[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 125 (Thursday, September 18, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9532-S9536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  1998

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now 
resume consideration of H.R. 2107, which the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2107) making appropriations for the Department 
     of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes.

  The Senate resumed consideration of the bill.
  Pending:

       Hutchinson amendment No. 1196, to authorize the President 
     to implement the recently announced American Heritage Rivers 
     Initiative subject to designation of qualified rivers by Act 
     of Congress.


  Amendment No. 1186 to the Committee Amendment on Page 96, line 12, 
                        through page 97, line 8

  (Purpose: To provide for funding of the National Endowment for the 
                                 Arts)

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 20 
minutes debate on the Hutchison amendment No. 1186, the time to be 
equally divided.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I call up my amendment to the NEA 
bill, which is the appropriate order.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Texas [Mrs. Hutchison] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 1186 to the committee reported amendment 
     beginning on page 96, line 12, through page 97, line 8.

  The amendment is as follows:

       Beginning on page 96, strike line 14 and all that follows 
     through line 8 on page 97, and insert the following:
       (a) Funding.--For necessary expenses of the National 
     Endowment for the Arts, $100,060,000 to be used in accordance 
     with this section.
       (b) Use of Funds.--
       (1) In general.--Of the amount appropriated under 
     subsection (a), the Chairman of the National Endowment for 
     the Arts shall use--
       (A) not less than 75 percent of such amount to make block 
     grants to States under subsection (c);
       (B) not less than 20 percent of such amount to make grants 
     to national groups or institutions under subsection (d); and
       (C) not more than 5 percent for the administrative costs of 
     carrying out this section, including any costs associated 
     with the reduction in the operations of the National 
     Endowment for the Arts.
       (2) Limitation on administrative costs.--With respect to 
     the budget authority provided for in this section, not more 
     than $1,525,915 shall be available for obligation with 
     respect to the administrative costs described in paragraph 
     (1)(C) prior to September 30, 1998.
       (c) Block Grants to States or Territories.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall award block grants to 
     States under this subsection to support the arts.
       (2) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this subsection, a State or Territory shall prepare and 
     submit to the Chairman an application, at such time, in such 
     manner, and containing such information as the Chairman may 
     require, including an assurance that no funds received under 
     the grant will be used to fund programs that are determined 
     to be obscene.
       (3) Amount of grant.--
       (A) In general.--Of the amount available for grants under 
     this subsection, the Chairman shall allot to each State 
     (including the District of Columbia) or Territory an amount 
     equal to--
       (i) with respect to a State, the amount under subparagraph 
     (B); and
       (ii) with respect to a territory, the amount determined 
     under subparagraph (C).
       (B) Formula.--The amount determined under this subparagraph 
     with respect to a State (or the District of Columbia) shall 
     be equal to--
       (i) subject to subparagraph (D), the aggregate of the 
     amounts provided by the National Endowment for the Arts to 
     the State (or District), and the groups and institutions in 
     the State (or District), in fiscal year 1997; and
       (ii) an amount that bears the same relationship to the 
     amounts remaining available for allotment for the fiscal year 
     involved after the amounts are determined under clause (i), 
     as the percentage of the population of the State (or 
     District) bears to the total population of all States and the 
     District.
       (C) Territories.--The amount determined under this 
     subparagraph with respect to a territory shall be equal to 
     the aggregate of the amounts provided by the National 
     Endowment for the Arts to the territory, in fiscal year 1997.
       (D) Limitation.--Notwithstanding the formula described in 
     subparagraph (B), the allotment for a State (or the district 
     of Columbia) under clause (i) of such subparagraph shall not 
     exceed an amount equal to 6.6 percent of the total amount 
     provided by the National Endowment for the Arts to States and 
     the District of Columbia in fiscal year 1997.
       (4) Limitation on obligation of funds.--With respect to the 
     budget authority provided for in this section, not more than 
     $22,888,725 shall be available for obligation with respect 
     to block grants under this subsection prior to September 
     30, 1998.
       (5) Use of Funds.--
       (A) In general.--A State or territory shall use funds 
     provided under a grant under this subsection to carry out 
     activities to support the arts in the State or territory.
       (B) Endowment incentive.--A State or territory may use not 
     to exceed 25 percent of the funds provided under a grant 
     under this subsection to establish a permanent arts endowment 
     in the State or territory. A State or territory that uses 
     funds under this subparagraph to establish a State endowment 
     shall contribute non-Federal funds to such endowment in an 
     amount equal to not less than the amount of Federal funds 
     provided to the endowment.
       (C) Limitation.--A State (or territory) may not use in 
     excess of 15 percent of the amount received under this 
     section in any fiscal year for administrative purposes.
       (d) National Grants.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants to 
     nationally prominent groups or institutions under this 
     subsection to support the arts.
       (2) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this subsection, an entity shall prepare and submit to the 
     Chairman an application, at such time, in such manner, and 
     containing such information as the Chairman may require, 
     including an assurance that no funds received under this 
     subsection will be used--
       (A) to fund programs that are determined to be obscene;
       (B) for seasonal grants; or
       (C) for subgrants.
       (3) Limitation on amount of grant.--The amount of a grant 
     awarded to any group or institution to carry out a project 
     under this section shall not exceed--
       (A) with respect to a group or institution with an annual 
     budget of not to exceed $3,000,000, an amount equal to not 
     more than 33.5 percent of the total project cost; and
       (B) with respect to a group or institution with an annual 
     budget of not less than $3,000,000, an amount equal to not 
     more than 20 percent of the total project cost.
       (4) Limitation on obligation of funds.--With respect to the 
     budget authority provided for in this section, not more than 
     $6,103,660 shall be available for obligation with respect to 
     grants under this subsection prior to September 30, 1998.
       (e) Application of Section.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, this section shall apply with respect to 
     grants and contracts awarded by the National Endowment for 
     the Arts in lieu of the provisions of sections 5 and 5A of 
     the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 954 and 954a).
       (f) Offset.--Each amount of budget authority for the fiscal 
     year ending September 39, 1998, provided in this Act, for 
     payments not required by law is hereby reduced by .11 
     percent. Such reductions shall be applied ratably to each 
     account, program, activity, and project provided for in this 
     Act.

