Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi, member of U.S. Senate Arts Caucus, promotes arts education bill

Sen. Mike Enzi, co-sponsor of arts education bill in U.S. Senate

Tom Birch of the National Assembly of States Arts Agencies sends this Congressional update: 

Three appropriations bills, combined into a single spending package, have passed Congress, along with a second continuing resolution carrying fiscal 2012 spending at 2011 levels until December 16. The funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has been passed on the House floor at $135 million, and the Senate appropriators have okayed a companion bill maintaining the NEA money at the 2011 level of $155 million. Work isn't done on the final spending measure requiring agreement between the two chambers, but at least the parameters have been set for reaching an agreement. What's more, House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee chair Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) succeeded in shepherding a bill through the House that preserves the congressional mandate allocating 40% of NEA program funds to the states, and directing the NEA to consult with the states on important matters such as defining the requirements for state matching funds and the conditions for waiver of the match. 

Some good news comes out of the Senate, too. The Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions approved with bipartisan support a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, languishing on the congressional to-do list for the past four or five years. The measure, sponsored by the committee's chair, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), and its ranking Republican, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), supports arts education by maintaining the arts as a core academic subject and broadening the opportunities in the statute for funding support of activities addressing the core subjects.

NASAA: Debt ceiling deal spells deep cuts in domestic discretionary spending

Sent to the Wyoming Arts Council by Thomas L. Birch, Legislative Counsel, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA). The WAC is a NASAA member.

There can be little doubt about the result of the debt ceiling deal signed into law last week by President Obama. Discretionary spending will suffer mightily. President Obama has said that the deal will result in the lowest level of domestic non-defense spending since the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s.  

The Budget Control Act of 2011 passed by the House and Senate increases the debt ceiling through the 2012 elections. Just as significantly, the new law creates a 12-member bipartisan commission of Senators and Representatives charged with cutting $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over ten years. The committee must complete its work by Thanksgiving this year and Congress must enact the cuts by December 23.  

Everything in discretionary spending is on the table, and appropriators are initially uncertain how the recommendations of the new committee are going to interact with the appropriations process already underway. The debt limit bill sets spending caps for fiscal 2012, as well as fiscal 2013. The new law calls for trimming discretionary spending from the current $1.050 trillion level to $1.043 trillion in fiscal 2012. Since the Senate has not adopted a budget resolution, appropriators there now have the guidelines to allow them to proceed with their spending bills.  

However, both sides of Capitol Hill see little chance, given the limited time, to complete all the spending bills by the start of the new fiscal year on October 1. Another continuing resolution is more likely. The objective is to avoid the kind of protracted spending negotiations that dragged on six months into the 2011 fiscal year before Congress voted an end to funding process.  

Here are the highlights in the Budget Control Act:
• The bill allows a debt ceiling increase by as much as $2.4 trillion dollars in total. Included is an immediate increase of $400 billion dollars. President Obama would be permitted to request another $500 billion increase in the coming months, which Congress could vote to disallow by a veto proof two-thirds margin. A further increase of between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion would be available after the special congressional committee does its work and identifies matching levels of additional spending cuts.
• Discretionary spending would be further cut by more than $900 billion over ten years. It would include security-related and non-security-related cuts. According to the Congressional Budget Office, discretionary spending would be decreased by $21 billion in 2012 and $42 billion in 2013.
• The 12-person House and Senate special committee, in addition to identifying spending cuts, could propose tax code reforms and make savings in benefit programs like Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security. Congress could not modify the committee's recommendation.
• If the special committee deadlocks or Congress rejects the committee's recommendations, automatic across-the-board spending cuts of at least $1.2 trillion would go into effect.
• The agreement requires that the House of Representatives and the Senate vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, although its passage is not guaranteed.
NASAA continues to pursue our advocacy agenda focused on achieving the best results in the 2012 funding bill for the National Endowment for the Arts, with attention to policy issues of interest to state arts agencies. We are engaging our members with contacts to key legislators charged with the decision-making in the bringing a budget to conclusion for the next fiscal year.

State leaders pose with new state seal on renovated Capitol Plaza

Wyoming politicians and their families were out in force for the first Cheyenne Frontier Days parade on July 23. Posed by the new state seal on the renovated Capitol Plaza are (left to right): U.S. Sen. John Barrasso; First Lady Carol Mead; Mary Mead; Bobbi Barrasso; Gov. Matt Mead; and Pete Mead. Photo by Joe McKee.

