[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 129 (Thursday, September 23, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H6948-H6950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          HONORING AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 1582) honoring and saluting Americans for the 
Arts on its 50th anniversary.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1582

       Whereas Americans for the Arts is the Nation's leading 
     nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts 
     education in the United States;
       Whereas celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010, Americans 
     for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local 
     communities and creating opportunities for every person in 
     the United States to participate in and appreciate all forms 
     of the arts;
       Whereas Americans for the Arts was founded and chartered in 
     1960 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, by then-first board 
     president George Irwin, Philip Hanes, Ralph Burgard, Arthur 
     Gelber, Charles Mark, Keith Martin, Leslie White, and Edgar 
     Young with the mission of enhancing public and private 
     support for the nonprofit arts and serving local arts 
     councils in United States;
       Whereas Americans for the Arts is now currently 
     headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in New York, 
     Massachusetts, California, and Florida under the leadership 
     of Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch;
       Whereas Americans for the Arts played a key role in the 
     formation and establishment of the National Endowment for the 
     Arts in 1965;
       Whereas Americans for the Arts has provided leadership and 
     training to local public and nonprofit arts agencies through 
     a national network consisting of Arts and Business Councils, 
     Business Committees for the Arts, State arts agencies, State 
     arts advocacy organizations, and community-based cultural 
     organizations across the country serving 5,000 local arts 
     agencies and their communities;
       Whereas Americans for the Arts continues to produce 
     groundbreaking research that is the industry standard for 
     reliable and credible information on the size and economic 
     impact of the nonprofit arts industry through its series on 
     ``Arts and Economic Prosperity'', which reports that 
     approximately 100,000 nonprofit cultural organizations 
     generate $166,200,000,000 in economic activity every year 
     supporting 5,700,000 jobs and generating $29,600,000,000 in 
     government revenue;
       Whereas Americans for the Arts produces annual events that 
     heighten national visibility for the arts and arts education, 
     including Arts Advocacy Day in cooperation with the 
     Congressional Arts Caucus in Washington, DC, and the Nancy 
     Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy that has featured 
     illustrious artists and policymakers with speakers such as 
     Maya Angelou, Arthur Schlesinger, Leonard Garment, Wynton 
     Marsalis, Representatives John Brademas and Barbara Jordan, 
     Senator Alan K. Simpson, and Robert Redford, National Arts 
     and Humanities Month, and National professional and 
     leadership development convenings annually for 50 consecutive 
     years; and
       Whereas Americans for the Arts has been a leader in 
     promoting active participation in arts education both in and 
     out-of-school through its professional development work and 
     national visibility PSA campaigns, ``The Arts. Ask for 
     More'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives congratulates 
     and honors Americans for the Arts for its 50 years of service 
     in advancing the arts and arts education in the United 
     States.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Polis) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.


                             General Leave

  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which 
Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on House 
Resolution 1582 into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1620