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I would like to just briefly describe 
my amendment, and then it is my intention to yield 2 minutes to Senator 
DeWine. And then of course I know Senator Harkin is here to speak on 
the other side.
  My amendment leaves the amount for the commitment to the arts at the 
same level as the committee bill does. It does, however, make some 
reforms that I think will improve the NEA and most certainly will 
improve the commitment to the arts and reconfirm the commitment to arts 
that we have. It cuts the administrative costs of the NEA to 5 percent. 
I think, since the large part of the bill will require block granting 
to the States, that the administration does not need to be $17 million. 
I think $5 million then would be quite adequate to administer the 
national part of the bill.
  The Federal grants to national groups would be 20 percent of the 
total grant. In the Federal grants, we have a requirement for State 
matching funds, which I think is a healthy thing for us to require, so 
that any project that is funded with national dollars will also

[[Page S9533]]

have a State commitment. Grants may not be used for obscene works, and 
they will go for groups and institutions.
  The rest of the money, the 75 percent, would be grants to the States 
so that the each State or territory is guaranteed at least what they 
had in 1997. And, in fact, every State, except California and New York, 
would get more funding for their arts commissions than they had last 
year. Each State except California and New York will get more money 
than they got in 1997, and they will be able to spend it according to 
the wishes of their own arts commissions. I think it is very important 
that this happen.
  With the 20 percent Federal grants to the national groups, I think 
California and New York will be able to make up some of the loss that 
they will receive because they have had the highest number of dollars 
that have gone to the national arts.
  In this, I think we have a good way to keep our commitment to the 
arts to increase the access to the arts by children and people in all 
the States of our great country. And I think it also will give the 
leeway for the national groups that deserve the support of the National 
Government, because we do want to keep the very top, top quality in our 
arts so we can be proud, as a Nation, that we do have the world class 
opera, the world class ballet, the world class art museums that would 
actually be worthy of the civilization that our country has formed in 
its 221 years of democracy.
  Mr. President, I yield 2 minutes to the Senator from Ohio.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio is recognized.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, the Hutchison amendment recognizes that 
there are arts programs, arts projects, that are of national 
significance and that they should be supported. The amendment does this 
while at the same time addressing the huge geographic disparity in 
funding that the NEA elite, the NEA bureaucracy, has consistently and 
arrogantly refused to address or, for that matter, even to acknowledge.
  This inequality in funding is unconscionable. When you have States 
such as New York getting $21 million from the NEA, California, $8 
million, while States such as Ohio with our 11 million citizens 
receiving only $1.6 million, clearly something is horribly wrong.
  Ohio comes in 46th in per capita NEA funding. New York gets $1.18 per 
person; Wyoming, $1.24, Alaska, $1.21. Ohio gets 14 cents per person.
  Again and again, the NEA has failed to address this problem. Let me 
say this failure on the NEA's part points to broader problems at the 
NEA. For years now, Congress has been trying to set priorities for the 
NEA but nothing really has changed. I have grown increasingly 
frustrated because of the seeming ease with which the NEA flouts 
congressionally enacted policies. It sometimes seems as if the NEA uses 
as much, or maybe more, creativity in skirting our guidelines as NEA-
funded artists do in creating their works.
  The NEA funds do support a number of worthwhile projects. However, I 
believe that NEA funding should really be targeted for programs for 
children and for underserved populations. Our scarce Federal dollars 
should be used to bring the arts to our children and to the poor. I 