Call for proposals: Arizona Historical Advisory Committee Goldwater statue project

The Arizona Historical Advisory Commission is seeking proposals for a commemorative, site-specific sculpture of Barry M. Goldwater for placement in National Statuary Hall, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. The RFP requirements http://www.spo.az.gov/docs/Notices/Solicitations/AHAC-Goldwater2012.pdf should be reviewed carefully before submitting a proposal. RFP is open April 29, 2011 through July 29, 2011.

Americans for the Arts: U.S. House makes deeper cuts in Arts Endowment budget

From Americans for the Arts:

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAKES DEEPER CUT TO NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed H.R.1, a appropriations bill written to target at least $100 billion in domestic spending cuts in the current fiscal year. This legislation includes a $43 million reduction for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)—from the current $167.5 million to $124 million. This represents the deepest cut to the NEA in 16 years. Representatives narrowly passed an amendment to the originally proposed appropriations bill on Thursday by a vote of 217-209, which increased an already dramatic cut to total the $43 million reduction. The Senate, which may be more supportive of the NEA, will begin its consideration of the appropriations bill starting February 28, following a week-long recess in observance of Presidents Day. For more information about the federal budget process, please contact Associate Director of Federal Affairs Gladstone Payton at gpayton@artsusa.org.

Al Simpson announces retirement from Buffalo Bill Memorial Association board

Al Simpson has announced his retirement as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association. Here are some details from the BBHC:

The Honorable Alan K. Simpson (former U.S. senator, R-Wyo.) today announced his plan to retire as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association, effective in September, 2011. Simpson joined the board in 1968 and became its chairman in 1998. The Buffalo Bill Memorial Association is the legal entity that operates the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, one of the world's highly respected museums of the American West.

"It has truly been a rare honor and privilege to chair this incredible board," Simpson said. "Now it is time to 'hand over the gavel' to new leadership. I most certainly will stay involved - for I dearly love this place and these special people - and shall always continue to fully support the board and staff of this wonderful institution in all their good work - but someone else will now provide the central vision."

Simpson said that the Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees will begin the nomination process this spring and a new chairman will be in place effective at the time of the September meeting. "There are so many decent, loyal, dedicated people on this board and thus I am very confident the next chairperson will continue to be able to do many great and progressive things," he added.

The Association and the Center accomplished many fine projects under Simpson's leadership. Among those accomplishments, yet by no means all, were: the opening of a new Plains Indian Museum in 2000; the opening of the Draper Museum of Natural History in 2002; the acquisition of the Paul Dyck Plains Indian Buffalo Culture collection and the funding and implementation of the Papers of William F. Cody project in 2007; the reinstallation and reopening of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art and 50th anniversary celebration in 2009; and the planning and beginning of fundraising for the reinstallation of the Buffalo Bill Museum, scheduled for opening in 2012.

Simpson also was influential in completing an agreement with the Smithsonian Institution that brought Thomas Moran's 1893 painting Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to the Center as part of the Whitney Gallery's 50th anniversary celebration. The historically significant painting was on exhibit at the Center for six months and offered thousands of visitors a rare and unique opportunity to see such a masterwork so near in proximity to the actual location it represents.

"One of the many things I am so very proud of is how excited our visitors are as they enjoy the Buffalo Bill Historical Center," Simpson said. "When I wander through the galleries on a busy summer day - or even on a slow winter day - and I see families gather around, expressing their fascination with these exhibits and being captivated by the stories they are seeing and hearing, it truly makes all of our efforts worthwhile."

"I am also very proud of our able and accessible Executive Director Bruce Eldredge and our most talented board and staff for having successfully weathered the recent economic downturn," Simpson said. "They all planned and managed so very carefully, and we have come out the other side in pretty good shape. Oh sure, there are still challenges - there always will be - yet this board and staff will always confront them and overcome them. They have already proven that many times over. God Bless 'em!"

"It's difficult to express how much all of us appreciate and respect Al's leadership," Bruce Eldredge, the Center's executive director, said. "He has helped us accomplish great things, and we're happy he's not 'going away' but will continue to help us accomplish even more, just in a different way."

