from receiving funds from the National 
Endowment for the Arts. And this list would go on: The stoning of Mary 
Magdalen, Saint Sebastian, the decapitation of John the Baptist. I 
presume people here could add to the list of examples of great works of 
art that would be prohibited from receiving support under the language 
of this amendment.
  All of us know, I think, what the Senator from North Carolina is 
driving at here. I think he goes beyond what most Members are 
interested in doing. What he wants to accomplish is the elimination of 
any funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. But for those who 
are interested in sending a reasoned message to the Endowment about the 
kinds of activities we would like to see supported and not supported, 
to adopt this amendment would be a mistake. It goes far beyond sending 
a signal about those particular examples that are highly offensive to 
people--and the Senator from North Carolina has identified several--and 
far beyond, I think, what anyone of us here ought to be adopting as 
part of the law. ``Any activity?'' It is not just performance art in 
question here, it is painting, it is music. There is religious music, 
about the horrors of martyrdom in the history of various religions, 
that would be potentially an excluded activity.
  So I urge my colleagues that, in an effort to deal with this issue, 
we work to be reasonable in our desire to deal with one set of 
problems, and not go way overboard. And, in my view, this particular 
amendment goes way overboard.
  Let me cite some examples here in our own building of what we are 
talking about. Here is the Battle of Lexington. We have soldiers 
shooting, people lying on the ground being shot and killed. Below it is 
the Boston Massacre, which hangs in this building.
  As I read this amendment, ``any work,'' ``any activity,'' ``human 
mutilation''--certainly the killing of people in those great, heroic 
conflicts that gave birth to this Nation, I presume, would qualify 
under a strict reading of this amendment.
  The great frieze which hanging in the Rotunda of this building 
depicts further examples of what people might call rather invasive art. 
The battle of Lexington again is here. The death of Tecumseh, at the 
battle of Thames in 1813 is rather graphic, I suppose. According to a 
strict reading of this amendment, one could argue that Brumidi would be 
prohibited from painting that frieze today with the support of the NEA.
  This is how ridiculous it can get. I point out to my colleagues there 
are times, when budgeting, that we consider egregious examples of 
improper behavior or conduct. But to take a broadax to a problem is not 
the way we ought to deal with these issues.
  So, there may be those who assume this is a rather innocuous proposal 
who would like to do something about sending a signal to the National 
Endowment about the kinds of art that is being funded. But this is not 
it.
  I strongly urge Senators to read this amendment carefully and 
understand its implications. It is anything but innocuous. It is a very 
serious effort to restrict support for legitimate and worthwhile art 
endeavors, whether they be in music, in painting, performance art or 
whatever else. This goes far beyond what anyone would ever intend.
  I have here a book on the history of art. I may leave this here for 
people to go through. You will find numerous examples of art I think a 
lot of us appreciate and that we would like to see more of, that we 
encourage  and support--but art that certainly would not meet the 
standard invoked by the Senator from North Carolina with this proposed 
amendment.

