2021 CONGRESSIONAL ARTS HANDBOOK FACTS & FIGURES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
@americans4arts
twitter.com/americans4arts
facebook.com/americans4arts
Join our Facebook event! Search “National Arts Action Summit 2021”
@americans4arts
instagram.com/americans4arts
Entering its 34th consecutive year, the National Arts Action Summit is nation’s largest arts advocacy collaborative event that brings together a broad cross section of America’s cultural and civic organizations, along with hundreds of grassroots advocates from across the country. By presenting a thoughtful, unified message to federal decisionmakers, advocates can ensure their voice is heard when Congress considers issues like the budget, infrastructure, taxes, and job creation throughout the year. In the past year, we’ve seen more pro-arts policy advanced in the legislative process than ever before. As we work together to see the arts and culture sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdowns, local and national advocacy efforts will be a critical tool. The National Arts Action Summit equips advocates to share compelling data and authentic stories about the impact of the arts in their communities to educate federal decisionmakers about why supporting the arts and culture sector is essential.
For more information, contact Lauren Cohen, Government Affairs and Grassroots Manager for Americans for the Arts, at lcohen@artsusa.org.
Congressional Arts Handbook 2021 Table of Contents Listing of State Captains Issue Briefs to Congress
Equity and Access Priorities at the National Arts Action Summit The National Endowment for the Arts Recovery Needs for the Creative Economy Arts Education Funding the Assistance for Arts Education Grant Program Equitable Access to Arts Education: Helping Children Achieve in School, Work, and Life Arts Education Unified Statement Tax Reform Nonprofit Charitable Giving Policy Tax Fairness for Artists and Writers Arts and Juvenile Justice Office of Museum Services The Creative Economy The Arts & Disaster Relief Cultural Exchanges through the U.S. Department of State Visa Process for Artists Arts in Health Arts and the Military Arts in Higher Education Arts in Transportation and Infrastructure Music Licensing
Congressional Arts Support Records
U.S. House of Representatives Arts Support Records U.S. Senate Arts Support Records Congressional Caucuses Membership
Facts & Figures on the Arts: The Latest Research Partner Letters to Congress
2021 State Captains List accurate as of April 5, 2021 AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY
Ben Brown, Alaska State Council on the Arts Donna Russell, Alabama Alliance for Arts Education Sandy Royce Martin, Arkansans for the Arts Joseph Benesh, Arizona Citizens for the Arts Julie Baker and Brad Erickson, Californians for the Arts Meredith Badler, Colorado Business Council for the Arts Darren Farrington, Connecticut Arts Alliance Lissa Rosenthal-Yoffe, DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative Jessica Ball, Delaware Arts Alliance Jennifer Jones, Florida Cultural Alliance Patrick Kelsey, Georgians for the Arts Teri Skillman, Hawai’i Arts Alliance Leon Kuehner, Iowa Alliance for Arts Education Michael Faison, Idaho Commission on the Arts Libia Bianibi, Arts Alliance Illinois Ursula Kuhar, Indiana University Sarah VanLanduyt , Arts Council of Johnson County Phil Shepherd, Kentucky Coalition for Arts Education Matt Henry, Arts Council of Central Louisiana Emily Ruddock, MassCreative Nicholas Cohen, Maryland Citizens for the Arts Julie Horn, Maine Arts Commission Deb Polich, The Arts Alliance Jennifer Halcrow, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts Ben Martin, Missouri Alliance for Arts Education Sarah Story, Mississippi Arts Commission Contact Lauren Cohen for assistance. Nate McGaha, Arts North Carolina Dayna Del Val, The Arts Partnership Skyler Dykes, Nebraskans for the Arts Marc Thayer, Symphony NH Ann Marie Miller, ArtPRIDE New Jersey Contact Lauren Cohen for assistance. Tony Manfredi, Nevada Arts Council Steve Butler, Central New York Arts Angela Meleca, Ohio Citizens for the Arts Tonnie Dosser, Oklahomans for the Arts Jeff Hawthorne, Regional Arts & Culture Council Pamela Snyder, Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania Todd Trebour, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts GP McLeer, South Carolina Arts Alliance Jim Speirs, Arts South Dakota Rodney Van Valkenburg, ArtsBuild Ann Graham, Texans for the Arts Crystal Young-Otterstrom, Utah Arts Alliance Beverly Hess, Virginians for the Arts Amy Cunningham, Vermont Arts Council Manny Cawaling, Cultural Access Washington Anne Katz, Arts Wisconsin Randall Reid Smith, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History Marty Camino, Wyoming Arts Alliance
ISSUE BRIEFS
The 2021 Congressional Arts Handbook is current as of March 22, 2021. Please visit AmericansForTheArts.org/AAD/Handbook to find the most up-to-date versions of the Issue Briefs.
Equity & Access Priorities at the National Arts Action Summit POLICY SUMMARY BACKGROUND This is a summary of the 18 federal Issue Briefs that compose the 2021 National Arts Action Summit (Summit) legislative portfolio and the equity and access focus that is integrated into each topic. The briefs are assembled each year by the Summit’s Legislative Planning Committee that collaborates over the course of four months to craft proposals and case-making content. The ”asks” of Congress and the current Administration are arrived at through a consensus-based approach, ensuring that the stakeholders have timely input into the process. All organizations and advocates are welcome to use the Issue Briefs in pursuit of pro-arts policy change. Language use is a key element of access, equity, and inclusion work, and can help or hinder efforts in this area. We have used the term Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) to describe individuals from prioritized communities. We recognize that this term is not universally used but felt it was specific for the purpose of these Issue Briefs and consistent with the language being used by the Biden-Harris Administration. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with language that your community members use to describe themselves. ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to (by topic area): ●
COVID-19 Recovery: Invest in the creative and cultural recovery through federal funds distribution and guidelines, matching grants, forgivable loans, and other mechanisms; and support arts education, artsintegrated teaching, place-based cultural practice, intergenerational education, oral history, and the preservation of folk traditions with a focus on organizations that are led by members of/based in Black, Indigenous, and communities of color and have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, the economic crisis, and historical inequities.
●
Disaster Response: Improve the support for creative workers after disasters by making permanent reforms enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic affecting self-employed workers, single-person (nonemployer) businesses, and low employer businesses. Data shows that a third of all nonemployer businesses have Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) owners; BIPOC-owned nonemployer businesses are growing at four times the national rate; and 40% of all nonemployer businesses are owned by women.
●
Creative Economy: Congress should invest in the country’s creative economy and promote economic inclusion to recognize artists, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit arts organizations as contributors to the small business community and to improve and revitalize rural, remote, and underserved areas by supporting the CREATE Act and the PLACE Act and support the establishment of a performance right for sound recordings broadcast by terrestrial (AM/FM) radio. Individual artists are 3.5 times more likely to be self-employed than other U.S. workers, and include above average percentages of women and BIPOC entrepreneurs.
●
Education: The White House and Congress should affirm arts education as a right for all children and encourage state and local education authorities to use federal funding to provide arts education. As Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated in 2012 about arts education, “This is absolutely an equity issue 2021 National Arts Action Summit
and a civil rights issue.” Access to arts education drastically decreases in schools where 75% or more of the students can access free lunch, in schools that are in rural settings, and in schools eligible for Title I funding, most of which are majority-BIPOC. We also urge Congress to strengthen access to and affordability of higher education in the arts by funding federal financial aid in a way that encourages students to pursue disciplines where they have the most interest and talent and supports the federal government's efforts to address diversity, equity, and inclusion within higher education. BIPOC youth are significantly less likely to both attend and complete college-level study, including because of the cost of doing so. ●
Federal Cultural Agencies: Ensure, through increased funding, the National Endowment for the Arts’ reach to millions of people in thousands of communities through grant awards such as 40% direct to 56 states and territories, and regional arts agencies; that the majority of grants go to small and medium-sized organizations (budgets less than $2 million), which tend to support projects that benefit audiences that otherwise might not have access to arts programming; that at least 40% of NEA grants take place in highpoverty neighborhoods; and 35% of grants reach low-income audiences of under-resourced populations such as people with disabilities, people in institutions, and Veterans. Similarly increase grantmaking for museums and public broadcasting.
●
Juvenile Justice: Instruct U.S. Department of Justice to engage arts organizations that focus on racial justice and equity, and have demonstrated experience working with youth who have been, or are at risk of, exposure to the juvenile justice system/trauma. Almost 70% of all incarcerated youth are BIPOC.
●
Veterans: Support increased funding through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand the number of creative arts therapists employed in the VA providing clinical treatment in medical centers, community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), and in virtual and telehealth services that reach a large number of rural and isolated Veterans.
●
Transportation: Ensure local control is returned to transportation projects by removing the prohibition on the U.S. Department of Transportation from supporting the expenditure of funds for public art in local transit projects. This would enable local artists and design teams to integrate artistic elements into transitrelated projects that reflect the cultural preferences of the community, improve feelings of safety and community pride, and reduce incidences of graffiti and vandalism.
●
Tax Policy for Individual Artists: Support the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, update the Qualified Performing Artist Tax Deduction, and pass the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act to harmonize the tax treatment of music production, in order to address fairness and equity in tax treatment for individual artists. Over 40% of all creative workers are independent workers, and overall, creative workers average $40,000 in income each year, although that number is lower for BIPOC creative workers ($37,000).
●
Tax Policy for Nonprofit Sector: Expand and extend the universal charitable deduction that encourages all taxpayers to give more during these challenging times and as the nation recovers and rebuilds. The nonprofit arts sector relies on charitable gifts from donors across the economic spectrum that add up to an essential investment that enables nonprofit arts organizations to respond to public needs and form community partnerships through education, artistry, economic development, and social service programs.