congratulate my colleague, Senator Gorton, for including language in 
the underlying bill to indicate this priority, and also to Senator 
Jeffords for including it in the authorizing bill.

  I certainly hope the NEA takes today's debate seriously. If, however, 
the NEA continues to remain unresponsive to legitimate concerns, 
concerns voiced by the people who are paying the bills, we can 
certainly expect even more support for moves to abolish the endowment 
outright. That, Mr. President, would be a great shame--for everyone who 
loves the arts, and indeed for all Americans. It would be a shame that 
the greatest country in the world, with some of the most talented and 
creative artists in the world, could not intelligently and responsibly 
run a national arts agency.
  Mr. President, we can--and must--do better.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, it is now my intention to yield 2 
minutes to the Senator from Alaska.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska is recognized.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. I thank my good friend, the Senator from Texas.
  I rise today to support the amendment submitted by my distinguished 
colleague from Texas, Senator Hutchison. I think her amendment 
represents a reasonable compromise to what has become a very divisive 
issue.
  I think every Member of this Chamber would agree that some of the 
works the NEA has funded in the past have been offensive. They call 
into question the appropriateness of the Federal Government being 
involved in the promotion of the arts. Several years ago we had an 
exhibit here--and it had to be covered. We couldn't allow the Senate 
pages to see it. It was absolutely unsuitable for public view--
certainly for young people. I personally was offended, and I think we 
all learned something from that.
  Art works funded by a Federal agency should be those you take your 
children to see and, in the case of NEA-sponsored works, this has not 
always been the case. But, certainly the arts, overall, have a 
legitimate voice in our society. I think the amendment of Senator 
Hutchison that would take 20 percent of the NEA budget and keep it here 
in Washington, DC to be distributed to works of national prominence is 
satisfactory. It also addresses the concerns of those who do not 
believe it is in the Federal Government's jurisdiction to fund the 
arts. She has an answer to that--send 75 percent of the money to the 
States. This amendment will allow each of our States to develop the 
arts locally, hopefully reflecting the true role of the arts and the 
role they play in each of our communities.
  I think this is a good amendment and merits the overwhelming support 
of this Chamber.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I yield myself--do I have 10 minutes?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 10 minutes.
  Mr. HARKIN. I yield myself 8 of the 10 minutes. If the chair will 
interrupt me, I will appreciate it.
  This amendment all but eliminates the National Endowment for the 
Arts. In other words, it eliminates a Federal role.
  I believe the Senator from Texas is well-intentioned. However, the 
result would be disastrous for the arts. NEA national leadership grants 
have supported a number of very worthy projects that would not have 
been supported by a State. For example, the design competition in 1981 
that led to the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. What State 
would have funded that if it was not going to be in the State, but was 
going to be located in the District of Columbia?
  The Senator from Ohio made mention of all the money that goes to New 
York. Let's look at some of that money. Through the national leadership 
grants, the NEA provided a grant to Chamber Music of America in New 
York, but this grant sponsored chamber music rural residencies, which 
brought professional musicians to small towns, such as Jesup and 
Decorah and Fayette and Mount Vernon, IA. Artists lived and worked in 
these small towns for up to 2 years. They taught in the schools. They 
performed concerts for citizens in the communities all over the State 
of Iowa. Thousands of Iowans benefited from this. But, if you look at 
the grant, it went to New York. But the artists performed in Iowa, for 
up to 2 years.