  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1582 as a 
proud member of the Congressional Arts Caucus. This resolution honors 
Americans for the Arts on its 50th anniversary this year. Americans for 
the Arts is the Nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing 
the arts and arts education in the United States.
  Madam Speaker, I come from a family of artists. My father is a 
graphical artist, and my mother is a poet. The arts is not just for the 
enjoyment of others; they put food on the table for many families 
across the country. Americans for the Arts strives to create 
opportunities for all people to participate in and appreciate all forms 
of art. They partner with local, State, and national arts 
organizations, government agencies, businesses, philanthropists, and 
educators throughout the country. They provide arts industry research 
and professional development for community arts programs.
  Additionally, Americans for the Arts supports a variety of unique 
partner networks in the areas of public art for all of our enjoyment, 
united arts fundraising, arts education, including interfacing with our 
public schools, and emerging a new generation of leadership in the 
arts. Americans for the Arts also strongly endorses opportunities for 
students to participate in visual and performing arts in the schools.
  We know that learning and participating in music, dance, theater, and 
the visual arts is vital to the cognitive development of our children 
and to our communities, and too frequently, Madam Speaker, it is given 
short shrift in our public schools.
  Americans for the Arts played a key role in the formation and 
establishment of the National Endowment for the Arts in 1965, which has 
been the main Federal agency dedicated to funding arts groups around 
the country. It offers grants for State and local arts projects, 
national initiatives, and scholarships to students who pursue a higher 
education in the arts.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PLATTS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1582 
honoring and saluting Americans for the Arts on its fifth anniversary, 
and I am honored to have the privilege of joining with the 
distinguished chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, the gentlewoman 
from New York. As cochairs of the Congressional Arts Caucus, I was 
delighted to join with her in sponsoring this resolution. I appreciate 
her great leadership in promoting arts and helping to advance the cause 
of arts.
  Again, I speak as a dad, those boys I referenced earlier, my sons, 
T.J. and Tom, I have seen what a great blessing it has been to them 
being exposed to the arts throughout their lives, and how it has 
enriched them and allowed them to be even better students in other 
subjects as well.
  Today I stand in support of this resolution. Americans for the Arts 
is the Nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts 
in America. It was founded and chartered in 1960 in Winston-Salem, 
North Carolina, by first board president George Irwin and a group of 
arts supporters with the mission of enhancing public and private 
support for the nonprofits arts and serving local arts councils in the 
United States. The organization played an integral role in the 
formation and establishment of the National Endowment for the Arts in 
1965, and today Americans for the Arts serves more than 150,000 
organizational and individual members and stakeholders.
  The organization's goals are achieved in partnership with local, 
State, and national arts organizations, government agencies, business 
leaders, individual philanthropists, and educators throughout this 
country. Americans for the Arts provides extensive arts-industry 
research and professional development opportunities for community arts 
leaders via specialized programs and services, including a content-rich 
Web site and an annual national convention.
  Local arts agencies throughout the United States comprise Americans 
for the Arts' core constituency. A variety of unique partner networks 
with particular interests such as public art, united arts fundraising, 
arts education, and emerging arts leaders are also supported.
  Americans for the Arts strives to ensure the arts thrive in America. 
It also produces annual events to heighten visibility for the arts, 
including the National Arts Awards and Arts Advocacy Day, which 
annually convenes arts advocates from across the country to advance 
Federal support of the arts, humanities, and arts education.
  Today, we congratulate and honor Americans for the Arts for its 50 
years of service representing and serving local communities and 
creating opportunities for every American to participate in and 
appreciate all forms of the

[[Page H6949]]

arts. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the 
cochair of the Congressional Arts Caucus and the chair of the Rules 
Committee, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter).
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, it is a great pleasure to be here with 
a member of the Rules Committee and my cochair of the Arts Caucus. It 
is wonderful to work with Mr. Platts, and I appreciate the kind words 
that he said about the work that we do.
  I rise today to honor the 50th anniversary of Americans for the Arts. 
As the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts 
education in the United States, Americans for the Arts continues to be 
dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating 
opportunities for participation and enjoyment in all forms of the arts.
  Founded in 1960 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the original 
mission was and continues to be to enhance support for the nonprofit 
arts. In 1965, Americans for the Arts played a key role in the 
establishment of the National Endowment for the Arts. A half century 
later, Americans for the Arts continues to foster the arts at the 
local, State, and national level.
  Under the remarkable stewardship of Robert Lynch for the last 25 
years, Americans for the Arts has provided leadership and training to 
local public and nonprofit agencies through a national network of arts 
and business councils, business committees for the arts, and local and 
State agencies.
  Research by Americans for the Arts measured the economic impact of 
the arts, which was a wonderful piece of work and gave us a lot of 
ammunition on the Arts Caucus. It showed that approximately 100,000 
nonprofit cultural organizations generate $166.2 billion in economic 
activity every year--now that is a great return on not much money--
supporting 5.7 million jobs. In my congressional district alone, there 
are over 1,200 arts-related businesses employing almost 16,000 people.
  In addition to fostering art jobs in our local communities, Americans 
for the Arts has worked to promote the importance of arts education in 
the public schools. Young people who regularly participate in arts 
programs are more likely to have better attendance records, to be 
involved in their school government, excel in their academics, and 
develop the creative and innovative skills necessary for us to compete 
in the 21st century global workforce.
  Through national events like Arts Advocacy Day, Americans for the 
Arts brings national attention to the importance of arts throughout our 
Nation. The arts define our culture and instill unique character in the 
communities across our Nation. Art transcends barriers of language, 
time, and generation, translating cultural differences, breathing life 
into history, and bridging experience across cultures. They accomplish 
the seemingly impossible task of both revealing our differences across 
the globe while managing to illuminate all that connects us.
  I thank Americans for the Arts and the wonderful staff and all of the 
people who have devoted so much of their working careers to this noble 
effort. And of their wonderful, fine accomplishments that they have 
achieved over 50 years, I am sure that the next 50 will produce even 
more great work, and we will all continue to enjoy the richness that 
the arts provide to each of our lives.
  Mr. PLATTS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may 
consume to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), both 
a strong supporter of the arts as well as computer science education, 
the last resolution that we adopted. He has been a great leader in 
these areas to us.
  Mr. EHLERS. I thank the gentleman for yielding. First of all, I will 
say that I do support the arts. In fact, in a town meeting once, I was 
attacked by one of my constituents for my support of the arts. He 
objected to the amount of money that I had voted for for the National 
Endowment for the Arts.
  I told him that I hated to take up too much time in my town meeting 
defending myself on that issue, and I would appreciate very much if he 
would write me a letter and send it to me with his reasons for why he 
felt that way. Then I added to that, I told him if you do in fact write 
me a letter, the amount you pay for the paper, the envelope, and the 
stamp will exceed the total amount that you have paid toward the 
National Endowment for the Arts. It was a simple calculation. I see my 
fellow physicist smiling because that is the sort of thing he would do, 
too. I calculated the per capita cost of the National Endowment for the 
Arts, and, indeed, it was less than the cost of the paper, envelope, 
and stamp.