2021 National Arts Action Summit
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS (NEA) PROMOTING CREATIVITY AND PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE ARTS ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: • Continue bipartisan support and substantially increase National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding in the FY 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to broaden access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts and to advance creativity and innovation in communities across the United States. • Support the recovery of the arts sector by allowing the NEA to provide more and larger grants, suspend matching requirements, and allow for general operating support funding.
THE NEA: AMERICA’S LEAD SUPPORTER OF THE ARTS National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) plays a unique role in broadening access to and participation in the arts in every congressional district and should be more fully supported in order to expand and deepen its impact on our communities and our democracy. The arts sector is an economic engine and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this nation will need the arts and culture sector to deliver on its unique mission to uplift, engage, educate, and innovate. The NEA can help leverage the arts sector to play a key role in the work to imagine and build a new American economy. The Endowment’s goals are fulfilled primarily through direct grants—reviewed and recommended by panels of experts—to arts organizations across the country. The NEA: • • • • • •
Awards 40% of its grantmaking budget directly to the states through their state and regional arts agencies, extending the NEA’s reach further to millions of people in thousands of communities. Recommends on average 2,400 grants in every Congressional District in the country. The majority of grants go to small and medium-sized organizations (budgets less than $2 million), which tend to support projects that benefit audiences that otherwise might not have access to arts programming. Recognizes outstanding achievement in the arts through Jazz Masters Fellowships, National Heritage Fellowships, and National Medal of Arts, and creative artists are also supported through Literature Fellowships. 42% of Arts Endowment grants take place in high-poverty neighborhoods. 35% of grants reach low-income audiences of under-resourced populations such as people with disabilities, people in institutions, and Veterans. In 2020, the NEA was a model among federal agencies in rapidly disbursing CARES Act funding in the amount of $75 million. Arts Advocacy Day 2021
BROADENS ACCESS AND EQUITY ● In terms of racial equity, the arts sector is a powerful conduit for bridging and healing deep divisions. The NEA has a role in redressing systemic injustice—including long-time inequities in arts funding, as well as a lack of appreciation for creativity from all cultures. ● The NEA is establishing and cultivating ongoing relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), building capacity for successful applications, and has made recent grants to HBCUs, including Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, and Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland. ● The Challenge America funding category specifically offers support for projects that extend the reach of the arts to populations whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, economics, or disability. ● The NEA’s role is to make sure all Americans have access to the arts no matter where they live. Among the NEA’s accomplishments is the growth of arts activity in areas of the nation that have been under-resourced, especially in rural and inner-city communities. In many communities, NEA grants support free performances, as well as reduced ticket prices for those who cannot afford to buy a ticket. A significant percentage of grants benefit those who have fewer opportunities to participate in the arts. PROVIDES A HIGH RETURN ON INVESTMENT ● The ratio of private and other public funds matching every NEA grant dollar will approach 9:1, far surpassing the required non-federal match of at least 1:1. This generated more than $500 million in matching support and illustrates why federal support for the arts is uniquely valuable. ● The nonprofit arts industry supports 4.13 million jobs in the arts and related industries. The Bureau of Economic Analysis and the NEA together calculated the arts and culture sector’s contributions to the gross domestic product at 4.5%, which amounts to an impressive $878 billion. SUPPORTS PARTNERSHIPS ● The NEA funds school- and community-based programs that help children and youth acquire knowledge and skills in the arts. It also supports educational programs for adults, collaborations between state arts agencies and state education agencies, and partnerships between arts institutions and K-12 and college and university educators. ● The NEA supports military families through its Creative Forces program, a collaboration with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to serve the unique and special needs of military patients and Veterans diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and psychological health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This spring, Creative Forces initiative will announce a new grant program to fund arts-based programs, specifically for active military members, Veterans, and family/caregivers. Arts organizations across the country may apply. BACKGROUND The NEA’s FY 2021 budget is $167.5 million, just 0.004% of the federal budget and 49 cents per capita. Despite the Trump Administration repeatedly proposing termination, both chambers have consistently supported modest increases, reflecting steady and consistent bipartisan support over the last several years. Advocates hope to continue this trajectory, calling for a substantial increase of funds for FY22.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
RECOVERY NEEDS FOR THE CREATIVE ECONOMY FEDERAL INVESTMENTS IN THE CREATIVE AND CULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: ● Incentivize Businesses and Local/State Governments to Put Creative Workers to Work. ● Fund Creative Jobs, Fellowships, Residencies, and Commissions in Federal Departments. ● Invest in Arts in K-12, Higher, and Out-of-School Education for Recovery. ● Pass the WORK Now Act (S.740), which includes arts and culture organizations as eligible entities, alongside the broader nonprofit sector. TALKING POINTS ●
Incentivize Businesses and Local/State Governments to Put Creative Workers to Work ○ Support businesses in engaging creative minds and driving innovation through financial incentives to accelerate hiring and re-opening and capitalize efforts to re-open through low- and no-interest loans. ○ Incentivize local and state partners to commission free community engagement opportunities, help cultural venues adapt their facilities and digital platforms, and provide safe settings for family learning, performances, and wellness programs. ○ Support technical assistance and support for creative workers, community partners, and funding entities to ensure that the dollars flowing to local arts-based community development efforts have maximal and long-term impact. ○ Focus on organizations that are led by members of and/or based in Black, Indigenous, and communities of color and have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, the economic crisis, and historical inequities.
●
Fund Creative Jobs, Fellowships, Residencies, and Commissions in Federal Departments ○ Echoing the Works Progress Administration (WPA), provide funding to federal departments to employ and/or commission creative workers as artists-in-residence, community organizers, and teaching artists, and creative economy businesses to produce free and low-cost cultural experiences, with a specific focus on living-wage creative jobs. ○ Appropriate funds and direct federal departments to commission artists and community arts organizations to capture and document this unprecedented moment in our nation’s history through art works in the full range of artistic disciplines. In particular, expand the GSA Art in Architecture program to other federal infrastructure projects. ○ Employ artists and creative workers in residencies inside federal departments, drawing on existing models such as the National Parks Service Arts in Parks program and the AICAD/NOAA Fisheries Art + Science Fellowship, which embed artists in national infrastructure to improve public understanding of the environment. ○ Direct funds to support programs that engage creative workers to address community health issues; provide funding and guidelines for states, localities, and tribal governments to commission public health campaigns; integrate creative arts therapies into care; and support place-based programs to allow creatives entering the workforce to earn revenue with their creativity and reactivate local economies. ○ Complete implementation of, and fund, an ArtistCorps within AmeriCorps, beginning from existing authorizing language within the Serve America Act approved in the 111th Congress, to Arts Advocacy Day 2021
allow artists and creative workers to use their creative practice to heal communities, drive socialemotional learning, improve cultural competency and cohesion, address trauma, and inspire new thinking in communities. ●
Incentivizing investment in arts-based education and educators ○ Through federal funds distributions and guidelines, matching grants, forgivable loans, and other mechanisms, support arts education, arts-integrated teaching, place-based cultural practice, intergenerational education, oral history, and the preservation of folk traditions. ○ Create a temporary bridge program through the Department of Education to incentivize local and state decisionmakers to protect arts educators (art, music, theater, media arts, and dance teachers in all public schools) during difficult budgeting processes. ○ Commission, through the Department of Education, the development of teacher professional development on arts- and creativity-inclusive trauma-informed education practice and incentivize districts to have teachers participate by tying participation rates to stimulus and recovery funding levels. ○ Through the Department of Education, develop funding that can distribute via higher education to provide internship and fellowship stipends commensurate with the local prevailing minimum wage for students and recent graduates, including creative workforce students and graduates wishing to use their creative skills in the workforce. ○ Increase cross-agency support for workplace training; extended-learning opportunities; after school, weekend, and summer education; as well as creative youth development and provide federal leadership of arts education in equipping America’s students for the future.