Telling the story of Wyoming's "Cowboy Senator"

Americans for the Arts plans to welcome and educate new members of Congress

This is a couple weeks old but bears re-posting:

November 04, 2010—Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch gave the following statement on the Election Day results:

“Frustration with the nation’s lack of economic recovery is clearly top of mind among voters and candidates. Likewise, nonprofit arts organizations have also felt the sting of the recession with state and local government arts funding dropping as much as 16 percent, and private charitable gifts to the arts declining $1.2 billion in just two years. Additionally, individual artists have been experiencing unemployment at twice the rate of other educated, professional workers.

As our newly-elected leaders at the federal, state, and local levels focus on creating jobs and growing the economy, it is imperative that they understand the profound role the arts play in spurring economic growth and job creation. The nation’s 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations are part of the small business sector, and the nation’s 2.2 million professional artists are among the millions of business entrepreneurs fueling the economy. It is also important that our newly-elected leaders appreciate the connection between arts education training and the development of creative and innovative workforce skills, which are essential to future workers to compete effectively in the 21st Century global economy.

For the past four years, the House of Representatives initiated several hearings to spotlight the role of the arts in both the economy and in workforce development, yielding more than $100 million in new public investments in the arts and culture. Americans for the Arts looks forward to working with the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus and Senate Cultural Caucus on Capitol Hill to continue educating freshman members on how the arts fuel our nation’s economy. We want to congratulate three of the four Caucus members who were up for re-election on their convincing win last night and look forward to working closely with them in the 112th Congress. They are Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Representative Todd Platts (R-PA), and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY). We also look forward to working with Representative Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL), both already champions of the arts in the House, as they move into their newly elected Senate seats.

At the state government level, several arts champions— based on their record in other public offices or platform statements—have been elected as Governor. They include Governors-elect Jerry Brown (D-CA), Tom Corbett (R-PA), Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Lincoln Chaffee (I-RI), Mark Dayton (D-MN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Rick Snyder (R-MI).

Locally, there were 232 Mayoral elections in cities with a population of over 30,000. Among the many new promising arts champions, Providence, RI Mayor-Elect Angel Taveras and Louisville, KY Mayor-elect Greg Fischer identified the arts as a way to harness local talent and creative energy to power the economy.

Americans for the Arts will soon begin conducting the next installment of national research to document the size, impact, and trends of the nonprofit arts industry for its Arts and Economic Prosperity IV study. The previous study demonstrated that the nonprofit arts industry generates $166.2 billion of economic activity annually, which supports 5.7 million full-time equivalent jobs.”

Next Steps:

Americans for the Arts will be undertaking a number of comprehensive initiatives to welcome and educate new members of Congress, but we can’t do this without you! Starting today and in the next few months, we ask you to:

• Send a letter of congratulations to each elected leader representing your community (federal, state, and local levels) and identify yourself or your organization as a resource on arts policy issues.
• Ask all freshman members of Congress to begin thinking about joining the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus or Senate Cultural Caucus. We will be sending more information about this in the coming weeks.
• Work with your state and local arts advocacy organizations to develop a unified message to your newly-elected state and local leaders.
• Save the dates of April 4-5, 2011 to come to Washington, DC for National Arts Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. We especially need grassroots advocates representing the districts and states of newly elected Congressional members.
• Become an official member of Americans for the Arts Action Fund, it’s free and it helps you stay connected to all the latest political breaking news impacting the arts.

Celebrate "Arts in Education Week" Sept. 12-18

From the Americans for the Arts web site:

On July 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution authored by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) that would designate the week following the second Sunday of September as Arts in Education Week each year. Speier was joined by 101 of her colleagues in sponsoring this positive expression by Congress highlighting the important role that arts education plays as an “essential element of a complete and balanced education for all students,” said Speier. “Studies have shown that an arts education improves math and verbal SAT scores, and with students in China and other nations pulling ahead, we cannot leave our students at a competitive disadvantage.” Join us in marking September 12–18 as Arts in Education Week by learning more about arts education and what you can do in your community on our website. For more information on Arts in Education Week please contact Associate Director for Federal Affairs Gladstone Payton at gpayton@artsusa.org. 

For more ideas about celebrating and promoting arts education in Wyoming, contact AE coordinator Camellia El-Antably at the Wyoming Arts Council at 307-777-5305 or celant@state.wy.us

Details announced for 2011 U.S. arts budget

On Monday, the Obama Administration released the president's budget for Fiscal Year 2011. For information on the section that addresses arts funding, go to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies web site at http://www.nasaa-arts.org

Congress considers Artist-Museum Partnership Act legislation

Some interesting news for museums and artists (source: online newsletter of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies):

The Artist-Museum Partnership Act is pending consideration in the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. The legislation would amend the Internal Revenue Code to improve the ability of museums to collect works by living American artists, with the incentive of extending to artists the right to deduct the fair-market value of gifts of their own work that they donate to museums, libraries and other collecting institutions. The charitable deduction enjoyed by collectors of artwork has been denied to artists since 1969. Currently, only the costs of the materials—canvas, paint, paper and such—may be deducted by artists when donating their own works.