                              {time}  1630

  The audience laughed. I don't think the person who asked the question 
was laughing very much, but he took it in good spirit.
  What I want to do is to make some comments about the previous 
resolution which was passed, which is something I submitted last year 
and again this year. I think it is important to emphasize it because we 
are losing the computer science battle among the nations of the world. 
I did not realize the extent of that until one of my constituents at 
Calvin College--literally in my backyard--Dr. Joel Adams, met with me. 
He explained what was happening nationally with the enrollments in 
computer science, and they were alarmingly low.
  So last year, for the first time, we established a day of recognition 
for computer science and to honor the birthday of Grace Murray Hopper, 
one of the first female computer scientists. This will mark the second 
annual celebration of this important week.
  Computer technology and the innovations it yields are transforming 
our world and are critical to the global competitiveness of our 
economy. Not only that, they are very important in developing the 
science of cyberwarfare, on which we are trying to get up to speed, but 
we are not preparing an adequate and diverse workforce to meet the 
ever-growing demand for the information technology sector, which 
includes some of the country's most innovative and successful 
companies.
  While it is very important that students in K-12 are exposed to 
computer science, many do not get a chance to learn about it in schools 
today. The lack of understanding of computer science and how it fuels 
innovation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 
disciplines contribute to a lack of interest in computing careers, 
especially among women and underrepresented minorities, whose 
participation rates in computer science are among the lowest of any 
scientific field. By introducing students to computer science at an 
early age and by providing them with learning experiences in computer 
science at all levels, we can reverse this trend and can expand and 
diversify our technology workforce.
  I am very pleased that Congressman Polis joined me in introducing 
this resolution. Also, I thank Cameron Wilson from the Association for 
Computing Machinery, and I thank Joel Adams with the Department of 
Computer Science at Calvin College for their efforts in raising 
awareness about the importance of computer science education. In 
addition, I thank Julia Jester, formerly of my staff, for her help in 
drafting and introducing this resolution, as well as for her dedicated 
service as the staff director of the STEM Education Caucus.
  I ask all of my colleagues to join in supporting the designation of 
the second annual National Computer Science Education Week to raise 
awareness about these important issues.
  Once again, I thank Congressman Todd Platts for giving me the time to 
insert extraneous material on this particular topic of the arts.
  Mr. POLIS. Again, I thank Mr. Ehlers for his remarks. It has been a 
pleasure for these past 2 years to cosponsor and to raise awareness of 
National Computer Science Education Week.
  Madam Speaker, I am now pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).
  Mr. HOLT. I thank the gentleman from Colorado.
  Madam Speaker, I rise as an original cosponsor of H. Res. 1582, to 
honor and salute Americans for the Arts on its 50th anniversary. My 
colleagues should not be surprised that two of the scientists here on 
the floor, the gentleman from Michigan and I, would rise to speak in 
favor of the arts.