  So we will, perhaps, not have much of a debate on this. Maybe this is 
the only Senator who cares about this. But in our effort to deal with 
one problem it seems to me we are going to be creating a far greater 
one and doing damage to an institution, in my view, that deserves 
better support than it is getting with this proposal.
  I understand there are some Members here who just would like to get 
rid of the Endowment altogether. I disagree with them, but at least I 
understand that. That is an argument. It is the point of view of those 
who believe there is no rationale whatsoever to have Federal funding to 
support the arts. It is a legitimate point of view. I disagree with it, 
but this is not ostensibly what we are talking about here. This 
amendment, however, is one way to achieve that goal, it seems to me, 
without facing the issue directly.
  So I strongly urge the rejection of this amendment, and at an 
appropriate time I will either offer to table this amendment or urge my 
colleagues to reject it. This goes far too far. To me it is a 
dangerous--dangerous language that does not help in our efforts to deal 
with legitimate concerns some have raised about art that has received 
funding from the Endowment. That is a debate we may have a little 
later. But this language and this amendment, it seems to me, ought to 
be soundly rejected.
  So, Mr. President, I will be a part of this debate. I strongly urge 
Members read the amendment and then think, if you would, about the 
examples of art in this building and elsewhere that would have been 
precluded from receiving any support from the National Endowment. Then 
decide whether or not that is a standard we would like applied to those 
who are trying legitimately to enrich our culture through their 
artistic endeavors, excluding many who are in no way interested in the 
kind of art that the Senator from North Carolina has talked about.
  Regardless of how one feels about the National Endowment, particular 
artists or particular performance art, this amendment ought to be 
soundly rejected.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Connecticut who 
expressed very articulately the thoughts that we share. As one who 
minored in art many years ago in college, I think back through all the 
paintings I studied. Many, many of those involved Jesus on the cross, 
Saint Sabastian, the Rape of the Sabines, various mythological or 
actual events that occurred. Many of these would have been prohibited 
under this amendment.
  I think we all want to achieve very much the same objective. The 
question is merely how to get there. The way to achieve our objective 
of not having revolting paintings is by making sure the people who make 
the grants are well chosen and have good judgment. In this regard I 
think Mrs. Alexander has done very well in her choice of panels and we 
ought to give her a real chance to succeed.
  On a broader scale, I would like to point out that the arts 
activities are an economic bounty for our Nation, worth many billions 
of dollars every year. The arts fostered by the National Endowment 
encourage national and international tourism, attract and maintain 
business in our communities, stimulate real estate development, and 
contribute to the tax base.
  Studies have shown that for every dollar the endowment invests in the 
arts, it has created literally a tenfold return in jobs, services and 
contracts. San Antonio, TX, Greenville, MS, Oklahoma City, and 
Birmingham are among the cities whose impact studies have shown the 
enormous economic contribution of the arts.
  In fiscal years 1992 and 1993, Arts Endowment grants of about $120 
million each year drew matching grants of $1.1 to $1.4 billion, and an 
estimated 1.3 million full-time jobs.
  Mr. President, the tiny proportion of the Federal budget set aside 
for supporting arts and culture in our society is one of the foremost 
examples of Federal investment in the U.S. economy. European nations 
understand this fact. I think if we adopt this amendment we must 
realize that we encourage other nations to do the same; we will then 
redo, overhaul the Sistine Chapel? No. Nor should portraits of Jesus on 
the cross be prohibited.
  I hope that we will not vote that way.
  Mr. WELLSTONE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, first let me ask the Senator from Rhode 
Island if he had concluded.
  Mr. PELL. I had concluded.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. The Senator had concluded.
  Mr. President, I was listening with great interest to the remarks of 
my colleague from Connecticut. I have not even had a chance to look at 
this amendment very carefully, but, Mr. President, I come to the floor 
as a Senator from Minnesota to talk a little bit about the Walker Art 
Center, to try to provide some information to my colleagues because I 
think it is extremely important for me to defend a very, very important 
institution.
  First, Mr. President, I am going to ask unanimous consent that a 
letter that I received from Kathy Halbreich, who is the director of the 
Walker Art Center; Tom Crosby, Jr., chairman of the board of directors 
of the Walker Art Center; and Lawrence Perlman, president of the board 
of directors of the Walker Art Center, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                            Walker Art Center,