BACKGROUND With 5.1 million arts and culture workers and over 675,000 small businesses generating $878 billion annually in every congressional district and local economy, the creative economy offers the best path to help revive America’s economy across our nation. Creative businesses are jobs multipliers, creating jobs at almost twice the national rate. The creative economy supports more U.S. jobs than the legal or public safety sectors and generates more in household income and tax revenue than agriculture and mining combined. Investment in the creative economy offers a strong return on investment in the wake of COVID-19. That is why 204 chambers of commerce in all 50 states have written to Congress supporting legislation that would fund the creative economy as part of recovery, mayors from 10 major cities have written a similar letter encouraging the employment of creative workers, and the Nonprofit Infrastructure Investment Advisory Group has centered this same Put Creative Workers to Work investment in the policy agenda they have shared with Congress. Paying artists and other creative workers for their contributions to the health, equity, and well-being of our communities rebuilds our economy. To thrive tomorrow, we must create a jobs ecosystem for creative workers today. A $20 billion investment in the creative economy would directly create or save 350,000 jobs; commission 300,000 new pieces of art; generate billions of dollars in local revenues through festivals, fairs, performances, and residencies; and help communities to process the trauma of COVID-19 and get back on their feet. Investing in the creative engine will accelerate the economic recovery of American communities. The Put Creative Workers to Work proposals above were arrived at by a consortium of over 100 partner creative organizations, and have been endorsed by over 2,300 creative businesses and creative workers in all 50 states. Arts Advocacy Day 2021
FUNDING THE ASSISTANCE FOR ARTS EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM AT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IMPROVING ACCESS TO ARTS EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: ● Appropriate $40 million for the Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) programs in the FY 2022 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. The AAE program is authorized under Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
TALKING POINTS ● Student learning is strengthened through standards-based arts education and integration of arts instruction into other subject areas supported by Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grants. Since the program’s inception, a total of 185 projects have been funded, including rigorous evaluation of arts education strategies that can impact schools and communities nationwide. ● Innovative models to improve instruction for arts specialists and classroom teachers are supported by Professional Development for Arts Educators (PDAE) grants. The PDAE grants program has supported over 100 projects that serve as national models for effective arts education professional development. ● The impact of these federal investments is multiplied by the program’s Evaluation and National Dissemination component. For example, in FY 2009, the program exceeded its performance measure in both mathematics and language arts. In math, 12% more students reached the achievement target goal in the grant program group than in the comparison group. In Language Arts/Reading, 54% more students in the grant program achieved the target goal than in the comparison group. State and local education agencies can adapt these models to provide rigorous arts instruction for all students. ● National level, high-quality arts education projects and programs for children and youth, with special emphasis on serving students from low-income families and students with disabilities, are supported by a National Program Competition. • A reduction below the current level of arts education funding would result in under-funding multi-year projects that are midstream. Grant awards support projects over the course of up to four years. Cuts to funding would place these projects in extreme jeopardy.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
TALKING POINTS (CONTINUED) The U.S. Department of Education provides grants through the AAE program to strengthen the arts as part of a well-rounded education. Arts education grants have served more than 230 congressional districts in 33 states, including these examples: ●
●
●
●
●
In Portland, Maine, Side x Side and its primary partner, the University of Southern Maine, was awarded a $2.5 million FY18 Model Development and Dissemination Grant to fund (Re)Imagining Education, a program designed to address achievement gaps among elementary school students in Portland and Lewiston. The program is focusing on helping teachers integrate the arts into the curriculum and assigning trained teaching artists as mentors as part of a “Master Teachers” program, with the goal of strengthening students' social-emotional skills in order to improve learning. In Long Beach, California, Dramatic Results was awarded a four-year FY18 Model Development and Dissemination Grant of $2.5 million to the organization’s Art of Building a City Ecosystem (ABC) program to support low-income, gifted, middle school students in the Long Beach Unified School District. Using theater techniques, Dramatic Results works to improve students’ math, art, and social-emotional skills. The ABC program is also providing 36 classroom teachers and 36 pre-service teachers with professional development that includes strategies for working with gifted students. Chicago’s SPARK, an arts education teacher professional development program, was awarded a fouryear FY18 Professional Development grant of $2.5 million to create a system and culture of collaboration among school leaders, teachers, art/education partners, teaching artists, and the larger school community. Led by the Opportunities for All organization and numerous community partners, the goal of SPARK is to increase teachers’ knowledge and instruction of professional arts education content and arts integration strategies. In Philadelphia, Drexel University’s MakeSPACE program was awarded a four-year FY18 Model Development and Dissemination Grant of $2.5 million designed to support four rural school districts in integrating the arts across classroom learning in order to improve the motivation, engagement, creative learning skills, and arts and academic achievement of their students. The MakeSPACE project is working to reach that goal by increasing rural educators’ capacity to integrate standards-based, high-quality arts learning into core academic areas, along with local cultural and artistic resources. The most recent National Program Competition awarded a three-year grant to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to provide arts education programs and resources focusing on pre-K–12. The programs and resources are in three areas: Teaching, Learning, and Partnerships; Performances for Young Audiences; and Career Development for Artistically Talented Young People.
BACKGROUND The Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) program at the U.S. Department of Education is authorized under Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and is a continuation of the programs previously authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as the “Arts in Education” program fund. ESSA recognizes the arts as essential to a “well-rounded” education. The arts education programs have received consistent bipartisan support from Congress year after year. In December 2020, the House and Senate approved an FY21 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill that recommended a $500,000 increase for the program to its current funding level of $30.5 million.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
EQUITABLE ACCESS TO ARTS EDUCATION HELPING CHILDREN ACHIEVE IN SCHOOL, WORK, AND LIFE ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: • Strengthen equitable access to arts education through the Well-Rounded Education provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ● Co-sponsor the “Arts Education for All” bill written by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). ● Fully fund ($1.6 billion) the Student Support & Academic Enrichment Grants under Title IV, Part A, to support Well-Rounded Education. ● Make explicit the eligibility under current law for the arts to be supported through Title I funds and through professional development opportunities for arts educators under Title II. ● Fully fund ($1.1 billion) the 21st Century Community Learning Centers after-school program. ● Fund the Assistance to Arts Education program at $40 million, as outlined in a separate issue brief. ● Include pre-K–12 arts education in the School and Staffing Survey, provide at least $4 million for the Institute of Education Science’ Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), and other data instruments, and restore and appropriately fund the arts in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including full and robust assessments in dance, theater, music, and visual arts. TALKING POINTS ● The arts and music are included as part of a “Well-Rounded Education” in federal law. This designation—alongside reading, math, science, and other subjects—is confirmation that the arts are essential to a complete education and belong in the main instructional day. Federal education funding (such as Title I, teacher training, and school improvement) is directed to support all aspects of a well-rounded education, including the arts. Federal administration of ESSA and pandemic relief funds to address learning loss must enable support for all Well-Rounded subjects. ● Before the pandemic there were huge, persistent disparities in access to arts education in the schools—now it’s likely worse. The 2009–2010 U.S. Department of Education’s Fast Response Statistical Survey—the most recent data collected at the federal level—found that schools with a higher concentration of students in poverty were less likely to offer arts education. In the 2010 National Art Education Foundationfunded study, NCLB: A Study of Its Impact on Art Education Programs, 67% of the arts educators surveyed reported that art schedules had been impacted by NCLB. A 2014 Indiana University research study indicates that elementary students from urban settings, rural areas, low-income households, and students of color do not share the same access to high quality music education as their white, suburban counterparts. As Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated in 2012, “This is absolutely an equity issue and a civil rights issue.” ● Students are returning to school increasingly in need of environments which support their social and emotional development. Research demonstrates that arts education has a multitude of benefits to support students’ emotional well-being and help students cope with social isolation and the rapidly changing reality. ● Students in our nation’s highest poverty schools have the least access to arts education. As part of its commitment to equity and justice, the White House, and Congress should affirm arts education as a right for all children and encourage state and local education authorities to use federal funding to provide arts education, as is authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. ● Title IV-A funds are making a difference. A non-scientific survey found more than $30 million of Title IV-A funds were helping increase access for students to music and arts education in 26 states. These Title IV-A funds need to be used for their authorized purpose to assure specific outcomes and support Well-Rounded Education activities and avoid transfers into other programs.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
TALKING POINTS (CONTINUED) ● Congress should fully fund the 21st Century Community Learning Centers at $1.1 billion, allowing after-school programs to fully embrace the arts as a learning opportunity for all students in and out of the traditional school day. ● The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) has removed the arts from the schedule of NAEP assessments. With little notice to the arts education community, or to Congress, the arts, along with economics, geography, and foreign languages, were removed from the 10-year calendar of assessments beginning in 2020. The NAEP measures what students are learning in the arts and is the only nationally recognized assessment in the arts outside of limited Advanced Placement assessments and needs to be continued. The 2014 National Core Arts Standards can serve as a foundation for creating reliable measures of what children know and are able to do in dance, media arts, music, theater, and visual arts. Since their release, 38 states have adopted or adapted the Core Standards. ● A review of the ESSA state accountability plans found that 19 states address access and participation rates in the arts as part of their state accountability reporting systems. To ensure equitable access, all state accountability plans should annually document and publicly report the status and condition of arts education and other subjects. These state longitudinal data systems should include the number and range of course offerings, student enrollment in each subject, pupil/teacher ratios, amount of instructional time, budget allocation, subject teacher certification, full-time equivalent teacher employment, and other measures chosen by the state and significant in the subject area. ● The arts are a key component to successful early childhood programs. Federal policy includes use of the Creative Arts Expression framework of evidence-based research as central to the implementation of early childhood education programs. Similarly, ESSA implementation of Title IX should keep the arts in the definition of “Essential Domains of School Readiness” for pre-school grants. ● Arts education nurtures the creation of a welcoming school environment where students can express themselves in a safe and positive way. Celebrating the ability to come together as educators and students is vital to creating a healthy and inclusive school community. The arts, through a rich partnership among certified arts educators, teaching artists, and community arts providers, play a valuable role in helping students and their families build and sustain community and cultural connections. BACKGROUND While the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 listed the arts as a core academic subject, that term was discontinued in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. The new law lists the arts and music—alongside reading, math, and a host of other subjects—in the federal definition of a Well-Rounded Education. Senate report language described the arts as “dance, media arts, music, theater, and visual arts, and other arts disciplines as determined by the State or local educational agency.” The U.S. Department of Education and state departments of education administer ESSA through federal regulations and state accountability plans. Catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arts ARE Education campaign at the national, state, and local level calls on policy makers to recognize arts education is a key to reigniting students’ learning in a post-COVID-19 world. The campaign centers on points such as: arts education helps nurture healthy, inclusive communities where all points of view are respected and help students understand their own cultural roots and appreciate others’ cultural roots and traditions; arts education supports the social and emotional well-being of students. Following this issue brief is a paper titled Arts Education: Creating Student Success in School, Work, and Life to communicate the benefits of arts education to all policymakers as ESSA’s promise is realized across 50 states.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
