Friday, January 30, 2009

Stimulus package still has NEA funding

This news release comes from Thomas L. Birch, legislative counsel for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies:

The House of Representatives on Wednesday, January 28, passed the economic stimulus legislation -- H.R.1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- with provisions intact allocating $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. All Republican House members, joined by 11 Democrats, voted against the measure.


The bill includes the provision calling for 40% of the NEA funds goes to state arts agencies and the remainder "will be distributed in direct grants to fund arts projects that preserve jobs in the nonprofit arts sector."

The Wyoming Arts Council receives aprproximately 40 percent of its budget from the NEA.