                                   Minneapolis, MN, June 21, 1994.
     Hon. Paul Wellstone,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Wellstone: The Walker Art Center is one of the 
     nation's most esteemed museums of modern and contemporary 
     art. Its programs in the visual, performing, and media arts 
     are uniquely international, multidisciplinary, and diverse. 
     Since 1879, the Walker has supported innovative artists 
     ranging from painter Pablo Picasso to choreographer Merce 
     Cunningham to film director Clint Eastwood. Several Walker-
     organized exhibitions are now touring worldwide.
       Most recently, a retrospective of works by artist Bruce 
     Nauman, who was called by Art in America ``the best--the 
     essential--American artist of the last quarter-century,'' was 
     co-organized by the Walker and the Hirshhorn Museum and 
     Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 
     It will be seen in Madrid, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, 
     Washington, D.C., New York City, and Zurich.
       This year, the Walker and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden 
     expect to serve nearly 700,000 people through exhibitions, 
     films, performances, and educational programs. Each year the 
     Walker brings more than 3,000 artists and scholars from 
     across the globe to work and perform in Minnesota. Over 
     40,000 school children visited the Walker last year, and the 
     Walker's new programs for teens are seen as a national model.
       Tomorrow the U.S. House of Representatives begins floor 
     debate on FY 1995 appropriations for the National Endowment 
     for the Arts. Minnesota's Walker Art Center has become a 
     focus in this discussion.
       As reported in this morning's Washington Times, the Walker 
     Art Center has come under scrutiny because of a single 
     performance in early March 1994. Unfortunately, much of the 
     media attention related to this performance has been 
     inaccurate and highly sensationalized.
       Because of the high level of misinformation, we wanted to 
     make you aware of this situation which affects one of the 
     nation's most respected museums. The facts are these:
       1. On March 5, an audience of no more than 100 people 
     viewed a performance by the Ron Athey theater troupe. The 
     performance, which also has been seen in other communities 
     such as Los Angeles and Chicago, dealt with the difficult 
     issues surrounding AIDS. Such a performance is consistent 
     with the Walker Art Center's mission to examine the issues 
     that shape, inspire, and challenge us as individuals, 
     cultures, and communities. This was a one-time performance, 
     one of more than 400 events the Walker will present this 
     year. This season, the Walker will present more than 150 
     performance events ranging from the classical to the 
     experimental.
       2. This performance drew on centuries-old traditions from 
     around the world and included a ceremony related to the 
     African tradition of scrafication which involved the drawing 
     of a small amount of blood.
       3. Because of the nature of this performance, the Walker 
     took all appropriate precautions as developed by the U.S. 
     Centers for Disease Control and provided to the Walker by the 
     Minnesota AIDS Project. The Minnesota Department of Health 
     has publicly concurred that appropriate precautions were 
     taken. We confirmed this position again today in 
     conversations with the Department of Health.
       4. Some media reports suggest that ``many'' members of the 
     audience ``fled.'' This is not accurate. While approximately 
     10 of the 100 audience members left during the performance, 
     we have personally heard from numerous members of the 
     audience who said that they found the performance 
     ``affirming,'' ``moving,'' and ``enlightening.'' In fact, to 
     our knowledge this entire situation was generated by a single 
     complaint.
       5. Approximately $150 of a $104,500 National Endowment for 
     the Arts grant to the Walker Art Center for its seasonal 
     programming was used to fund this performance.
       The Walker Art Center is one of the most prestigious 
     institutions in the country and has earned an international 
     reputation. The NEA has played a crucial role in helping the 
     Walker Art Center provide these services to Minnesota. 
     Indeed, after New York and California, Minnesota arts and 
     cultural organizations, both large and small, receive the 
     largest amount of NEA funding. It is extremely disturbing 
     that the NEA, which has made such enormous contributions to 
     the educational and cultural vitality of our state, would be 
     placed in jeopardy by a single event.
       We urge you to support the Walker Art Center and the NEA. 
     We encourage you to call us with your questions, comments or 
     concerns.
           Sincerely,
     Kathy Halbreich,
       Director, Walker Art Center.
     Lawrence Perlman,
       President, Walker Art Center Board of Directors.
     Thomas M. Crosby, Jr.,
       Chairman, Walker Art Center Board of Directors.

  Mr. WELLSTONE. In this letter--and I will just simply summarize it--
there are a couple of relevant sections about what did and what did not 
happen at the Walker Art Center. This pertains in part to the 
amendment, but I intend to talk for a while about what happened in 
Minnesota and about this art center, which is a real treasure not just 
for people in Minnesota, but for people around the world.
  I quote from this letter:

       Facts: On March 5, an audience of no more than 100 people 
     viewed a performance by the Ron Athey Theater Troupe. The 
     performance, which also has been seen in other communities 
     such as Los Angeles and Chicago, dealt with difficult issues 
     surrounding AIDS. Such a performance is consistent with the 
     Walker Art Center's mission to examine the issues that shape, 
     inspire and challenge us as individual cultures and 
     communities. This was a one-time performance, one of more 
     than 400 events the Walker will present this year. This 
     season the Walker will present more than 150 performance 
     events ranging from the classical to the experimental.

  Just a couple of other facts:

       This performance drew on centuries-old traditions from 
     around the world and included a ceremony related to the 
     African tradition of scarification which involved the drawing 
     of a small amount of blood. Because of the nature of this 
     performance, the Walker took all appropriate precautions as 
     developed by the United States Centers for Disease Control 
     and provided to the Walker by the Minnesota AIDS project. The 
     Minnesota Department of Health has publicly concurred that 
     appropriate precautions were taken. We confirmed this again 
     today in conversations with the Department of Health.

