[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 24 (Monday, June 17, 1996)]
[Page 1047]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress Transmitting the Report of the National 
Endowment for the Arts

June 12, 1996

To the Congress of the United States:

    It is my pleasure to transmit herewith the Annual Report of the 
National Endowment for the Arts for the fiscal year 1995.
    On September 29, 1995, at the close of the fiscal year, the Arts 
Endowment celebrated its 30th anniversary. A young man or woman born at 
the same time as this Federal agency's establishment has enjoyed access 
to the arts and culture unparalleled in the history of the country. The 
National Endowment for the Arts has helped bring tens of thousands of 
artists into schools, teaching tens of millions of students about the 
power of the creative imagination. This small Federal agency has helped 
launch a national cultural network that has grown in size and quality 
these past 30 years.
    This Annual Report is another chapter in a great success story. In 
these pages, you will find projects that bring the arts to people in 
every State and in thousands of communities from Putney, Vermont, to 
Mammoth Lakes, California. The difference art makes in our lives is 
profound; we see more clearly, listen more intently, and respond to our 
fellow man with deeper understanding and empathy.
    In these challenging times, when some question the value of public 
support for the arts, we should reflect upon our obligation to the 
common good. The arts are not a luxury, but a vital part of our national 
character and our individual human spirit. The poet Langston Hughes 
said, ``Bring me all of your dreams, you dreamers. Bring me all of your 
heart melodies. . .'' For 30 years, the Arts Endowment has helped keep 
those dreams alive for our artists and our audiences. May it long 
continue to do so.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
June 12, 1996.