  If we take all of this money, as the Senator from Texas wants, and 
give it just to the States, will, then, the State of New York fund a 
program that goes to Iowa? I rather doubt it. They will keep the money 
there. But because we have the NEA making these grants, giving them 
out, then they can direct and guide those to go out to States like Iowa 
and Nebraska and Missouri, and States where we don't get a lot of money 
for arts.
  So, what State would fund a program like that? What State? Would 
Texas? Would Texas fund a program that would send artists to Iowa for 2 
years? I doubt that.
  The NEA has also supported dance touring programs. The Alvin Ailey 
dance group traveled to Atlanta, GA;

[[Page S9534]]

Redding, OR; Tuscon, AR; Iowa City, IA; Milwaukee, WI. Would Texas fund 
something like that? I doubt it. Would New York fund something like 
that? I doubt it. Would California fund something like that? I doubt 
it. But, because we have a National Endowment for the Arts, we are able 
to get this out.
  A grant to the American Library Association sponsored the ``Writers 
Live At The Library.'' This program went all over America, to places 
like Rapid City, SD; Medina, OH; Buchanan, MI; Muncie, IN. Would Texas 
have sponsored that? I doubt it. Would New York alone have sponsored 
that? I don't think so. But the National Endowment for the Arts did.
  That is my point. You could look at a lot of these grants. They may 
go to a State. But they seep out and go around the United States. If we 
adopt the amendment offered by the Senator from Texas, that will end. 
We will not have a National Endowment for the Arts. We will simply have 
a bunch of States out there. I rather doubt that States will fund 
programs that will go to another State.
  Mr. President, this amendment has never been reviewed or discussed in 
any format before. Present law provides 35 percent to the States. Under 
the bill, under the leadership of Senator Jeffords, that goes to 40 
percent. It was adopted by a 14-to-4 bipartisan vote in committee.
  I might also point out that Federal funds are matched by the States 
on a 1-to-1 basis. If you increase this amount of money to the States, 
they will have to go to their State legislatures to get the amount of 
money up. Will that happen? Well, in some States it might, in some 
States it might not.
  I also will point out that the Hutchison amendment imposes a cap on 
administrative costs of 5 percent. Right now the President's budget 
calls for a cap of 14 percent. Here is the problem. Many of the State 
agencies are quite small, so State support varies from State to State. 
If you put a cap on like that and you have low spending, that just 
destroys the program. Obviously, as you know, the more money you have 
in the program the less the amount of administrative costs there are 
for administering that program.
  So the 5-percent cap would also not only hurt many of the State 
agencies, but would be disastrous for the National Endowment for the 
Arts.
  Mr. President, the Hutchison amendment is a severe and undeserved 
rebuke to the arts endowment. It may be well-intentioned, but I also 
point out that if this is so good, why is this opposed by the very 
agencies that would supposedly benefit from this? The National Assembly 
of State Arts Agencies is opposed to this amendment. That organization 
believes that the current distribution between Federal and State is 
appropriate.
  So, again, while it may sound good to give all this money to the 
States, the fact is, the Chamber Music of America in New York came to 
Iowa and lived there for 2 years in our small towns and communities. It 
may have looked like a grant to New York, but it was run by the 
National Endowment for the Arts. If you give all this money to the 
States, if New York got all this money, would they then of their own 
volition fund the chamber music program that we had in Iowa for 2 
years? As I said before, I doubt it, and I don't think Texas would 
either.
  For those reasons, this amendment should be defeated. I am told also, 
and I have a letter from the White House--I will just read it:

       The administration understands that an amendment may be 
     offered to increase significantly block grants to the States, 
     thus severely diminishing the Federal leadership role of the 
     NEA. In addition, the administration understands that an 
     amendment may be offered making it administratively 
     impossible for NEA to carry out its function.