The two bills—introduced in the House (H.R. 1126) by Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA), and in the Senate (S. 405) by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT)—are collecting cosponsors in advance of consideration by the two tax-writing committees.

Congress votes for $12.5 million NEA boost

Thomas L. Birch, Legislative Counsel for the National Endowment for the Arts, forwarded this news to all state arts agencies today:

In back-to-back votes on October 29, both the House and the Senate passed the final version of the bill appropriating $167.5 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in fiscal year 2010. The funding legislation agreed to by a House-Senate conference committee earlier in the week set the arts endowment budget for the year with an increase of $12.5 million above the 2009 level of $155 million.

President Obama had proposed raising the arts funding to $161.3 million, the same amount set in the Senate version of the legislation. The House had allocated $170 million for the arts endowment in the coming year.

The appropriations measure passed by the House and Senate also includes authority, requested by the president in the administration's 2010 budget, for the appointment of four additional members to the National Council on the Arts, returning the endowment's advisory body closer to the size it enjoyed before Congress decreased the board's membership several years ago.

The appropriations bill also includes a general provision prohibiting any agency, including the NEA, from any activity, publication or distribution of literature that "in any way [emphasis added] tends to promote public support or opposition to any legislative proposal on which Congressional action is not complete other than to communicate to Members of Congress. . . ." The bill urges the NEA to take immediate steps to ensure that all employees are aware of these provisions when conducting any activities funded by this appropriation. The legislative admonition is in apparent response to concerns raised in recent months by members of Congress and others over efforts by the Obama administration to engage in dialogue with various constituencies on issues of interest to the White House.

The Interior appropriations bill accompanies a continuing resolution to carry seven unfinished money bills through December 18 while Congress continues work to finish those remaining funding measures. The president is expected to sign the bill before the October 31 deadline when the current continuing resolution expires.

FMI: http://arts.endow.gov/

The Wyoming Arts Council receives approximately 45 percent of its annual budget from the NEA. The rest is provided by the Wyoming State Legislature. The WAC budget also includes a small amount of private funds.

Remembering a worldly Wyoming poet

Wyomingarts, in the forms of WAC staffers Mike Shay, Linda Coatney and Marirose Morris, traveled to Laramie Wednesday evening to attend a memorial service for poet, UW writing professor and WAC roster artist Craig Arnold.

The memorial was held in the UW Art Museum lobby. Banners with some of Craig's poems flanked the podium. A long buffet table featured some dishes that even a gourmet cook such as Craig Arnold would have found intriguing.

The 41-year-old Craig disappeared during an inspirational quest for volcano poems. In April, he was hiking a rugged volcano on a remote Japanese island. Traces of his passage were discovered by search teams, but the body was not recovered.

At UW on Wednesday, we celebrated the life of a man. Poetry was obviously the best way to do this.

Several of the speakers read Craig's poems, and the rest used lines from his work. Russell Swenson from Houston, a former student of Craig's at University of Utah, read several selections, including the title poem from Craig's most recent collection from Ausable Press, "Made Flesh." Fiction writer Alyson Hagy and one of Craig's colleagues in the UW creative writing program, read "Asunder." English Department Chair Peter Parolin wrapped up the presentations with the poem "A Ubiquity of Sparrows," which was published in the summer 2009 issue of The Paris Review (read "Sparrows" and one other poem by Craig at http://www.theparisreview.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5922).

For a change of pace, Janice Harris read a "food remembrance" of Craig, celebrating another of the poet's passions. Janice's reading including a recipe for eggplant caponata -- she thoughtfully provided copies included with Craig's remarks and directions.

It was a somber yet celebratory occasion. Craig's father spoke of the incredible outpouring of support the family received from all over the world, but particularly from the University of Wyoming (Pres. Buchanan was in the audience) and from the state's Congressional delegation. Although Sen. Enzi, Sen. Barrasso and Rep. Lummis could not attend, all three sent staff members -- and Sen. Enzi sent a personal letter that was read aloud by Peter Parolin at the beginning of the evening.