ARTS EDUCATION Creating Student Success in School, Work, and Life March 2021 A child’s education is not complete unless it includes the arts. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the current iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), lists the arts and music in a definition of a "well-rounded education," including all arts disciplines (dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts) as subject areas eligible for Title I and Title IV funds and other federal resources administered by state and local education agencies. A comprehensive strategy for a complete education includes rigorous, sequential, standards-based arts K-12 instruction in the classroom, arts integration programs, as well as participation and learning in community-based arts programs. The federal commitment to arts education must be affirmed at the state and local level so that the arts are part of the well-rounded curriculum of our nation's schools and are an integral part of every child's development. THE ARTS CAN TRANSFORM THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ● When schools embrace the arts, they can become vibrant and successful centers of learning and community life. 1 ● The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing teacher shortages, especially in high-need fields and high-need schools2. Involvement in arts -focused professional development results in teachers who are more enthusiastic and confident about teaching, feel more connected to their teacher peer group, and have higher attendance rates. 3 ● A study by the Arts Education Partnership, Third Space: When Learning Matters, finds that schools with large populations of students in economic poverty—too often places of frustration and failure for both students and teachers—can be transformed into vibrant hubs of learning when the arts are infused into their culture and curriculum. 4 ● Teacher turnover within five years is 46% and recent data shows that fewer college students are pursuing teaching careers. 5 Having the arts in schools has been found to improve teacher morale, satisfaction, and attendance by fostering havens for creativity and innovation—places where students want to learn and teachers want to teach. 6 ARTS EDUCATION CAN HELP CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP ● Studies have found that high school students from under-resourced environments who are highly involved in the arts have better grades, are less likely to drop out, and are more likely to go on to college.7 ● The arts play a unique role in boosting learning and achievement for young children, middle school students, students with disabilities, students from under-resourced environments, and students needing remedial instruction. 8 ● The College Board's National Task Force on the Arts in Education recommends that “greater access to arts education can serve as an effective tool in closing the achievement gap, increasing the number of underserved students that achieve at the highest level in education.”9 1
Stevenson, L. M. & Deasy, R. J. (2005). Third Space: When Learning Matters. Washington, D.C.: Arts Education Partnership. (pp. 10-11). Carver-Thomas, D., Leung M., Burns D., Learning Policy Institute, “California Teachers and COVID-19” Mar. 4, 2021. 3 Lamont (2010), Barry (2010), Burnaford (2009), Arts Education Partnership, ArtsEdSearch 4 Stevenson, L. M. & Deasy, R. J. (2005). Third Space: When Learning Matters. Washington, D.C.: Arts Education Partnership. (pp. 10-11). 5 Aragon, S. (2016). Teacher Shortages: What We Know (pp. 2-3). 6 Barry, N.H. (2010). Oklahoma A+ Schools: What the research tells us 2002-2007. Volume 3, quantitative measures. 7 Catterall, J.S., Dumais, S.A., & Hampden-Thompson, G. (2012). The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies. Washington, D.C.: National Endowment for the Arts. 8 Horowitz, R. & Webb-Dempsey, J. (2003). Promising signs of positive effects: Lessons from the multi-arts studies.Catterall, J.S and Arenge G. (2016) JumpStart Theatre: Impacts in Three Middle Schools (p. 25-34). In R. J. Deasy (Ed). Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development. Washington, D.C.: Arts Education Partnership. (p. 98-100). Mason, C.Y., Thormann, M.S., & Steedley, K. M. (2004). How Students with Disabilities Learn in and through the Arts. Washington, D.C.: VSAarts. (p. 19-25). 9 The College Board. (2009). Arts at the Core: Recommendations for Advancing the State of Arts Education in the 21st Century. (p.11). 2
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
● ● ●
The U.S. Department of Education’s ten-year review of Arts in Education–funded programs finds that “students in arts programming had better attendance, fewer disciplinary issues and improved on-task behavior relative to comparison students.” 10 The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards’ document, A Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning, states that artistic literacy is critical to a child’s comprehensive education “in our increasingly multimedia age, where information is communicated less through numeracy and the written word.”11 Neuroscientists, trauma therapists and other health professionals recognize that children who have experienced trauma struggle to develop self-regulation, executive function, and other characteristics that define effective learners. Arts education and arts therapy are crucial tools for helping children recover from trauma so that they come to school ready to learn. 12
THE ARTS PREPARE STUDENTS FOR SCHOOL, WORK, AND LIFE ● As this country works to strengthen our place in the 21st century global economy, the arts equip students with a creative, competitive edge. The arts provide the skills and knowledge students need to develop the creativity and determination necessary for success. ● The arts teach children the skills necessary to succeed in life, including learning to solve problems and make decisions, learning to think creatively, building self-esteem and self-discipline, articulating a vision, developing the ability to imagine what might be, and accepting responsibility to complete tasks from start to finish. ● Multiple research studies suggest the arts play a critical role in preparing students for work and life. 13 A comprehensive arts education fosters the creativity and innovation needed for a competitive workforce. ARTS EDUCATION MUST BE PROVIDED TO ALL STUDENTS ● The 2009–10 U.S. Department of Education Fast Response Statistical Survey (FRSS) found that schools with a higher concentration of students in poverty were less likely to offer arts education. 14 The results of the study were alarming enough to prompt the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to declare the status of arts education “an equity issue and a civil rights issue.” The 2016 NAEP Arts Assessment similarly found that 13% of students attend schools that offer music classes less than once a week or not at all and 21% of students attend schools that offer visual arts classes less than once a week or not at all. 15 ● A 2011 national survey of 1,001 3rd to 12th grade public school teachers found that, “according to most teachers, schools are narrowing the curriculum, shifting instructional time and resources toward math and language arts and away from subjects such as [visual] art, music, foreign language, and social studies. Two-thirds (66%) say that other subjects ‘get crowded out by extra attention being paid to math or language arts.’”16 ● Parents, educators, policy leaders, and the public should have full access to information about the availability of arts education in our nation’s schools and ESSA requires states to provide accountability data in state report cards at the school and district level. Federal and state governments should collect data on a more frequent and complete basis. Statewide longitudinal data collection efforts should include all well-rounded subjects, including the arts, as stated in a recommendation by the Education Commission of the States. 17 The 15 states that publish enrollment data for arts courses are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. An additional 29 states likely collect the data but don't report on them. 18 10
U.S. Dept. of Education. Progress and Promise: 10 Years of the Arts Education Model Development & Dissemination Program. (p. 13). National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (2012). A Conceptual Framework (p. 17). 12 Psychology Today “What Is Developmental Trauma?” August 15, 2018. 13 Arts Education Partnership ArtsEdSearch database. www.artsedsearch.org. 14 Parsad, Basmat & Spiegelman, Maura.(2012).Arts Education in Public Elem. & Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 & 2009-10. (p.14 & 28). 15 U.S. Dept. of Education, Institute of Education Sciences,National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2016 Arts Assessment. 16 Common Core. (2012). Learning Less: Public School Teachers Describe a Narrowing Curriculum. (p.1). 17 Education Commission of the States publication, “Using State Data Systems to Create An Information Culture in Education” April 15, 2019. 18 Education Commission of the States, Arts Education Data Collection and Reporting, 50 State Comparison April 2019 11
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
NONPROFIT CHARITABLE GIVING POLICY ENCOURAGING CHARITABLE GIVING AND SUPPORTING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE ARTS ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: ● Enact S. 618/H.R. 1704 to expand and extend the universal charitable deduction that encourages all taxpayers to give more during these challenging times and as the nation recovers and rebuilds. ● Support further policies that will strengthen the nonprofit arts community by passing the Legacy IRA Act (S. 243). TALKING POINTS ●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Nonprofit arts organizations are an essential part of the broader community of approximately 1.6 million nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, working alongside hospitals, educational institutions, food assistance programs, and the full array of charitable organizations. In recognition of their benefit to the public good, contributions made to 501(c)(3) nonprofits have been tax-deductible since 1917. Tax policy changes directly impact nonprofit services and U.S. jobs. With essential support from charitable donations, the nonprofit sector boosts local economies and employs roughly 10% of America’s workforce. The nonprofit sector contributes more than $1 trillion in services every year and supports 11.4 million jobs. Ticket sales and admission fees alone do not come close to subsidizing the artistic presentations, educational offerings, and community-based programming of nonprofit arts organizations. Before the onset of the pandemic, approximately 40% of financial support for nonprofit performing arts organizations is derived from charitable giving. The nonprofit arts sector relies on charitable gifts from donors across the economic spectrum. Donations of all sizes add up to an essential investment that enables nonprofit arts organizations to respond to public needs and form community partnerships through education, artistry, economic development, and social service programs. Under comprehensive tax reform legislation enacted in 2017, incentives for charitable giving were reduced, and taxpayers claiming the charitable deduction declined. The drop in the number of taxpayers eligible to claim the charitable deduction accelerated an already troubling trend of fewer Americans making charitable donations. While the initial charitable impulse to give comes “from the heart,” history has shown that tax law impacts what, when, and how much donors give. In the March 2020 CARES Act, Congress enacted a $300 charitable deduction for cash gifts from all taxpayers for 2020, whether or not they itemize their returns. Since then, the amount of charitable giving—especially of gifts less than the $300 cap—has seen a significant increase. This Universal Charitable Deduction was extended through 2021 and the cap was raised to $600 for joint filers. Congress can support increased charitable giving by expanding and extending the Universal Charitable Deduction. Giving can further grow by building on the success of the IRA Charitable Rollover provision. The IRA Charitable Rollover provision allows individuals to make direct tax-free charitable gifts up to $100,000 from their IRA starting at age 70 ½. The Legacy IRA Act would allow seniors starting at age 65 to make tax-free IRA rollovers to charities through charitable gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts. Arts Advocacy Day 2021
● ●
Donated works of art are critical to building and maintaining collections at our nation’s art institutions. Deductions for gifts of property worth over $5,000 require an independent appraisal to ensure proper valuation. The nonprofit sector is committed to high standards of governance and accountability and should be protected from unnecessary requirements that divert resources from essential nonprofit services. As further tax policies are crafted, Congress must ensure that provisions related to nonprofit administration and reporting requirements do not inhibit service to communities.
