[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 16, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10444-S10445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. As the Senate considers appropriations for the 
National

[[Page S10445]]

Endowment for Arts and the Humanities Act, the primary source of 
federal support for the arts, humanities and museums, I wish to express 
my support for these programs.


                      Arts as Part of Our History

  Mr. President, throughout this nation's history, the arts have been 
an integral part of our background and heritage. Over the years, music, 
dance, art, and personal expression have evolved to reflect our 
changing culture and attitudes. In a country of great diversity, from 
education and socioeconomic background to political perspective and 
religious views, all people should have the opportunity to experience 
America in its many forms, including the arts.


                            NEA Is a Success

  In 1966, when Congress created the National Endowment of the Arts, 
the mission was to expose all people, across the nation, from 
California to Maine, from New York to North Dakota, of all backgrounds 
and origins, to music, dancing, theater, art and literature. Since 
then, the NEA has more than succeeded with its mission. The NEA helps 
support community festivals, rural chamber music, arts centers, 
galleries, arts libraries, town halls, children's organizations, and 
other social and civic institutions where families can experience the 
arts. NEA-sponsored programs build bridges of understanding among 
diverse groups of Americans.


                           Economic Benefits

  The arts also stimulate local economies. By attracting tourist 
dollars, the arts stimulate business development, encourage urban 
renewal, attract new businesses, and improve the overall quality of 
life for our cities and towns. Nationally, nonprofit arts organizations 
generate an estimated $37 billion in economic activity and return $3.4 
billion in federal income taxes to the U.S. Treasury each year. In 
other words, for every $ 1.00 dollar spent by the NEA, $34.00 are 
returned to the United States. Every $1.00 spent by the NEA attracts 
$12.00 to the arts from other sources.


                      Increased Job Opportunities

  The arts also create job opportunities for more Americans. More than 
1.7 million Americans are employed in the non-profit arts industry. 
This number is higher than any other profession including legal 
services, police and firefighting, mining, advertising, and forestry 
and logging. Since 1970 the number of artists employed in the U.S. has 
more than doubled. Even with this increase, the United States still 
spends nearly fifty times less on the arts than any of its major 
allies.


                 Creates State and Federal Partnerships

  To ensure that people across the country have access to arts 
programs, the NEA promotes partnerships between the state and arts 
agencies, schools and local organizations. This cooperative system of 
arts support links local, state and regional associations in order to 
ensure that support and assistance is provided to organizations that 
work with culturally diverse populations, older adults, people with 
disabilities, and individuals living in institutions. Before the NEA, 
only 5 states had state-funded arts councils. Today, all 50 states do. 
Currently, the NEA sustains 25 partnerships with federal agencies 
including the Departments of Education and Justice, the Center for 
Substance Abuse Prevention, and the National Science Foundation.


                           education Benefits

  The arts can improve learning and be part of a well-rounded 
education. Research from 1995-97 from the College Entrance Examination 
Board shows that students who studied the arts scored an average of 83 
points higher than non-arts students on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, 
the SAT. Children with a piano background have also scored better on 
math tests.
  The NEA and the state arts agencies provide $30 million in annual 
support for more than 7,800 arts education projects in more than 2,400 
communities. In 1997, the NEA invested $8.2 million, 10 percent of its 
annual grant dollars, in kindergarten through grade 12 arts programs. 
Arts education improves life skills including self-esteem, teamwork, 
motivation, discipline, and problem solving that help young people 
compete in a challenging and high-tech workforce.


              nea affects california and states nationwide

  Cutting funding means cutting programs. NEA has supported many 
California efforts: programs such as the I Do Dance Not Drugs program 
in South Central Los Angeles that works with latch-key kids would be 
demolished; a grant to the Pacific Symphony Association in Santa Ana, 
California funds Class Act, 95 a program which supports and enhances 
music education for up to 17,000 students at 20 elementary schools in 
Orange County through a series of activities, including repeated 
interaction with an Orchestra musician and direct exposure and 
interactive experiences with the Orchestra and the music it performs, 
would not be possible without NEA funding; to support a comprehensive 
education program at Berkeley public elementary schools, the Berkeley 
Symphony Orchestra will help train teachers in music, encouraging 
student interaction with the composer, an introductory orchestral 
concert, classroom visits, and a culminating presentation at which 
students perform side by side with Berkeley Symphony Orchestra 
professional musicians; the California Arts Council supports arts 
education and the partnership project with the California Assembly of 
Local Art Agencies to strengthen the State's local art agencies; 
programs which support Native American artists in Eureka, California to 
put on workshops for students and citizens on art could be terminated.


                          Public Supports NEA

  By a margin of 3 to 1, Americans support govemment-funded arts 
programs. Moreover, a 1996 Lou Harris poll states that 61 percent of 
Americans said they would be willing to pay $5.00 more in taxes to fund 
the arts. This is important because private donations tend to support 
larger arts organizations, not smaller, independent projects and 
groups. The NEA works hard to fund a wide range of expression.


                              NEA Reforms

  With reforms now requiring grantees to adhere to strict guidelines, 
trying to address the concerns of some who worry that some projects are 
objectionable can rest assured. National panels of private citizens 
select grantees in a rigorous, democratic review process.
  In conclusion, Mr. President, I would like to remind my colleagues 
that the total for arts and humanities-related spending for the 1997 
fiscal year was less than 1% of the total budget. The National 
Endowment for the Arts costs each American about 36 cents per year. 
Arts institutions have affected millions of Americans. Whether its been 
watching a famous play, wandering through a beautiful museum, or having 
the opportunity to live a dream by singing on stage in a local theater 
company, the NEA fosters an excellence, diversity, and vitality of the 
arts in the United States which could never be matched by any other 
institution. It represents a national commitment to excellence our 
nation's culture, heritage, and, most important, its people. The NEA 
benefits our citizens, educational institutions, economy, and our 
spirits. We cannont, in good faith, deny Americans access to such an 
national treasure.

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