Mr. Arnold spoke of all the letters and e-mails that came in from people they didn't know, people who had been influenced by Craig's work and teaching. He admitted that he and his wife had been a bit startled as they learned of their quiet son's influential life. He was a bit startled that the shy boy they knew, the one who wrote his first book at eight years old, would be the same one who urged other quiet boys and girls to come up and perform their work at poetry slams. As Peter said earlier, many of them would never have found their voice with Craig. "He gave those young people a gift," he said.

The ceremony ended with a wine toast to Craig.

Farewell, poet.

Preparations underway for October's National Arts & Humanities Month

This article by Adrian Versteegh was in today's edition of the New York Daily News Online:

Preparations are underway for the seventeenth National Arts and Humanities Month, a country-wide smorgasbord of public events, open houses, and media coverage coordinated each October by the nonprofit advocacy group Americans for the Arts. The official partner for the 2009 installment is Art21, the contemporary visual arts organization behind the Emmy-nominated PBS series "Art21 -- Art in the Twenty-First Century."

“Everyone recognizes the creative and cultural value of the arts and humanities,” Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts and national coordinator of Arts and Humanities month, said in a press release. “National Arts and Humanities Month offers us a chance to celebrate the often overlooked economic, educational, and civic engagement values that the arts impart in our daily lives.”

Recognized by Congress and held annually since 1993, the month-long celebration grew out of National Arts Week, which was begun in 1985 under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts. National Arts and Humanities Month subsumes a host of cultural events across the country, including the Creative Conversations program, which features emerging arts leaders in local communities, and the National Arts Awards. Honorees at this year’s ceremony -- slated for October 5 in New York
City -- include Salman Rushdie, who will receive the Kitty Carlisle Hart Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts, and Robert Redford, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

U.S. Senate confirms new NEA Chairman

From a National Endowment for the Arts press release:

Rocco Landesman, nominated by President Barack Obama as the tenth chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, was confirmed today by the U.S. Senate. Upon his confirmation Mr. Landesman said:

"I am honored to receive the Senate's vote of confirmation. I look forward to serving the nation as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. I believe this is an auspicious time for the NEA and the country. Art is essential to the civic, economic, and cultural vitality of our nation. It reflects who we are and what we stand for -- freedom of expression, imagination, and vision. I am eager to work with our many partners to bring quality arts programs to neighborhoods and communities across the country."

Mr. Landesman follows Dana Gioia who left the chairmanship in January 2009. Patrice Walker Powell, the NEA's deputy chairman for state, regions, and local arts agencies has served as acting chairman in the interim.

Please see Mr. Landesman's biography.

National Service act includes arts education

This news comes from the Colorado Museums listserv:

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which President Obama is expected to sign into law today, expands national service opportunities for all ages, focusing on veterans' services, the environment, disaster relief, and arts education. The new law will also build the capacity of nonprofits and strengthen the volunteer infrastructure in nonprofits. AAM worked in collaboration with Voices for National Service and other national organizations in supporting this legislation.

In a letter to Congress, American Association of Museums President Ford Bell wrote, "This important legislation will not only encourage a generation toward public service, but will also play a critical role in strengthening the nonprofit organizations that are working overtime to fill important gaps in our nation's social safety net." He added, "At a time when many families cannot afford to travel and school resources are strained, museums are working overtime to fill the gaps -- bringing art and cultural heritage, dynamic exhibitions and living specimens into local communities, offering free or reduced admission, and providing more than 18 million instructional hours to schoolchildren."

U.S. Senate & House include artists and musicians in National Service Bill

Thomas Birch, legislative counsel for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, sent this announcement on March 27:

Legislation approved by both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives would create a voluntary service corps of artists and musicians to serve in schools in low-income communities and in healthcare, therapeutic and other community settings.

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, H.R.1388/S.277, legislation aimed at the overall expansion of national and community service programs, passed the Senate on March 26 by a vote of 79 to 19. Similar legislation was approved, 321-105, in the House of Representatives on March 18. Both bills would triple the number of AmeriCorps service volunteers, from 75,000 to 250,000.

Though the two measures contain provisions to engage artists and musicians in the service corps, the wording of those provisions and other sections of the bill is not completely identical and must first be reconciled before the legislation passes final approval. Congressional leaders hope to finish work on the legislation next week and send the bill to the president for signing.