  That's the 5-percent cap.

       If such amendments were adopted, the President's senior 
     advisers would recommend that the President veto the bill.

  I believe this bill is too important to be vetoed. I believe the NEA 
is too important to be cut up, segmented and destroyed by this 
amendment.
  Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 2 minutes 50 seconds 
remaining.
  Mr. HARKIN. I reserve the remainder of my time.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I would like to reserve the last 
minute of the debate, so I will take my time up until the last minute 
and then yield to the Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. President, I would like to respond to the remarks of the Senator 
from Iowa and say that it is most certainly not my intention to do away 
with our national commitment to the arts. In fact, the opposite is 
true. That is why I keep the funding level because I do believe that 
all of our children will gain from having more access to and 
appreciation of the arts in our country. I want the budding artists of 
Iowa to have equal access to the education that budding artists in New 
York have.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 1 minute remaining.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I reserve the remainder of my time.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, let me just say that we have a lot of 
budding artists in Iowa, a lot of them musicians. I can tell you, when 
the Chamber Music of America came out and spent 2 years in our small 
towns, it was wonderful. These wonderful artists went to these small 
towns. They got these kids excited about music and about chamber music. 
I can't tell you how many hundreds of Iowa kids, I say to the Senator 
from Texas, were enthused and got involved in music and are progressing 
now because of that.
  That would not have happened without the National Endowment for the 
Arts. It just simply could not have been funded by the State and 
wouldn't have been, and I don't think the State of Texas would have 
funded it either.
  Yes, there are a lot of budding artists out there, and that is why we 
need a national program to reach out to these budding artists.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter from Jonathan 
Katz, CEO of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, be printed 
in the Record, in which he says they are opposed to this amendment and 
that they are endorsing the current distribution of agency funds.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                              National Assembly of


                                          State Arts Agencies,

                                     Washington, DC, July 9, 1997.
     Hon. Ralph Regula,
     Chairman, Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Regula: As you consider the resources 
     available to the National Endowment for the Arts, I thought 
     it might be helpful for you to have at hand the principles 
     advocated by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies 
     (NASAA) on behalf of the state and special jurisdiction arts 
     agencies of the United States. These are attached.
       Consistent with these principles, at the current funding 
     level of $99.5 million, the state arts agencies endorse the 
     current distribution of agency funds that enables the NEA to 
     demonstrate appropriate national leadership and also enables 
     it to support the leadership roles that state arts agencies 
     play. As the principles note, the state arts agencies do 
     support a higher level of funding for the agency overall 
     because that would enable more Americans in more communities 
     to enjoy the arts in more meaningful ways.
       Please feel free to contact me if additional information 
     would be helpful to your office. Your support of public 
     funding for the arts and humanities is very much appreciated.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Jonathan Katz,
                                          Chief Executive Officer.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter from 
Americans United to Save the Arts and Humanities be printed in the 
Record. They also say they endorse the present distribution of moneys.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                          Americans United To Save


                                      the Arts and Humanities,

                                Washington, DC, September 4, 1997.
     Hon. Edward M. Kennedy,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Kennedy: Americans United to Save the Arts and 
     Humanities is a 501(c)(3) bi-partisan advocacy organization. 
     Our mission is to preserve federal funding for the National 
     Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the 
     Humanities. Americans United represents over 100 U.S. 
     business leaders from across the country who strongly support 
     federal funding for the arts and humanities Endowments.

