Good News on NEA and NEH

TomWheaton@AOL.COM
Wed, 19 Jul 1995 09:55:49 -0400

The following message is good news for the academic community. It is
provided by ACRA to show that we are not too fixated on the Advisory Council.
;-) Call your senator so we can defeat it there, too.

Tom Wheaton
Exec. Dir. - ACRA

Date: Tue, Jul 18, 1995 4:16 PM EDT
From: LNeumann, CEHP Inc.

FUNDING CUTS FOR NEA AND NEH DEFEATED IN THE HOUSE, PENDING IN SENATE

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Florida) proposed an amendment to increase the cut in
funding for the NEA as part of the FY e96 Interior Appropriations bill. This
amendment was soundly defeated on the House floor yesterday by a vote of
179-227. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) introduced another amendment to the
Interior Appropriations bill that would have cut all funding to the NEH.
This amendment was also defeated in the House today, 128-277. Both of these
votes show that these programs have at least some bipartisan support in the
House. In fact, various Republicans, including Rep. Randy Cunningham
(California), have said that the NEH and NEA are worthwhile programs. They
have suggested that the agencies should not be phased out so quickly, because
they need more time to generate funds from other sources.

In the Senate, markup on S. 1557, the NEA and NEH authorization bill, is set
for Wednesday, July 19. This bill cuts funding for the NEA and NEH by two
percent per year. However, committee staff indicate that the committee may
increase the cut to a five percent per year at the markup. The Senate
appropriations committee is expected to take up the interior bill late this
summer.