The artists service corps provision in the House was proposed by Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) during drafting of the legislation by the House Committee on Education and Labor. In the Senate, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) offered the artists service amendment, which was included by voice vote in the legislation taken to the floor by the bill's manager. The new provision in the House and Senate bills would encourage the use of "skilled musicians and artists to promote greater community unity through the use of music and arts education and engagement through work in low-income communities, and education, health
care, and therapeutic settings, and other work in the public domain with citizens of all ages."

The new authority to include provisions for support of artists in the national service program responds to a campaign pledge made by President Obama to create an "Artists Corps" of young artists trained to work in low-income schools and their communities. A similar program was proposed by NASAA and other arts advocacy organizations in our recommendations to the transition team for the incoming Obama administration. Passage of the national service legislation to support nonprofit organizations in working with community volunteers has been a high priority for the new president.

The measure passed by the Senate includes an amendment offered by Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) to establish a capacity-building program for nonprofit groups in the Corporation for National and Community Service that will expand organizational development assistance to small and midsize nonprofit organizations.

Both the House and the Senate bills would set up a fund to help nonprofit organizations recruit more volunteers and establish a "Summer of Service" program for middle and high school students. The two bills differ in provisions aimed at limiting the legislative advocacy and political organizing activities of service volunteers, differences which must be resolved before final passage.

Arts jobs supported in American Recovery Act

Here's the text of a letter sent 2/19/09 to all state and regional arts agencies by Johnathan Katz, CEO of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA). It concerns the arts components included in Pres. Obama's "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." The Wyoming Arts Council is a NASAA member.

On Tuesday, President Obama signed into law The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Here is language from H.R. 1 regarding the grants and administration of the National Endowment for the Arts that is pertinent to state arts agencies and the diverse constituencies they serve:

$50,000,000, to be distributed in direct grants to fund arts projects and activities which preserve jobs in the non-profit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn: Provided, That 40 percent of such funds shall be distributed to state arts agencies and regional arts organizations in a manner similar to the agency's current practice and 60 percent of such funds shall be for competitively selected arts projects and activities....

NASAA staff worked closely with the membership and our colleagues to provide decision makers with timely information clearly demonstrating how public support for the arts contributes to a healthy work force, preserves and creates jobs, and strengthens the economy overall.

By their action, members of Congress demonstrated that they got the message NASAA focused on: that an arts job supports a household and the economy just as other jobs do. Members of Congress demonstrated they understood that every state -- cities, suburbs and rural areas -- benefits when performing visual, literary and media artists, stage managers, sound and lighting technicians, marketing staff, costume designers, carpenters, electricians and those who teach the arts-as well as employees of the companies, concert halls, restaurants, ticket sellers and tour operators who depend on them-bring paychecks home to their families.

NASAA members believe that broad and deep participation in the arts is best supported at the federal level by a combination of direct grant making and grant-making through states. The specific allocation of $20 million to state arts agencies and their consortia verifies that Congressional leaders agree. Members of Congress demonstrated they understood that the portion of federal dollars that goes through state arts agencies can be targeted efficiently to those local places where jobs can be saved and created, can reach deeply into local communities and school systems, can assist arts organizations to make it through the recession and artists to market their products and services.

NASAA staff asked you several times in the past few weeks to communicate to your representatives the cultural needs of your state, the vision of your agency for your state's cultural life, and what they had to do in this economic environment to keep that vision alive. You did it. Congratulations!

In the days and weeks ahead, NASAA will work with our NEA colleagues to keep you informed of the range of opportunities for you and your constituents to participate in the programs funded by the stimulus bill-including updates on the timing and process for the distribution of stimulus funds slated for state and regional arts agencies.

Working together through NASAA, state arts agencies will do their part to assist the recovery of-and reinvestment in-the American economy.

Thank you for your public service and for your active participation in the federal budget process.

Artists' charitable deduction legislation update

Thomas L. Birch, legislative counsel for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, sends this news:

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) intend to reintroduce the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, which would allow artists to take a charitable deduction for the fair-market value of their own works donated to museums, libraries, archives and other nonprofit collecting and exhibiting institutions. It would encourage gifts of visual art such as paintings and sculptures, as well as original manuscripts and supporting material created by composers, authors, and choreographers.

Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who sponsored the identical bill in the House of Representatives in the last Congress, also plans to reintroduce the measure this year.

During his election campaign, President Obama said that he would sign such legislation once it passed Congress.

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.