[[Page S9535]]

       As you know, these agencies, particularly the National 
     Endowment for the Arts, have recently come under heavy 
     attack. The House has proposed eliminating the NEA entirely.
       Imagine how such a loss would impact the economic activity 
     currently stimulated by the non-profit arts industry. As it 
     is, the non-profit arts industry generates $36.8 billion 
     annually in economic activity; supports 1.3 million jobs; and 
     produces $790 million in local government revenue and $1.2 
     billion in state revenue. For every dollar the NEA invests in 
     communities, there is a twenty-fold return in jobs, services 
     and contracts. That is wise federal investing of taxpayer 
     dollars.
       The members of Americans United feel strongly that the NEA 
     and NEH are agencies well worth continued federal funding. 
     Recently, Americans United business leaders sent the attached 
     letter to Senator Lott urging him to preserve federal funding 
     for our nation's cultural Endowments.
       We hope that when the issue of funding for the NEA and NEH 
     comes to the Senate Floor for a vote, and subsequently goes 
     to Conference Committee, you will support our nation's 
     culture and heritage and ask your colleagues to preserve 
     current levels of federal funding for the Endowments without 
     crippling block grants.
           Sincerely,
                                                Richard J. Franke,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                           American United to Save


                                      the Arts and Humanities,

                                Washington, DC, September 4, 1997.
     Hon. Trent Lott,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Lott: As business executives, we want you to 
     know how strongly we support continued federal funding of the 
     NEA and the NEH. While we recognize the tight constraints of 
     the federal budget, it is evident that there is a clear 
     connection between the federal investment in culture and the 
     willingness of corporations, foundations and individuals to 
     support cultural activity. Grants from the NEA and NEH are 
     required to be matched with private money. A ``seal of 
     approval'' from the Endowments demonstrates that a proposal 
     has passed a rigorous evaluation--a review that many 
     corporations and foundations do not have the expertise to 
     make themselves, and one which they take into serious 
     consideration as they make their own funding decisions.
       Business supports the arts and the humanities for many 
     important reasons. A vigorous cultural life enhances our 
     communities, improves the imaginative and creative ability of 
     our employees, and spurs economic activity. The strength of 
     the cultural sector of our economy, generating $36.8 billion 
     annually in economic activity, supporting 1.3 million jobs, 
     producing $790 million in local taxes and $1.2 billion in 
     state taxes, is a direct result of the successful role of the 
     Endowments in fostering a broad range of cultural initiatives 
     over the last 30 years. As much as business values and 
     supports the arts and the humanities, the unfortunate reality 
     is that the corporate world can not replace the critical role 
     of the NEA and the NEH in evaluating and fostering cultural 
     initiatives. However, as business leaders we are very much 
     aware that the explosion of interest in American culture 
     worldwide is a key element of our competitive position in the 
     new global economy.
       From the beginning, it has been the role of the Endowments 
     to encourage cultural programs of both local and national 
     importance. The proposal to fund the arts and humanities 
     through block grants to the states would severely limit the 
     cultural impact of federal dollars dedicated to cultural 
     projects. For example, performances and exhibits which travel 
     widely across state boundaries, often to rural areas and 
     small cities, would be that much more difficult to develop 
     and coordinate.
       As the issue of federal funding for the NEA and NEH 
     progresses to the Senate Floor and the Conference Committee, 
     we urge you to recognize the enormous good accomplished by 
     relatively few, yet vital dollars by protecting federal 
     funding and a strong federal role for the National Endowment 
     for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
           Sincerely,
         Members of Americans United to Save the Arts and 
           Humanities.
  Mr. HARKIN. I ask unanimous consent that a letter from the U.S. 
Conference of Mayors be printed in the Record. I won't read it all, but 
it says:

       We need to maintain our federal commitment to preserve this 
     country's rich cultural heritage and traditions and to 
     nurture imagination and creatively to strengthen the future 
     of this country.

  Again, in support of the distribution of funds that are in the bill, 
from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                                 The United States


                                         Conference of Mayors,

                                   Washington, DC, March 11, 1997.
     President William Clinton,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.

     Hon. Newt Gingrich,
     Speaker of the House,
     Washington, DC.