BACKGROUND Reaching the Full Potential of the Charitable Deduction While the comprehensive tax reform law enacted in 2017 preserves the charitable deduction for those who itemize their tax returns, the number of itemizers fell dramatically as the standard deduction was nearly doubled under tax reform. Nonprofit arts organizations, along with the broader nonprofit and philanthropic communities, have joined together in urging Congress to reinstate and expand tax incentives for charitable giving by creating a universal charitable deduction, available to those who do not itemize their tax returns. The Center for Civil Society Studies at John Hopkins University estimates around 930,000 jobs—7.3% of the charitable sector workforce—were lost in 2020, underscoring how difficult the year was for the philanthropic sector. Congress can help alleviate some of the difficulties the sector is facing by enacting the Universal Giving Pandemic Response and Recovery Act (S. 618/H.R. 1704) led by a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers, including Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Coons (D-DE), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tim Scott (R-SC), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Reps. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN). The legislation would raise the $300/$600 cap to roughly $4,000 for individuals/$8,000 for couples, extend the availability of the deduction to the 2022 tax year and eliminate the current exclusion of gifts to donor-advised funds, helping to spur even more giving as communities continue to fight and recover from COVID-19 and its economic effects. Growing Giving Through the Legacy IRA Act The bipartisan Legacy IRA Act (S. 243), introduced by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (DMI), would expand the IRA Charitable Rollover to allow seniors aged 65 and older to make tax-free distributions to charities through life-income plans. This would provide a guaranteed income for the senior for life and supports charities without negatively affecting federal tax payments since the senior’s annual retirement income from the life-income plan is fully taxed. Congress can easily increase charitable giving from middleincome seniors by passing the Legacy IRA bill.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
TAX FAIRNESS FOR ARTISTS AND WRITERS STRENGTHENING THE CREATIVE SECTOR AND PROVIDING PUBLIC ACCESS TO AMERICA’S ARTISTIC HERITAGE ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: ● Enact the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, which would allow artists to deduct the fair market value of their work when they donate it to charitable collecting institutions. ● Update the qualified performing artist tax deduction by supporting the bipartisan Performing Artists Tax Parity Act and reinstate deductions for unreimbursed employee business expenses. ● Pass the Help Independent Track Succeed (HITS) Act to harmonize the tax treatment of music production with other existing tax provisions and incentivize the creation of independent music. TALKING POINTS Fair Market Deduction for Artists’ Donations ● Most museums, libraries, and archives acquire new works primarily through donations. However, artists, writers, choreographers, and composers—unlike collectors—have no financial incentive to donate their works because they cannot claim a tax deduction for the work’s fair market value. Rather, they can deduct only the value of materials, such as paint and canvas, or paper and pen. As a result, works of local, regional, and national significance are sold into private hands and may never come into the public domain. ● If more works of contemporary, living artists were available to the public, emerging artists, visual artists, performers, scholars, and the public at large would benefit from this access and draw inspiration from these current pieces. Collectively, these works constitute an important part of America’s heritage. The majority of museums, particularly those in rural and smaller communities, lack resources for acquisitions, creating inequitable access to significant additions to their collections. The Artist-Museum Partnership Act would encourage artists and creators to donate work to a broader range of institutions, not just to the most notable museums. ● When Congress disallowed the artist deduction in 1969, the effect was immediate and drastic: artist donations to some museums declined by more than 90%. ● The Artist-Museum Partnership Act would allow creators of original works to deduct the fair market value of self-created works given to and retained by a nonprofit institution. 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. ● Collectors have the right to deduct the fair market value of gifts that they donate. The creators of those works should have the same right when they donate their works. It is only fair. Furthermore, when artists die, works of art in their estate are taxable at their fair market value. Tax Deductions for Artists’ Expenses ● Tax reform signed into law in 2017 (P.L. 115-97) preserved the long-standing “above the line” tax deduction for job-related expenses of performing artists who work for two or more employers and have related expenses that are more than 10% of their performing arts income. Although the income cap of $16,000 is grossly out-of-date (dating to 1986 and never adjusted for inflation), this provision helps some artists pursue their passion to the benefit of audiences everywhere. ● On June 5, 2019, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) introduced HR 3121, the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act of 2019, which would raise the income ceiling to $100,000 for individual filers and $200,000 for joint filers. This bill is expected to be reintroduced soon. Arts Advocacy Day 2021
●
Across occupations, P.L. 115-97 eliminated the opportunity to deduct unreimbursed employee business expenses that exceed 2% of adjusted gross income. For artists who are employees, this means that the costs of supplies, instruments, professional dues, and other expenses essential to employment are no longer tax-deductible. This deduction should be reinstated.
HITS Act ● Under §181 of the Internal Revenue Code, qualified film or television productions may elect to fully deduct the cost of production, up to $15 million. Music production is not given the same treatment under the tax code. Instead of being able to fully deduct production expenses in the year they occur, independent recording artists amortize production expenses for tax purposes over the full economic life of a sound recording. ● The HITS Act will let independent artists deduct 100% of their production expenses for records created in the United States, up to $150,000, in the year expenses are incurred, in the same way that qualified film and television production costs are expensed. BACKGROUND The arts community seeks support for provisions that would strengthen the creative sector in any upcoming tax policy considered by Congress. The Artist-Museum Partnership Act is a proposal that has been repeatedly introduced in Congress for over 15 years to correct an inequity for artists that also harms public access to living artists’ works of art. For many years, artists, writers, and composers were allowed to take a fair market value deduction for their works donated to a museum, library, or archive. In 1969, however, Congress changed the law, and as a result the number of works donated by artists dramatically declined. The effect of this legislation was immediate and drastic. As just one example, the Museum of Modern Art in New York received 321 gifts from artists in the three years prior to 1969; in the three following years, the museum received 28 works of art from artists—a decrease of more than 90%. The Senate has passed artists deduction legislation five times in previous years, but the bills have not been reviewed by the House.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
THE ARTS AND JUVENILE JUSTICE ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: ● Appropriate $96 million for Title V Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Incentive Grants at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). ● Include report language directing OJJDP to incorporate the arts in its prevention, diversion, reentry, and residential juvenile justice grant programs. ● Instruct OJJDP to engage arts organizations that focus on racial justice and equity, and demonstrated experience working with youth who have been, or are at risk of, exposure to the juvenile justice system/trauma. TALKING POINTS ● Federal investment in the arts in juvenile justice prevention and intervention programs will: ○ Support state and local efforts to invest in public-private partnerships between community-based arts organizations, law enforcement, and probation and parole offices. ○ Establish national benchmarks and metrics for evaluation of local and state juvenile justice systems utilizing the arts. ○ Build the evidentiary base of promising and effective art-based and art therapy practices and model programs. Examples of successful programs include: ARTS Engage! in Scranton, Pennsylvania; Writing Our Stories in Montgomery, Alabama; and NeON Arts in Queens, New York. ○ Embrace a family-focused intervention model that includes health, education, housing, and employment guided by the arts and supported by Restorative Justice Principles and Practices and the National Center for Juvenile Justice Reform “credible messenger” strategy. ● Youth impacted by the juvenile justice system face unique challenges that limit their ability to complete their education goals: o 43,000 youth, largely students of color and disproportionately male, are in residential placement facilities on any given day. o More than two-thirds of confined youth share aspirations to continue their education, with nearly half wanting to pursue postsecondary education. o Youth involved in the juvenile justice system face disruption in their academic trajectory that often prevents a student from continuing their education upon reentry; 66% of youths do not return to school after leaving placement. ● The arts are effective in improving the economic, social, and mental health outcomes for youth at risk or involved with juvenile justice systems. o The Arts Education Partnership October 2020 report, Expanding the Arts Across the Juvenile Justice System, cited three key strategies for effective programming: opportunities for youth to tell their stories through their artwork; alternative facility and educator delivery of arts-based activities that embed the arts as a core aspect of their education; and community buy-in and resources to ensure that youth continue to have access to arts programs as they transition back to home. o The arts provide opportunities for youth to build self-efficacy and achieve personal goals by developing ownership of their learning, determine individual criteria for success, and track personal progress. o The arts have a robust history of research and practice demonstrating their effectiveness in improving outcomes for justice-involved youth to reduce trauma and risk factors. In 2016, OJJDP and NEA published a joint literature review that highlights promising arts-based and art therapy practices. o According to the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) longitudinal study, The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth, students who have access to the arts in or out of school tend to have better academic results, better workforce opportunities, higher career goals, and more civic engagement.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
●
