[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ANNUAL REPORT OF NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, FISCAL YEAR 1994--
            MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kolbe) laid before the House the 
following message from the President of the United States; which was 
read and, together with the accompanying papers, without objection, 
referred to the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities:

To the Congress of the United States:
  It is my special pleasure to transmit herewith the Annual Report of 
the National Endowment for the Arts for the fiscal year 1994.
  Over the course of its history, the National Endowment for the Arts 
has awarded grants for arts projects that reach into every community in 
the Nation. The agency's mission is public service through the arts, 
and it fulfills this mandate through support of artistic excellence, 
our cultural heritage and traditions, individual creativity, education, 
and public and private partnerships for the arts. Perhaps most 
importantly, the Arts Endowment encourages arts organizations to reach 
out to the American people, to bring in new audiences for the 
performing, literary, and visual arts.
  The results over the past 30 years can be measured by the increased 
presence of the arts in the lives of our fellow citizens. More children 
have contact with working artists in the classroom, at children's 
museums and festivals, and in the curricula. More older Americans now 
have access to museums, concert halls, and other venues. The arts reach 
into the smallest and most isolated communities, and in our inner 
cities, arts programs are often a haven for the most disadvantaged, a 
place where our youth can rediscover the power of imagination, 
creativity, and hope.
  We can measure this progress as well in our re-designed communities, 
in the buildings and sculpture that grace our cities and towns, and in 
the vitality of the local economy whenever the arts arrive. The 
National Endowment for the Arts works the way a Government agency 
should work--in partnership with the private sector, in cooperation 
with State and local government, and in service to all Americans. We 
enjoy a rich and diverse culture in the United States, open to every 
citizen, and supported by the Federal Government for our common good 
and benefit.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, March 28, 1996.

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