    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [February 5, 1998]
    [Page 181]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Transmitting the Report of the National
    Endowment for the Humanities
    February 5, 1998

    To the Congress of the United States:
        I am pleased to present to you the 1996 annual report of the
    National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Federal agency charged
    with fostering scholarship and enriching the ideas and wisdom born of
    the humanities. The agency supports an impressive range of projects
    encompassing the worlds of history, literature, philosophy, and culture.
    Through these projects, Americans of all walks of life are able to
    explore and share in the uniqueness of our Nation's democratic
    experience.
        The activities of the NEH touch tens of millions of our citizens--
    from the youngest students to the most veteran professors, to men and
    women who simply strive for a greater appreciation of our Nation's past,
    present, and future. The NEH has supported projects as diverse as the
    widely viewed documentary, The West, and research as specialized as that
    conducted on the Lakota Tribe. Small historical societies have received
    support, as have some of the Nation's largest cultural institutions.
        Throughout our history, the humanities have provided Americans with
    the knowledge, insights, and perspectives needed to move ourselves and
    our civilization forward. Today, the NEH remains vitally important to
    promoting our Nation's culture. Not only does its work continue to add
    immeasurably to our civic life, it strengthens the democratic spirit so
    essential to our country and our world on the eve of a new century.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    February 5, 1998.