  Just another fact:

       Approximately $150 of the $104,500 National Endowment for 
     the Arts grant to the Walker Center for its seasonal program 
     were used to fund this performance.

  Out of a total grant, Mr. President, of $104,500, $150 was used.
  Some facts about the Walker, because I fear my colleague sometimes 
may decontexturalize--focusing on one example--from what the Walker Art 
Center is all about, and for that matter what the arts and humanities 
is all about.

       The Walker is a uniquely multidisciplinary, diverse, and 
     international museum with programs in visual programming and 
     media arts that reach nearly 700,000 visitors each year. 
     Several Walker-organized exhibitions currently are touring 
     worldwide. In addition, during an 18-month period Walker 
     exhibitions will be seen in New York at the Whitney Museum of 
     American Art, the Zumwalt-Guggenheim Museum, and the Museum 
     of Modern Art. Each year over 3,000 artists, scholars and 
     critics from around the world visit the Walker to share their 
     experience and work with a wide variety of audiences, young 
     and old.
       These facts do not come out: last year approximately 40,000 
     school children toured the Walker. Each summer the Walker 
     sponsors a summer institute for elementary and secondary 
     schoolteachers, helping them prepare for an Interdisciplinary 
     approach to incorporate the arts in their curriculum.

  And the Walker, Mr. President, has reached out in all sorts of 
wonderful ways to young people and communities of color in my State of 
Minnesota.
  These are the facts about the Walker Art Center, but as Frank Rich 
said in his New York Times editorial of June 26, 1994, ``Why let the 
facts stand in the way of a cause?''
  I do not know what the cause is, but if the cause is to essentially 
go after the National Endowment for the Arts, to go after the arts 
community and the enormous enriching contributions that that community 
makes to our communities in Minnesota and South Dakota, urban and 
rural, white and African-American and Native American and Southeast 
Asian and Hispanic, I think we would be making a terrible mistake.
  Mr. President, as many have said, a child who picks up a paintbrush, 
a pen, or clarinet--and these will be words dear to my colleague from 
Connecticut who cares so much about children--will be less likely to 
pick up a gun or a needle. A child who picks up a paintbrush, a pen or 
clarinet will be less likely to pick up a gun or a needle.
  Before there was a National Endowment for the Arts, President Kennedy 
in a speech at Amherst College in 1963 said the following:

       I look forward to an America which will reward achievement 
     in the arts as we reward achievement in business or 
     statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily 
     raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will 
     steadily enlarge cultural opportunity for all of our 
     citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands 
     respect throughout the world not only for its strength but 
     for its civilization as well.