     Hon. Trent Lott,
     Senate Majority Leader,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President, Mr. Speaker and Mr. Majority Leader: 
     The United States Conference of Mayors joins leaders 
     throughout this country on Arts Advocacy Day to urge you to 
     support public funding for the arts and humanities at a level 
     that fulfills the federal government's responsibility to help 
     make the arts accessible to all Americans for the social, 
     economic and cultural well-being of the American public.
       As we prepare to enter the new Millennium, we see the arts 
     and humanities serve as an essential and forceful vehicle to 
     educate our citizens, help our struggling youth, spur 
     economic growth in our communities, and bring us together as 
     a nation. We need to maintain our federal commitment to 
     preserve this country's rich cultural heritage and traditions 
     and to nurture imagination and creativity to strengthen the 
     future of this country. As mayors of communities of every 
     size and in every corner of America, we can tell you first 
     hand that the arts are critical to the quality of life and 
     livability of our cities.
       In partnership with the $99.5 million federal investment 
     that the NEA made in our nation's cultural initiatives this 
     year (representing a 40% cut), the mayors invested $650 
     million in local government funds and the governors invested 
     $275.4 million in state government funds for the arts through 
     our local and state arts agencies. However, this delicate 
     balance in shared responsibility of public support for the 
     arts is in serious jeopardy now. Congress cannot expect state 
     and local governments or the private sector to make up for 
     the cuts in the federal government's share.
       Therefore, we call upon you to oppose the elimination or 
     phase-out of our federal cultural agencies and to oppose any 
     further reductions of their budgets. We further urge you to 
     maintain your federal longterm commitment to our nation's 
     cultural resources in communities large and small.
           Sincerely yours,
         Richard M. Daley, Mayor, Chicago, USCM President; Paul 
           Helmke, Mayor, Fort Wayne, USCM Vice Pres.; Deedee 
           Corradinl, Mayor, Salt Lake City, Chair, Advisory Bd., 
           Marc H. Morial, Mayor, New Orleans, Chair, Arts 
           Committee.

Unanimously Adopted Policy Resolution at the 65th Annual Conference of 
                Mayors, San Francisco, CA, June 24, 1997


         federal funding for the arts, humanities, and museums

       (1) Whereas, the arts, humanities and museums are critical 
     to the quality of life and livability of America's cities; 
     and
       (2) Whereas, the National Endowment for the Arts' and the 
     National Endowment for the Humanities' thirty plus years of 
     promoting cultural heritage and vitality throughout the 
     nation has built a cultural infrastructure in this nation of 
     arts and humanities agencies in every state and 3,800 local 
     arts agencies in cities throughout the country; and
       (3) Whereas, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), 
     National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Office 
     of Museum Services (OMS) within the Institute of Museum and 
     Library Services (IMLS) are the primary federal agencies that 
     provide federal funding for the arts, humanities and museum 
     programs, activities, and efforts in the cities and states of 
     America; and
       (4) Whereas, federal funding serves as a catalyst to 
     leverage additional dollars for cultural activity--the annual 
     federal investment made to these three agencies (NEA @ $99.5 
     million; NEH @ $110 million; and OMS @ $22 million) leverages 
     up to 12 times that amount from state and local governments, 
     private foundations, corporations and individuals in 
     communities across the nation to support the highest quality 
     cultural programs in the world; and
       (5) Whereas, federal funding for cultural activities 
     stimulates local economies and improves the quality of civic 
     life throughout the country--the NEA, NEH and IMLS support 
     programs that enhance community development, promote cultural 
     planning, stimulate business development, spur urban renewal, 
     attract new businesses, draw significant cultural tourism 
     dollars, and improve the overall quality of life in our 
     cities and towns; and
       (6) Whereas, the nonprofit arts industry generates $36.8 
     billion annually in economic activity and supports 1.3 
     million jobs--from large urban to small rural communities, 
     the nonprofit arts industry annually returns $3.4 billion in 
     federal income taxes, $1.2 billion in state government 
     revenue and $790 million in local government revenue; and
       (7) Whereas, federal arts funding to cities, towns and 
     states has helped stimulate the growth of 3,800 local arts 
     agencies in America's cities and counties and $650 million 
     annually in local government funding to the arts and 
     humanities; and
       (8) Whereas, federal funding for cultural activities is 
     essential to promote full access to and participation in 
     exhibits, performances, arts education and other cultural 
     events regardless of geography and family income; and
       (9) Whereas, the NEA is in a highly precarious position 
     since this agency has been unduly politicized and has 
     incurred a disproportionate 39 percent cut in federal funding 
     in fiscal year 1996--bringing its budget down to 1977 
     levels--and Congress has targeted this