[[Page H6950]]

  I want to commend Representative Slaughter for introducing this 
important resolution but especially for her tireless work to champion 
the arts and to remind us all of the importance they play in our lives 
and in our society.
  As a member of the Congressional Arts Caucus, I believe that the arts 
play a crucial role in our society--enhancing our creativity, promoting 
critical aspects of education, and providing Americans with 
opportunities to view works of beauty and personal expression. Through 
the arts, we as a Nation, as a people, come to know ourselves. We push 
our boundaries, and we break free of our prejudices. Furthermore, the 
arts inspire our children to explore their own creativity and to 
encourage positive development in the course of their educational 
careers.
  Has anyone here not observed how a student can blossom academically 
after the student finds a sense of accomplishment and achievement 
through artistic expression? The arts are a fundamental component of 
our society and warrant Federal funding.
  Americans for the Arts was chartered in 1960 in North Carolina with 
the ``mission of enhancing public and private support for the nonprofit 
arts and serving local arts councils in the United States.'' Fifty 
years later, we all owe Americans for the Arts a debt of gratitude for 
successfully accomplishing this mission year in and year out. A few 
years after they were formed, Americans for the Arts helped establish 
the National Endowment for the Arts, which, to this day, has exposed 
millions of Americans to the arts and has supported local artists in a 
multitude of disciplines.
  Even in this difficult economy, Americans for the Arts has continued 
to lead by supporting local public and nonprofit arts agencies. 
Americans for the Arts has also continued to help expose a new 
generation of students to the arts, both in and out of school. Further, 
as the gentlewoman from New York reported, Americans for the Arts has 
noted in its report of ``Arts and Economic Prosperity'' across the 
country that the ``nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 
billion in economic activity every year.'' The report also details that 
the arts support 5.7 million jobs and generate $29.6 billion in 
government revenue. So not only are the arts good for our cultural 
development as a society, but they are good for our economic 
development as well.
  While today we are recognizing Americans for the Arts for their first 
50 years of accomplishments, we here should wish them well for the next 
50 years. We need Americans for the Arts to remain, for years to come, 
a vital institution in our society.
  Mr. PLATTS. Madam Speaker, I again would be honored to yield such 
time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).
  Mr. EHLERS. I thank the gentleman for yielding again.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to follow up on comments made by my 
fellow physicist, Dr. Holt, about how art is spreading and multiplying.
  In the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, the center of my district in 
my hometown, we have established the ArtPrize. A relatively young man 
by the name of Rick DeVos started this last year. It has been extremely 
successful. There have been entries from all over the world--many very, 
very good entries. We have just this week started again the ArtPrize 
for this year, again under the leadership of Rick DeVos. With the 
assistance of his family, they have done tremendous work.
  I could not believe the quality of the art that was on display last 
year when my wife and I and some members of my family strolled through 
the streets of Grand Rapids. Every corner, every street, every building 
front, and every building lobby was filled with art. We attracted some 
300,000 people to our city just to see the art that was on display.
  This is an example that I would hope would be followed someday by 
most of the cities of our Nation. Certainly, in the meantime, though, 
it is a wonderful event, and it brings in many people from different 
parts of the country and, indeed, from different parts of the world to 
view the wonderful art that is on display in my hometown of Grand 
Rapids, Michigan.
  Mr. PLATTS. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, Americans for the Arts' research has shown 
that over 100,000 nonprofit cultural organizations in the United States 
generate over $166 billion in economic activity each year, supporting 
jobs and generating government revenue.

                              {time}  1640

  I want to thank my chairwoman, Representative Slaughter, for 
introducing this important resolution, and once again express my strong 
support for House Resolution 1582, which honors Americans for the Arts 
on their 50th anniversary. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1582.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________