Advance promising and evidence-based juvenile justice prevention programs now to remedy the years-long economic harm and personal trauma wrought by COVID-19. o The confluence of COVID’s dual crises—health and economic—has devastated communities nationwide, particularly low-income, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx populations that are already disproportionately represented in juvenile justice systems. o The Great Recession demonstrated that during severe economic downturns, states and local institutions must rethink their juvenile justice protocols, making better use of prevention, restorative, and rehabilitative programs. The arts can offer new and promising alternatives to incarceration. o Art therapy and art-based programs provide positive pathways for youth’s socio-emotional development after experiencing trauma. o Youth and young people have also been exposed to trauma due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruptions of regular life, and the hundreds of thousands of deaths of caretakers and family members. ● The arts play a consistent and outsized role in improving outcomes throughout the entire juvenile justice system. ○ From prevention-and-diversion to secure facilities, reentry, probation, and parole, there are effective and promising arts programs throughout the country that are improving the outcomes for youth and young people. ● Federal support is needed to expand these proven models and practices nationwide: o From prevention and intervention programs to transition, healing, and restoration, quality arts programs improve outcomes. o National grassroots networks such as Create Justice, Creative Youth Development National Partnership, Justice Arts Coalition, Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network, and Art for Justice Fund represent a diverse range of artists, cultural organizations, and justice professionals interested in and highly qualified to activate innovative and promising programs. BACKGROUND In FY 2021, Congress included instructions to the federal OJJDP to explore the use of the arts in its juvenile justice programming, with input from arts stakeholders and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Additionally, Congress included new funding and programmatic flexibility, which may include the arts, for Title V Delinquency Prevention Grants. Advocacy is needed to ensure Congress includes comparable funding and instructions to OJJDP in FY22. In any given year, an estimated 2.1 million youth under the age of 18 are arrested in the United States, and approximately 1.7 million delinquency cases are resolved in juvenile courts annually. According to the National Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, nearly 90% of youth entering the juvenile justice system in this country are estimated to have experienced some type of trauma. A multisystem effort is required to ensure our nation’s children avoid the justice system and are empowered to live safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives. The arts are an effective tool for working collaboratively across sectors to achieve positive outcomes for youth. There are many points of possible engagement with the arts across the entire juvenile justice system, ranging from prevention to high-quality arts education for youth in state secure facilities to the use of arts programs as an alternative to sentencing and to support successful re-entry into communities. OJJDP and NEA have a history of meaningful arts and justice collaborations, including the 1995 YouthArts Development Project, the publication of a 2002 Guide to Promising Practices in Arts Programs for Juvenile Offenders in Detention and Corrections, and the 2016 literature review. NEA’s national Shakespeare in American Communities program, which brings educational programs to thousands of underserved middle and high school students each year, now includes a dedicated grant opportunity for theater professionals to engage youth in the juvenile justice system. We urge further OJJDP/NEA collaboration and the exploration of other interagency collaborations, such as through the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (IWGYP) or the Interagency Task Force on the Arts and Human Development, to identify and disseminate promising and effective cross-sector strategies. In addition to research, in recent years there has been a dramatic expansion of interest in local arts programs serving justiceinvolved youth. The Arts Education Partnership at Education Commission of the States, with support from the NEA and the U.S. Department of Education, recently published a report in 2020 on opportunities for the arts in juvenile justice at the community, state, and federal levels. This report will be shared with Congress, as well as arts and juvenile justice stakeholders, and will cite specific examples of high-quality arts programs working across the entire juvenile justice continuum.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
Institute of Museum and Library Services: Office of Museum Services Funding ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: ● Provide $80 million in fiscal year (FY) 2022 for the IMLS Office of Museum Services (IMLS), an increase of nearly $40 million. ● Include in this increase $2.5 million to fund projects and to explore establishing a road map to strengthen the structural support for a museum Grants to States program to be administered by the Office of Museum Services (OMS), as authorized by the Museum and Library Services Act, 20 U.S.C. Section 9173(a)(4), in addition to the agency’s current direct grants to museums. ● Include legislative report language acknowledging the authority of OMS to allow grants to be used for general operating support and provide the Director of IMLS with the statutory authority to waive OMS matching requirements for FY 2022. BACKGROUND IMLS is the primary federal agency responsible for helping museums connect people to information and ideas. Its Office of Museum Services (OMS) awards grants to museums to support educating students, preserving and digitizing collections, and engaging communities. Grants are awarded in every state, but current funding has allowed the agency to fund only a small fraction of the highly rated grant applications it receives. OMS has provided critical leadership to the museum community through its administering of CARES Act grants for museums and by providing science-based information and recommended practices to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to staff and visitors engaging in the delivery of museum services. In 2020, IMLS awarded $13.8 million in CARES Act grants to 68 museums and libraries to support their response to the coronavirus pandemic. IMLS received 1088 applications from museums but was only able to fund 39 awards, or 4%, for a total of $8.28 million far below the $261.5 million requested. Congress has regularly reauthorized IMLS with broad bipartisan support, most recently in 2018. OMS has set a strong record of congressional support during the appropriations submission process in each of the last eight years, with 198 Representatives and 41 Senators signing the FY 2021 appropriations letters on its behalf. IMLS received $257 million in FY 2021 appropriations, of which $40.5 million went to OMS
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
BOOSTING THE CREATIVE ECONOMY SUPPORTING ARTISTS, ENTREPRENEURS, AND SMALL BUSINESS ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: ● Support legislation to invest in the country’s creative economy and promote economic inclusion; to recognize artists, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit arts organizations as contributors to the small business community; improve and revitalize rural, remote, and underserved areas; and support the creative economy through federal programs and actions. ● Direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) and other agencies to ensure that existing economic development programs and tools encompass the creative economy, supporting the range of business types included in this industry. ● Ensure inclusion of creative fields in vocational education and training supports. ● Increase comprehensive measurement of the impact of the creative economy on the overall U.S. economy with coordination among the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, including updating NAICS Code classification system to better reflect the 21st century creative economy. TALKING POINTS: DATA ON THE CREATIVE ECONOMY The creative economy is anchored by non-employer businesses (entrepreneurs) which are 75% of all businesses and include a high percentage of women- and minority-owned businesses as well as the vast majority of independent artists. Serving these businesses is a matter of equity and advancing the overall economy. Numerous economic studies have identified the importance and impact of the creative economy on the nation’s overall economy. A pre-COVID-19 annual Bureau of Economic Analysis study demonstrated that arts and culture production contributed $878 billion to the U.S. economy (4.5% of GDP), a 3.6% increase over the prior year. The Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA) is the only federal study to provide in-depth analysis of the creative sector's contributions to the economy. Additional sector studies include the Americans for the Arts’ Arts and Economic Prosperity Study and Creative Industries reports, as well as more recent studies on the impact of COVID-19 on the creative economy, such as Lost Art: Measuring COVID-19’s devastating impact on America’s creative economy from the Brookings Institute. TALKING POINTS: DIRECT THE SBA & OTHER AGENCIES TO SUPPORT THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ●
● ●
Expand programs at the SBA to increase micro-loans, business loans, and technical assistance for artists and other creative businesses. Continue to make the SBA more responsive to the needs of nonemployer businesses and businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Serving these businesses is a matter of equity and advancing the overall economy. Require the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Administration to ensure that traditional economic development tools, such as incubators and grant programs, support the creative economy throughout the country. Allow creative economy businesses to partake in the existing New Market Tax Credit. Arts Advocacy Day 2021
●
Ensure arts-based community development and creative placemaking is directly supported in the Community Reinvestment Act.
TALKING POINTS: VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ● ●
Establish Creative Economy Apprenticeship Grants under the Department of Education to help teach the future creative economy workforce. This was a provision in the previously introduced PLACE Act (2020) and would ensure access to these growing fields by a greater portion of the U.S. populace. Ensure arts and design provisions of the Perkins Career & Technical Education Act are implemented. Congress should ensure that the implementation of the 2018 Carl D. Perkins Act provision that calls for school districts to provide detailed information on defined areas of a well-rounded education— including the arts—are fully integrated into their career and technical education programs and reportable in their annual application and reporting data to the U.S. Department of Education.
TALKING POINTS: COMPREHENSIVE MEASUREMENT & NAICS CODE UPDATES ● ●
●
In concert with national experts, create a consistent definition of the creative economy for federal agency data collection and analysis. This should coordinate with updated NAICS Code classifications and Bureau of Labor Statistics classifications of 21st century creative industries. Mandate the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, Internal Revenue Service, and Small Business Administration collect data and issue annual reports to facilitate a better understanding of the roles of self-employment, contract work, freelance work, and multiple employment conditions and the impacts on workers, families, and the economy. Request the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) measure the economic impact of the creative fields on medical care, medical education, public health, and the design of health care institutions.