  Mr. President, I have to tell you that whether it be this particular 
amendment or whether it be efforts to cut into this budget--cuts I 
really believe will end up with too broad a stroke of the brush, really 
being counterproductive and denying so many of our citizens what is so 
enriching about the arts--I have to be clear about what did happen and 
what did not happen in my State of Minnesota.
  Most important of all, I am not here to debate the work of Mr. Athey. 
I am not even interested in the debate about the merits of his work. 
What I am interested in, Mr. President, is making sure that my 
colleagues understand the Walker Art Center, that my colleagues 
understand the enormous importance of the arts in my State of Minnesota 
and in this country. I am interested in making sure that my colleagues 
understand that in anger about one particular production--which many of 
us may not like or some of us may say is controversial but is part of 
what has to be done by way of generating discussion and thought--that 
is not the point. The point is this: let us not pass amendments which 
are way off the mark and let us not react in such a way that we 
undercut the very importance of the arts community.
  I would also say that as I see what Jane Alexander is now doing--
instituting reforms to increase accountability at the Endowment--I 
think it would be a huge mistake for us to rush forward in the Chamber 
of the Senate and pass amendments that are counterproductive, pass 
amendments that go against the very grain of what arts and community in 
our country are about.
  Mr. President, let me be crystal clear. I do not want to let any 
Senator--whether I agree or disagree with that Senator on some of the 
specifics about this particular production--I do not want to let any 
Senator decontexturalize--and that is the right word--what the Walker 
Art Center does in my State of Minnesota, in our country and our world. 
I want Senators to understand the whole range of contributions of this 
institution. I want my colleagues to understand the full importance of 
what people at the Center have done and continue to do, and I want my 
colleagues to understand the full importance of the arts to the 
community.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DODD addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, briefly, let me commend my colleague from 
Minnesota for his fine statement.
  Just again going through some of the art here in the Capitol that in 
my view would be precluded from ever receiving any funding from the 
National Endowment for the Arts if the Helms amendment were to be 
adopted--the wonderful painting painted by one of the great Western 
artists in this country, Seth Eastman, called Death Whoop. Mr. 
President, I do not have charts, tables or graphs, but here is a 
picture of a native American with a bow and arrow in one hand, a knife 
in the other, and a scalp of a Western pioneer who faced that horrible 
death.
  If I read the Helms amendment correctly, which says ``any 
activity''--painting--``where human mutilation or invasive bodily 
procedures on human beings dead or alive; or the drawing or letting of 
blood''--certainly scalping--it is clear by this standard, Mr. 
President, if this amendment were applicable and Seth Eastman had 
sought some funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, that 
painting would not hang as it does today in the Longworth House Office 
Building. Nor would the magnificent bronze doors on the entrance to the 
House, one of the great treasures of the Capitol.
  These doors, designed by Thomas Crawford, are composed of bronze 
panels. Two of those panels--the massacre at Wyoming, PA, a rather 
brutal portrayal of what happened in Wyoming, PA, on July 3, 1778; and 
the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775--are included as panels of 
the Crawford bronze doors. Again, bodily mutilation and invasive 
procedures, the drawing or letting of blood.
  I think I understand what our colleague from North Carolina is 
driving at with his amendment when he talks about some of the more 
egregious examples. But in an effort to deal with those, the language 
encompasses more and you can very quickly become ensnared by your own 
words.
  I think every Member has received a copy of ``Art in the United 
States Capitol.'' I invite you to take a look at it before you come 
over here to vote. You will find examples, as I have, here on numerous 
pages where the language of the Helms amendment would apply, as I read 
it.
  So I again urge my colleagues to read this amendment and consider the 
clear implications of what this amendment would provoke. As I said, 
again it removes all funds to any activity or work involving human 
mutilation or invasive bodily procedures on human beings, dead or 
alive, with the drawing or letting of blood. Clearly, there are some 
examples where people would think that standard would apply. I am sure 
most Members, as I said a while ago, can think of wonderful examples of 
some of the great art of the world that would have been denied support 
or funding if that language had been applicable at the time those 
masterpieces were created.
  Others may find this to be harmless. I do not at all. I think this 
amendment is anything but harmless.
  I hope at some point people will start having a sense of proportion 
when it comes to the National Endowment for the Arts. It is like any 
other agency. When it does something wrong, it ought to be criticized. 
And people can think of ways in which to express that criticism. But 
this goes way overboard in my view. This goes far too far in trying to 
deal with the problem. This kind of language would do irreparable 
damage to the Endowment.
  So despite what my colleagues may feel about later amendments that 
may come from other Members of this body, this amendment ought not to 
be adopted, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. HELMS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, several times during his discussion the 
Senator from Connecticut has speculated about what I am driving at. 
There is no question about what I am driving at. The question is, when 
did he drive over the cliff in his assessment of what this amendment 
does? He says ``Read the amendment.'' Let us do that. I take the 
Senator from Connecticut at his word. Let us read it because he 
apparently has not read it.
  It says,

       Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the 
     funds made available under this act to the National Endowment 
     for the Arts may be used by the Endowment, or by any other 
     recipient of such funds, to support, reward or award 
     financial assistance to any activity or work involving--

  And this is what he did on stage.

     human mutilation or invasive bodily procedures on human 
     beings, dead or alive; or the drawing or letting of blood.

  The Senator from Connecticut is going far afield. He brought the 
crucifixion of Christ into it. Let me tell you something. If this 
amendment would have stopped the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, I would 
say let us vote for it twice. It is the same argument that you hear 
every time anybody suggests doing something to bring reason to the 
distribution of funds by the National Endowment for the Arts.
  I have said many times on this floor, today and previously, that Jane 
Alexander is a fine lady. I think her intentions are good. But she has 
been overwhelmed. She has been overwhelmed.
  Then the Senator from Minnesota was talking about how much he knows 
about the performance that went on in Minneapolis. However, the 
Minnesota Department of Health said,

       We were contacted after the fact. Had we been called in 
     prior to the performance to evaluate the methods and 
     procedure, we would not have been in a position to endorse 
     the performance. The bottom line is that you did have towels 
     with blood on them, and applying public health guidelines, 
     you would not use items like that as props in a theatrical 
     performance. If for some reason a towel fell, or something 
     went wrong, it could be troublesome.

