[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 141 (Tuesday, September 29, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS ON ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY

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                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 29, 2015

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 50th 
anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts. Fifty years ago 
today, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the National Foundation 
on the Arts in Humanities Act as an umbrella for creating the National 
Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.
  Since President Johnson signed National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 
into law 50 years ago, the NEA has been supporting artists and arts 
organizations across this country. The NEA's grant programs have helped 
support the creation of new artwork in our communities, taught 
generations of children the power of creativity and problem solving, 
preserved our nations artistic heritage, and brought art forms to 
stages, movie theatres, televisions, and public spaces across the 
United States.
  The investment we make in the arts provides us not only with the 
enrichment of our communities across the country, but it is also a 
powerful economic driver. Each year, the nonprofit arts industry 
generates $135.2 billion in economic activity, providing 4.13 millions 
jobs, and returns billions to the federal government in income taxes. 
Additionally, for every one dollar of federal funds we invest in the 
arts, we return 9 nonfederal dollars back--an unprecedented return on 
investment. Through this federal investment, the non-profit arts 
industry generates $22.3 billion in government revenue.
  The NEA has been at the forefront of a national effort to support 
arts and health in the military through the NEA/Walter Reed Healing 
Arts Partnership. This program supports writing, visual and music arts 
therapy, and yoga for service men and women at Walter Reed National 
Military Medical Center and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence 
(NICOE). These cost effective, non-invasive arts therapy programs rank 
consistently in the top five ``helpful'' and ``wish to continue 
programs'' on patient satisfaction surveys of men and women who have 
gone through the program. Through art therapy programs, our servicemen 
and women can transition away from large numbers of prescription 
medications to art therapy programs which allow for healing, 
psychosocial skill building, and self expression directly correlated to 
an increase in quality of life after leaving the treatment at NICOE.
  The NEA also supports life-long learning in the arts through 
education programs that have been proven to help close the education 
achievement gap and help increase better grade point averages in core 
academic subjects.
  As President Johson said: ``The arts and humanities belong to the 
people, for it is, after all, the people who create them.'' Please join 
me in recognizing the NEA on its 50th anniversary.

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