BACKGROUND The creative economy encompasses multiple business structures, from nonprofit to commercial, large corporations to small businesses and non-employer businesses, often challenging the creation of federal policy that supports and stimulates its contributions to the national economy. Arts and culture workers are not only artists, but also designers, technicians, security staff, art handlers, event planners, administrators, therapists, educators, and entrepreneurs. There are between 5.1 million and 8.8 million jobs in the creative economy. Additionally, creative occupations across industry types employ 7.6 million people, and arts workers are more than three times as likely as the general workforce to be self-employed. There are two bills to improve support for the creative economy, both of which are being prepared for reintroduction in the 117th Congress. The CREATE Act: The Comprehensive Resources for Entrepreneurs in the Arts to Transform the Economy Act is written to strengthen federal support for our nation’s creative economy. It was introduced last session by (retired) Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI). The bill included provisions directing the EDA and Rural Development Administration to ensure that traditional economic development tools, such as incubators and grant programs, support the arts industry. The second bill, the PLACE Act: The Promoting Local Arts and Creative Economy Workforce Act, introduced by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) in January 2020 and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), is a bill that included 11 provisions, some similar to the CREATE Act, and others further expanding the federal government support of the creative economy workforce specifically. Arts Advocacy Day 2021
ARTS AND CULTURE: DISASTER RESPONSE AND RECOVERY IMPROVING SUPPORT FOR CREATIVE WORKERS AND EMPLOYING THEIR SKILLS ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: • Improve the support for creative workers after disasters by making permanent reforms enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic affecting self-employed workers, nonemployer businesses, and low employer businesses. • Build resilience in the “gig economy” by directing the Small Business Administration, the Department of Labor, FEMA, and other federal agencies to create resilience and disaster recovery programs responsive to the needs of creative workers, single-person (nonemployer) businesses, and businesses with under 20 employees. • Take steps to enable FEMA to fully-integrate the arts and culture sector into disaster planning, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts. TALKING POINTS • Make permanent low interest/forgivable disaster recovery loans. Calculate loans to nonemployer businesses based on Gross Business Income rather than payroll or Net Profit (or loss). • Reform the antiquated unemployment compensation/insurance system to be responsive to needs of a changing workforce. o Make permanent federal add-ons to Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) to enable workers to support their families while they recover their livelihoods. o Make permanent DUA for workers suffering secondary economic impact such as loss of markets and venues. o Assure equitable compensation for “mixed earners” by basing compensation on the total of all income sources. o Build a better safety net for self-employed workers by allowing them to buy into an insurance program to provide sick leave, family leave, and other programs that are commonly available to other workers, to support the needs of the growing “gig economy.” • Make permanent the recognition that the timely return to work and reestablishment of income is a critical need for self-employed workers impacted by disaster by enabling FEMA to make Other Needs Assistance (ONA) grants for tool replacement and repair and exempting that assistance from means testing. • Incentivize the integration of arts organizations, artists and other cultural workers in our national emergency management system managed by FEMA by including them in the definition of “cultural resources;” enabling them to leverage their specialized skills utilizing the arts in the recovery of individuals and communities within the Emergency and Recovery Support Function frameworks, FEMA Corps, and in other appropriate ways; and include the arts and culture sector in the planning of our disaster management system architecture. o Integrate arts into FEMA’s Emergency and Recovery Support Functions. o Name National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response (NCAPER) as a Support Organization. o Fund dedicated emergency-focused employees at NEA and HENTF. • In all the above, ensure that principles of economic inclusion, equity, and the utilization of local artists are guaranteed.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
BACKGROUND Arts and culture have long played a critical role in community recovery after disasters. Projects initiated by individual artists, arts organizations, and public agencies have reinforced pride in the community, created a much-needed respite from stress, helped families cope with loss, and signaled a return to normalcy. While the value of this work has often been recognized, it would be assured and strengthened by codification in the federal disaster recovery infrastructure; by participation of the arts and culture sector, including individual artists, in disaster planning; through federal support of key enabling measures; and through recognition of the vulnerabilities and recovery needs of individual artists, other cultural workers, and arts organizations in all disciplines. As we plan pandemic recovery programs, it is critical to consider how they can contribute to our longterm resiliency both nationally and within the arts sector. Resiliency demands an assessment of how our disaster recovery system can be more responsive, inclusive, and effective for the full range of disasters, across all segments of our society. This is a unique opportunity to formalize and facilitate the participation of the arts in the disaster planning and recovery process, and to begin building the infrastructure to accomplish that goal. As a disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic has been unique among those in living memory in scale and scope—affecting virtually every person on Earth in some way. Yet, during this unprecedented disaster, “normal” natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change, have continued with increasing frequency and intensity. Unlike most disasters, the pandemic has commanded an unprecedented and sustained level of public attention and governmental action. It has exacerbated long standing issues of lack of readiness and resilience, and exposed shortcomings and inequities in our emergency response, relief, and recovery structures. There have also been new and successful recovery strategies that should be made permanent and/or built upon. The arts and culture sector is among the segments of our economy hardest hit by the pandemic. Before the pandemic, this vital sector contributed $878 billion to the economy annually or 4.5% of the GDP. Performing arts venues, museums, and galleries were closed, arts festivals and craft fairs were cancelled, resulting in the loss of jobs and halting income to individual artists who are 3.5 times more likely to be self-employed than other U.S. workers. Small Business Support. As forgivable loan programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) were rolled out, many of these self-employed artists’ businesses were passed over because those programs were based on size of payroll and most artists work either alone or with very few employees. Only in March of 2021 were PPP loan calculations modified to benefit the single person businesses which constitute 75% of all the businesses in America, including the majority of minority and women-owned businesses. The inclusion of selfemployed workers and the federal add-ons to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) was one of the few bright spots in pandemic relief for these workers. While PUA did not provide any assistance for covering fixed business expenses like rent, utilities, and insurance it was a vast improvement over previously available Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). We urge Congress to enact changes that will build upon lessons learned in the pandemic to improve disaster response and relief to this sector, especially the many self-employed workers that exemplify the “gig economy,” improve resilience within the creative economy, and to take actions that will enable artists and arts organizations to more effectively bring their skills to bear on the recovery of their communities after disasters.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
CULTURAL EXCHANGES THROUGH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE STRENGTHENING TIES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE WORLD ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: • Appropriate $115 million to the Office of Citizen Exchanges within the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the FY 2021 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill. • Direct the State Department to dedicate increased resources to, and increase operational capacity within, the Cultural Programs Division to strengthen its ability to oversee grants and programs. Despite increases overall for the Office of Citizen Exchanges—the Cultural Programs Department is funded at lower levels now than five years ago, including competitively awarded programs and those run by the State Department. • Encourage the State Department to evaluate and publicly report on the impact, value, and success of arts diplomacy as part of its strategies to build cross-cultural understanding. Office of Citizen Exchanges Annual Appropriations, FY 2010 to present (in millions of dollars)* FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15 FY 16 FY 17 FY18 FY19 FY20 $102 $95.4 $99.4 $96 $101 $100 $102 $111.4 $111.4 $111.86 $111.86 *These amounts represent the total funding for the Office of Citizen Exchanges, which includes a variety of exchange programs, including sports and youth programs. Federal budgets do not indicate totals for these individual programs.
TALKING POINTS • Policymakers and diplomacy experts agree that cultural exchange enhances international understanding. o A January 2017 report from the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies states that while the U.S. has invested heavily in hard power tactics to fight terrorism, “it has overlooked the soft power necessary to blunt the appeal of extremist ideologies.” The report also states that public diplomacy “requires a toolkit of information, cultural, and educational activities and is not defined by one particular program,” and that it is important to understand the “role that [public diplomacy] as a whole plays in our national security.” o At South by Southwest (SXSW) in 2014, U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), said, “I think Western music could have an influence in countries where people otherwise don’t want to listen to us. We need a combination of hard and soft power, and I think the music piece goes to that soft power idea.” o Cultural diplomacy programs are implemented through public-private partnerships. In 2018, the Cultural Programs Division, which manages programs such as the American Film Showcase, American Music Abroad, and the Arts Envoy Program, received $11.6 million and supported 786 exchange participants, according to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. o According to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), 85,000 participants attended a concert/interacted with American Music Abroad musicians in 2016. And in 2013, cultural programs reached 9 million foreign participants. Increased funding and operational capacity for the Cultural Programs Division will strengthen exchange and collaboration in the arts and culture fields that build bridges among people of different countries, cultures, and faiths.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
TALKING POINTS (CONTINUED) • According to a January 2017 report released by the State Department’s U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, public diplomacy programs receive only 2% of the entire State Department and USAID FY 2016 planned budget. • A review of 29 studies on public diplomacy in 2005 identified the most popular recommendation for public diplomacy reform was to increase U.S. exchange programs. The studies were compiled by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. • An October 2009 report by the New York University Brademas Center called for America to have a renewed role in cultural exchange and cultural diplomacy. “To these ends, [the] report recommends that international arts and cultural exchanges be integrated into the planning strategies of U.S. policymakers as a key element of public diplomacy. History has proven that robust public diplomacy is essential to U.S. national security and the promotion of American interests around the globe. The arts community has observed first-hand the value of international artistic exchanges in promoting moderation and tolerance among widely diverse religious and cultural groups.” • Cultural exchange supports U.S. industry and employment. o According to the National Governors Association’s report, How States Are Using Arts & Culture to Strengthen Their Global Trade Development, state governments find that including artistic and cultural exchanges in their international trade and business development serves to expand trading relationships with other nations and open markets abroad as a complement to more traditional efforts to generate exports. o 90% of ECA’s appropriation is spent in the United States or invested directly in American citizens or American organizations, according to a 2015-2016 NAFSA Economic Analysis. o International exchange prepares Americans for success in the global economy. Data shows 73% of U.S. employers put significant value on international experience when hiring, according to a study from the British Council and NAFSA: Association of International Educators. o Exchanges bring resources to U.S. communities. Virtually the entire State Department exchanges budget is spent on American participants or in the United States. BACKGROUND The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the State Department is responsible for the public diplomacy activities of the United States, including international cultural exchange programs. Within ECA, the Cultural Programs Division focuses on cultural diplomacy, exchange, and collaboration by sharing the rich artistic traditions of the United States. The Cultural Programs Division provides grant opportunities to U.S. nonprofits for cultural exchange activities; residencies, mentoring, and training programs; programs that are carried out overseas by or under the sponsorship of U.S. Embassy public diplomacy offices; and presentations at major international visual arts exhibitions and cultural centers. Congress has continued to demonstrate bipartisan support in recent years for cultural exchange programs, as demonstrated in both the Senate and House-passed budgets for the State Department, which supported funding the Office of Citizen Exchange at its current levels. The Administration’s budget proposal has repeatedly included cuts to Educational and Cultural Affairs. The FY 2020 budget included a cut of $391 million. For a complete listing of programs, please visit: http://exchanges.state.gov/us/special-focus-areas