  You bet it would be.
  Mr. President, we have this kind of reaction every time an amendment 
comes up suggesting some reason be applied to the distribution of NEA 
funds. They say, ``Oh, well, there are just a few of them.''
  How many cockroaches are too many, as I said, in a bowl of soup? The 
thing about getting rid of the cockroaches is to not put up with the 
cockroaches in the first place.
  Instead of holding the NEA accountable, the newspapers around the 
country have been attacking the lady--Mary Abbe--who wrote the original 
story about Ron Athay's performance. She protested to the Chairman of 
the National Endowment for the Arts, Ms. Alexander. I think it is 
worthwhile for her side of the story to be put in the Record. I am not 
going to read it all, but I am going to read part of it.
  Mary Abbe, who is an art critic and art news reporter for the Star 
Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul, wrote the following in a letter to NEA 
Chairman Alexander:

       In a letter of 15 June 1994 to the members of Congress, you 
     take issue with my reportage in particular and the Star 
     Tribune's coverage of that event in general. I object to your 
     characterization of my work and the paper's coverage. 
     In fact, you have misread the article. It does not say 
     that ``blood was dripping from towels,'' as you claim. See 
     enclosed copy of article.
       Nor was the article ``erroneously reported'' or a ``false 
     report'' as you assert. Walker Art officials have privately 
     expressed dismay about the way in which Mr. Athey's 
     performance was described in the article and deplored the 
     response of individuals who objected to the performance. But 
     they do not deny that Mr. Athey cut an abstract design into 
     the flesh of another man, blotted the man's blood on paper 
     towels, attached the towels to a revolving clothesline and 
     suspended the blood-stained towels over the audience.
       Nor do they dispute the fact that Mr. Athey, who is HIV-
     positive, pierced his arm with hypodermic needles and drew 
     blood when he and his assistants pierced his scalp with 
     acupuncture needles.''

  Further down, she continues,

       In the end, Walker Art Center must defend its decision to 
     stage a performance involving human blood-letting and 
     mutilation--or `ritual scarification' and ``erotic torture,'' 
     as the institution describes it. The NEA must defend its 
     decision to endorse that program.

  Mr. President, the point is that if we do not do something to 
indicate to the NEA that we are not going to put up with this sort of 
thing, it is going to go on and on and on. You will have the kind of 
inane Senate debate that you had this afternoon about the crucifixion 
of Jesus, Custer's Last Stand, and so forth.
  I want to go through that catalog that the Senator from Connecticut 
referred to earlier and have him show me which one got a grant from the 
National Endowment for the Arts. Not one of them, I'll bet. He raises 
all sorts of specters, and you will hear more of them. I see another 
good Senator from the Republican side, who always takes the position 
that we must not interpose the judgment of the U.S. Senate into the 
expenditures of the National Endowment for the Arts. Well, if we are 
not supposed to do that, what are we supposed to do?
  That is the point of this amendment. Senators can vote for it or 
against it. I am amazed that time after time, this sort of thing 
happens, with all of the frivolous arguments that are made against an 
amendment designed--and designed correctly, I might add and insist--to 
do something about a situation that needs attention.
  I ask unanimous consent that the entire letter be printed in the 
Record at this point.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:


                                                 Star Tribune,

                          Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, June 21, 1994.
     Chairman Jane Alexander,
     Office of the Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts, The 
         Nancy Hanks Center, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Alexander: In an article published 24 March 
     1994 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, I reported public 
     complaints about a performance by Los Angeles artist Ron 
     Athey that was staged by Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. 
     That event and subsequent reports about it have generated 
     considerable debate here in the Twin Cities, including 
     letters to the editor of this newspaper expressing both 
     appreciation for and revulsion at Mr. Athey's activities and 
     the Walker's presentation of them.
       In a letter of 15 June 1994 to members of Congress, you 
     take issue with my reportage in particular and the Star 
     Tribune's coverage of that event in general. I object to your 
     characterization of my work and the paper's coverage. In 
     fact, you have misread the article. It does not say that 
     ``blood was dripping from towels,'' as you claim. See 
     enclosed copy of the article.
       Nor was the article ``erroneously reported'' or a ``false 
     report'' as you assert. Walker Art Center officials have 
     privately expressed dismay about the way in which Mr. Athey's 
     performance was described in the article and deplored the 
     response of individuals who objected to the performance. But 
     they do not deny that Mr. Athey cut an abstract design into 
     the flesh or another man, blotted the man's blood on paper 
     towels, attached the towels to a revolving clothesline and 
     suspended the blood-stained towels over the audience.
       Nor do they dispute the fact that Mr. Athey, who is HIV-
     positive, pierced his arm with hypodermic needles and 
     drew blood when he and assistants pierced his scalp with 
     acupuncture needles. ``The head thing actually did bleed, 
     the arm did not,'' said John Killacky, the Walker's 
     curator of performing arts who booked Mr. Athey and staged 
     the event.
       Like you and Walker director Kathy Halbreich, I did not 
     attend this event. In the course of reporting on it, however, 
     I have conducted extensive interviews with five individuals 
     who witnessed Mr. Athey's performance.
       They all agree that these things occurred. They differ only 
     in what they thought of the activities and how they and 
     others responded to them.
       I am disturbed that you now, in the U.S. Congress, charge 
     the Star Tribune with ``erroneous reportage'' and 
     disseminating ``false reports.'' If there are errors in our 
     accounts, please notify Mr. Lou Gelfand, the Star Tribune's 
     ombudsman who will investigate the charges.
       I am also disturbed that you imply that the only letters 
     received by this newspaper were those objecting to alleged 
     ``inaccurate coverage'' and ``trivialization.'' The paper 
     received and published a wide variety of responses to the 
     event, some expressing the views you indicate, and others 
     critical of the event and its presentation by the Walker.
       As you note in another context, ``These people are 
     taxpayers too.''
       On 3 June 1994 you met for about an hour with members of 
     the Star Tribune's editorial board and others here in 
     Minneapolis. I was at that meeting. At no point in the 
     discussion was Mr. Athey's performance even mentioned. If you 
     were concerned about erroneous reportage and false reports, 
     surely that would have been an appropriate time to discuss 
     them.
       In your letter to Congress you note that you have devoted 
     the first year of your chairmanship to ``turning around the 
     reputation of the NEA by engaging people all over the country 
     in a dialogue about all of the very good projects'' the 
     agency supports. Then you say it was in that context that you 
     gave them ``the facts regarding the performance at the Walker 
     Art Center.''
       You did not give them the facts.
       In my capacity as the Star Tribune's art critic and art 
     news reporter for the past decade, I have previously written 
     commentaries in support of the National Endowment for the 
     Arts. I expect to have occasion to do so again in future 
     because, like you, I recognize that the NEA has made--
     and doubtless will continue to make--important 
     contributions to the cultural and artistic life of the 
     United States.
       The organization's good work, however, does not exempt it 
     from criticism when its grant money is used in support of 
     events that some find objectionable. Nor does what you call 
     Walker Art Center's ``overwhelming support'' exempt its 
     activities from public discussion.
       In a society founded, as ours is, on free speech and open 
     public debate, the activities of your agency, Walker Art 
     Center and this newspaper are all open to discussion. That 
     discussion is not furthered by pointing fingers at the press 
     and lodging false charges of inaccuracy.
       In the end, Walker Art Center must defend its decision to 
     stage a performance involving human blood-letting and 
     mutilation--or ``ritual scarification'' and ``erotic 
     torture'' as the institution describes it. The NEA must 
     defend its decision to endorse that program.
       Your attempts to blame the press for criticisms of your 
     agency merely trivialize the issues and obscure the facts.
           Cordially,
                                                        Mary Abbe,
                                     Art Critic/Art News Reporter.

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I will take a minute.
  Might I ask the Senators if we could agree to, say, 10 minutes 
remaining on this amendment, and go to another amendment? The vote on 
this amendment will not occur until after the vote on the amendment 
which was previously ordered, and that will occur at 3:30. Then there 
will be a vote on or in relation to this amendment.
  Could we close debate on this one so we can get on with another 
amendment?
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I say to the Senator that I probably 
only need 2 minutes to respond. I am not even here so much to debate 
the amendment. I want to talk about what happened in Minnesota.
  I will be pleased to have just 2 minutes.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I do not intend to say anything further. 
The amendment speaks for itself.

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