[[Page S9536]]

     agency for complete elimination this year; and
       (10) Whereas, last year's draconian cuts to the NEA's and 
     NEH's budget are beginning to have a serious negative effect 
     on the cultural infrastructure and survival of arts and 
     humanities institutions, arts organizations, artists, and 
     cultural programming at the national, state and local level; 
     and
       (11) Whereas, the delicate balance in shared responsibility 
     and partnership for public funding of the arts and humanities 
     at the federal, state and local government levels is now in 
     serious jeopardy since local governments cannot make up for 
     the current and future funding cuts in the federal 
     government's share, now, therefore, be it,
       (12) Resolved, That the United States Conference of Mayors 
     reaffirms its support of the National Endowment for the Arts, 
     National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Office of 
     Museum Services within the Institute of Museum and Library 
     Services and calls upon Congress to fund these agencies at 
     the President's FY '98 request level in order to fulfill the 
     federal government's responsibility to help make the arts 
     accessible to all Americans for the social, economic and 
     cultural well-being of the American public, as well as to 
     help sustain this nation's cultural infrastructure for public 
     support of the arts and humanities at the federal, state and 
     local levels, be it further
       (13) Resolved, That the United States Conference of Mayors 
     calls upon the President and Congress to reauthorize the NEA 
     and NEH and to oppose any attempts to eliminate or phase-out 
     our federal cultural agencies; to oppose reducing their 
     budgets; to oppose mandating that all funds be blockgranted 
     to the states; and to allow local arts agencies to subgrant 
     federal grants.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the Senator from Texas may say she wants 
to preserve and keep the National Endowment for the Arts, but this 
really is a stealth amendment. This is the stealth amendment that will 
kill the NEA. It will do great damage to a lot of our small States like 
Iowa, States that may not have a lot of money. We have a lot of budding 
artists, and we need the national commitment to the arts program to 
ensure that these young poets and these young writers and these young 
musicians and these young painters and these young artisans know that 
there is a national commitment and they have the kind of support and 
the kind of encouragement and the kind of role models that they need to 
encourage them in their efforts.
  No, Mr. President, this stealth amendment would do drastic damage to 
the NEA. It would kill the NEA, and we cannot afford to do that. I urge 
its rejection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas has 1 minute remaining.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Has all time expired other than my 1 minute?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That's correct.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. President, America's strength comes from its grassroots. It isn't 
Government that provides the spirit of America; it is the grassroots. 
Government policy should strengthen the people to establish their 
priorities, and that's what my amendment does. It strengthens the 
States to create more access and more appreciation and more education 
in the arts for all the children of America. I believe that our local 
control of education allows reading through phonics. I believe in old 
math so that we learn our multiplication tables in addition to how to 
work a computer and a calculator. I also think as basic to that is to 
let our children have access to the arts so that they can produce 
world-class art and arts appreciation. It shows that it is part of our 
basic education that we would have a national priority.
  Mr. President, my amendment keeps the national commitment to the 
arts, and it keeps the control in the grassroots and the heartland of 
America. I think it is the best balance.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on my 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 
1186 offered by the Senator from Texas, Senator Hutchison. The yeas and 
nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Smith of Oregon). Are there any other 
Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 39, nays 61, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 246 Leg.]

                               YEAS--39 

     Abraham
     Allard
     Ashcroft
     Bond
     Brownback
     Burns 
     Coats
     Coverdell
     Craig
     DeWine
     Enzi
     Faircloth
     Frist 
     Gramm
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Helms
     Hutchinson 
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Kempthorne
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack 
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Nickles
     Roberts
     Santorum 
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond 

                               NAYS--61 

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Breaux 
     Bryan
     Bumpers
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Cleland
     Cochran 
     Collins
     Conrad
     D'Amato
     Daschle
     Dodd
     Domenici 
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Glenn
     Gorton 
     Graham
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Inouye
     Jeffords 
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg 
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Mikulski
     Moseley-Braun
     Moynihan 
     Murray
     Reed
     Reid
     Robb
     Rockefeller
     Roth
     Sarbanes 
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Torricelli
     Warner 
     Wellstone
     Wyden
  The amendment (No. 1186) was rejected.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I move to lay it on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

                          ____________________