[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 134 (Wednesday, September 25, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S11276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE
HUMANITIES
Mr. PELL. Mr. President, during my last days in Congress, I wish to
state my unequivocal support of the restoration of funds to the
National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the
Humanities. These fine agencies have sustained disproportionate and
unreasonable cuts over the past 2 years, and the erosion must stop.
As coauthor of the legislation that created the endowments 31 years
ago, I have felt like a proud father as both endowments have served the
guiding principles upon which they were conceived. Overall, their
programs have been remarkably successful. There has been overwhelming
evidence of the positive impact of the arts and humanities on
education, the economy, urban renewal, and cultural pride. It is
important that two endowments are funded sufficiently to be able to
continue their worthwhile and extremely effective endeavors to improve
the quality of life for all Americans.
Mr. President, I am by no means alone today in favor of continued
Federal funding for the arts and humanities. There is a strong
bipartisan commitment. Earlier, Senator Jeffords and I circulated a
letter signed by 31 Members that expressed their support of
appropriations for the NEA, NEH, and IMS in fiscal year 1997 at current
or slightly increased levels, and I ask that the letter be included in
the Record. Other Members have spoken with us subsequently regarding
their support.
The American public remains solidly and strongly behind Federal
support for the arts and humanities. A recent Harris poll found that a
61 percent majority of Americans--to 37 percent saying ``no''--would be
willing to be taxed $5 more in order to pay for Federal financial
support for the arts. These people believe the arts to be important and
would sorely miss them if they were not there.
In Rhode Island, the restored Humanities funding means quite
literally survival for an extremely important project that provides
fascinating information to all Americans, not just the residents of my
State. With NEH funding, the Rhode Island Historical Society is
reassembling the Papers of Nathanael Greene from over 100 libraries and
collections scattered around the country, and is currently preparing
the 10th of a total of 13 planned volumes. Nathanael Greene, you will
recall was a Rhode Islander sent by George Washington to liberate the
South--a task he accomplished with distinction. If work on the Papers
stops now, it will be the history of Georgia and the Carolinas that
would not be published. Interestingly, while Greene was alive, Congress
promised to publish his daily letters and orders. How poignant that we
fulfill this promise now.
As I enter my last days as a U.S. Senator--36 years among wonderful
colleagues--I urge Congress to support the National Endowment for the
Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of
Museum Services at a level where they can fulfill their potential and
continue to bring American culture to all Americans. I hope to hear
that the issues that are preventing the reauthorization of the programs
of these agencies will be resolved amicably in the 105th Congress.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter to the chairman
of the Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC, June 18, 1996.
Senator Slade Gorton,
Chairman, Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
Dear Slade: As the appropriations process for fiscal year
1997 begins in the Senate, we wanted to take a moment to
share with you our strong commitment to supporting continued
funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute
for Museum Services (IMS). As you know, this issue of
continued federal funding for the arts and humanities is one
of great importance to us--one which was successfully
resolved last year, in large part due to your leadership in
working out the differences between the House and the Senate.
As you recall, last July, the Labor and Human Resource
Committee passed a bill to reauthorize the National
Endowments for the Arts and Humanities and the Institute for
Museum and Library Services--by a vote of 12-4. This strong
show of bi-partisan support, we believe, demonstrates a
continued sentiment on the part of the Senate to fund these
agencies. Therefore, we strongly support your efforts to
include appropriations for the NEA, NEH and IMS for the
upcoming fiscal year and hope that we might see an increase
over last fiscal year's appropriations for these agencies--
enabling each one to continue the important job of making the
arts and humanities more accessible to people all across our
nation.
We recognize that you will face many difficult decisions in
the weeks ahead, and ask only that you continue to keep in
mind the positive and valuable effect that arts and
humanities projects have in all of our respective States. The
Senate's commitment to federal support will ensure that arts
and humanities programs, activities and exhibitions will
continue to be available in local communities--engaging and
educating individuals of all ages--in addition to making an
enormous contribution to expanding and enriching our nation's
cultural heritage and artistic traditions.
We are grateful for your support of the reauthorization of
the National Endowments as well as your leadership in
managing the Interior Appropriations bill last year, and look
forward to working with you again this year.
Sincerely,
Jim Jeffords, John Chafee, Al Simpson, Bill Frist, Jay
Rockefeller, Barbara A. Mikulski, Frank R. Lautenberg,
Paul D. Wellstone, Carol Moseley-Braun, Claiborne Pell,
John Glenn, ------, Barbara Boxer, J. Lieberman, John
Breaux, Bill Bradley, ------, Daniel Patrick Moynihan,
Carl Levin, Bob Kerry, Wendell H. Ford, ------, Charles
S. Robb, Olympia J. Snowe, ------, Patrick J. Leahy,
Christopher J. Dodd, Ron Wyden, Daniel K. Akaka, ------
, Thomas A. Daschle
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