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
IMPROVING THE VISA PROCESS FOR ARTISTS ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: • Reintroduce and enact the Arts Require Timely Service (ARTS) provision, which will require U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to reduce the total processing time for petitions filed by, or on behalf of, nonprofit arts-related organizations. • Direct USCIS and the State Department to adopt immediate policy changes to make artist visa processing more accessible, reliable, and affordable, including reinstatement of Traditional Expedite and ensuring that any fee increases are proportional and fair. TALKING POINTS • American arts organizations and artists provide an important public service and advance cultural diplomacy by presenting international guest artists in highly-valued performances, educational events, and cultural programs in communities large and small throughout the United States. International cultural exchange uniquely supports a diversity of viewpoints and contributes to international peace and mutual understanding. The United States should be easing—not increasing—the visa burden for nonprofit arts organizations engaging foreign guest artists so that U.S. audiences can enjoy artistry from across the globe. • The ARTS provision has a long history of strong, bipartisan support. Both the House and Senate have signaled bipartisan support for improving the artist visa process. The ARTS provision was included and passed in the 2013 Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill, the 2006 and 2007 comprehensive Senate immigration reform bills, and the full House approved a stand-alone version of the measure in 2008. • The inconsistency of the U.S. visa process for foreign guest artists—as well as broad travel restrictions that hinder cultural exchange—has harmful results for everyone. o The absence of international guest artists costs American artists important employment opportunities. If an international guest artist cannot obtain a visa in time to make a scheduled performance, the many American artists who were scheduled to work alongside the guest artist lose a valuable source of income and artistic promotion. Furthermore, there can also be long-lasting harmful reciprocal effects on the ability of U.S. artists to tour, perform, and create art abroad. o Delays and unpredictability create high economic risks for U.S. nonprofit arts organizations and their local economies. Arts organizations and presenters frequently sell tickets in advance, creating a financial obligation to their audiences. Visa delays can unpredictably stretch to weeks and months. Despite careful advance planning, these serious disruptions can force U.S. organization to upgrade petitions to Premium Processing Service (PPS), the only expedite option remaining after USCIS quietly removed the eligibility for nonprofit petitioners with cultural interests to request the free traditional expedite. The choices to expedite processing at the exorbitant additional cost of $2,500 or to cancel altogether directly impacts the bottom line of U.S. arts employers. Any delays at USCIS immediately impact the remaining time for artists to undergo consular processing to obtain the physical visa. With consular processing now more timeconsuming to schedule and undergo in this age of COVID-19 screening and containment, it is critical that the visa approval process at USCIS be as efficient and predictable as possible. o When artists are unable to come to the United States for guest engagements, the American public is denied the opportunity to experience international artistry. Performances and other cultural events are date-, time-, and location-specific. The nature of scheduling and confirming highly sought-after guest artists in the U.S. requires that the visa process at USCIS and U.S. consulates be efficient and reliable so that U.S. audiences may experience extraordinary artistic and cultural talent at home that they could not otherwise enjoy. The inability to issue timely visas to guest artists reflects poorly on the U.S. visa system and threatens the audience’s trust in the U.S. presenting organization. • Immediate assistance is needed to improve the artist visa process. Congress recognized the time-sensitive nature of arts events when writing the 1991 federal law regarding O and P visas—the categories used by artists—in which the USCIS is instructed to process O and P arts visas in 14 days. In the event the 14-day timeframe Arts Advocacy Day 2021
•
•
is not met, passage of the ARTS provision would require that USCIS process of nonprofit O and P arts-related visa petitions within a total of 29 days—twice the current statutory requirement, which is eminently reasonable and consistent with security concerns. USCIS has demonstrated the ability to observe the statutory timeframe, but the mandate has not been consistently met. Under its current authority, the agency can make other immediate changes to remedy unreasonable delays, cost, and uncertainty, such as improving the accuracy of the petition process. Arts organizations of all sizes cannot afford the $2,500 premium processing fee, leaving them to await the unpredictability of regular visa processing. Arts organizations from all regions of the country and in communities of all sizes engage extraordinary foreign guest artists. After filing fees increased by 42% in 2016, followed by three recent increases in the Premium Processing fee (in 2018, 2019, and then October 2020 to its present cost of $2,500), the financial cost to engage international artists is becoming too expensive for most arts organizations. Moreover, after COVID-19 has completely upended at least an entire season of programming, no arts organization can afford to risk paying high fees for a visa that might not be approved at all or on time. The latest fee and policy proposals threaten to freeze international artistic engagement. On top of the significant fee increase in 2016, the Department of Homeland Security planned to implement in October 2020 a further disproportionate increase of approximately 50% on both O and P petitions, to limit the number of beneficiaries on a single petition to 25 people, and to lengthen the timeline for PPS from 15 calendar days to 15 federal working days. Such changes would severely threaten the ability of many arts organizations to engage guest artists, not only due to the exponential increase in cost, but also in the face of consistent USCIS action and policies seemingly designed to discourage international engagement even at the cost of depriving U.S. employers, fellow artists, and audiences. These ill-advised and harmful proposals, made during the Trump Administration, are under injunction and must be completely rejected so that any fee increases are proportional and fair, and the other proposals completely rejected.
BACKGROUND Foreign guest artists engaged by U.S. arts-related organizations are required to obtain an O visa for individual foreign artists, or a P visa for groups of foreign artists, reciprocal exchange programs, and culturally unique artists. Visas are first processed for approval by USCIS before artists undergo final steps to obtain their visas at State Department consular locations world-wide. Artists and U.S. nonprofit arts organizations have confronted uncertainty in gaining approval for visa petitions due to lengthy and inconsistent processing times, inconsistent interpretation of statute and implementation of policies, expenses, and unwarranted requests for further evidence. Delays began when USCIS adopted a Premium Processing Service (PPS) in June 2001, guaranteeing processing within 15 calendar days at an additional cost of what is now $2,500 per petition. This fee is unaffordable for many nonprofit arts organizations given that it is in addition to the base filing fee and various additional expenses. Following the creation of PPS, regular O and P visa processing has varied widely, ranging from 30 days to six months. In the summer of 2010, USCIS pledged to meet the statutory 14-day regular processing time and promised public stakeholders that significant improvements would be made to the quality of artist visa processing. For several years, petitioners experienced incremental improvements to processing times, only to encounter at-times lengthy and highly unpredictable delays and seemingly time-stalling Requests for Evidence for material already in the original filing. These delays, combined with inconsistent processing procedures, result in petitioners having to upgrade to PPS at an unsustainable rate or to cancel plans to engage foreign artists, which is financially, logistically, and reputationally problematic once an event has been marketed. Congress can make enduring improvements to the visa process; therefore, we ask that any immigration reform effort include enactment of the ARTS provision. USCIS would be required to treat any arts-related O and P visa petition that it fails to adjudicate within the 14-day statutory timeframe as a Premium Processing case (additional 15-day turn-around), free of additional charge. This legislation would not diminish the standards by which artists qualify for a visa—it would hold USCIS to a reasonable timeframe, restore the recognition that cultural interests are valued in this country, and impart sorely needed reliability to an unpredictable process that affects U.S. nonprofit arts employers, foreign guest artists, U.S. accompanying artists, and U.S. audiences. Arts Advocacy Day 2021
ARTS & HEALTH IMPROVING HEALTH THROUGH THE ARTS ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: ● Expand coverage of creative arts therapies for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. ● Support National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding related to telehealth access and outcomes of creative arts therapies, expressive arts therapy, and arts-based programming provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ● Support Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Education funding for creative arts therapies, expressive arts therapy, and arts-based programming, including telehealth, designed to address mental health needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (depression, opioid crisis, social isolation), including applications for healthcare and education professionals. ● Strengthen Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions for artists and other creative occupations to include affordable access to mental health services. TALKING POINTS Creative Arts Therapies and Arts-Based Programming Provide Mental Health Support and Opportunities for Social Engagement ● Art Lab Rx is a mobile mental health counseling agency offering wellness workshops, telehealth services, and art therapy sessions in treatment centers across Minnesota. The practice runs a mobile art therapy bus, breaking down accessibility barriers. ● My-T-By Design in Fayetteville, Arkansas, provides in-house counseling and access to arts (painting, space for poetry) plus community food/school supplies outreach. Art Feeds and Art Bags, also in Fayetteville, has designed art lesson plans (K-5) designed for children who have experienced trauma. Each lesson includes an emphasis on facilitating emotional expression. ● During the pandemic, artists, musicians, and writers in residence with Hearts Need Art in San Antonio, Texas, provide creative art experiences to patients and caregivers through video conference. The platform gives burned-out medical staff a creative escape and allows isolated patients to share their art experiences and efforts online with loved ones. ● Philadelphia’s Streets Department, partnered with Broad Street Ministry, Mural Arts Philadelphia, HAHA MAG, and four regular Streets Department artists created and installed eye-catching and informative hand-washing stations to promote handwashing, social distancing, and mask wearing. ● Sing for Hope, New York City, pivoted in-person arts programming to a digital model, with interactive cultural events accessible by Zoom, targeting the elderly and homebound with multiple events available per day. This Healing Arts program offers direct access to artists with live classes and arts programming proven to have mental and physical health benefits for participants. ● SkyART, a community after-school arts center in Chicago, Illinois, has offered virtual art therapy sessions during the pandemic to children connected with partner schools, homeless shelters, and social service centers, and delivered art kits to over 1,000 children. ● In St. Louis, Missouri, Metro Theatre Company's (NEA Research Grant supported) Say Something Do Something, is an interactive and immersive drama-based violence prevention program for youth grades 4 to 6, designed to build empathy, critical thinking, decision making, and interpersonal skills in a group of students to help them learn to resolve conflicts without violence.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
●
Arttherapy4life offers consultative art therapy programming for Tennessee nursing homes, preserving dignity and fostering a sense of personal autonomy and empowerment for those living with dementia, and cognitive, mental, and developmental impairments. Workshops are supported by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Civil Money Penalty (CMP) funds.
Research in Creative Arts Therapies and Arts-Based Programming ● NEA Report, “Arts Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Examining the Evidence” finds that incorporating music into treatments for opioid use disorder can contribute significant, positive effects for patients. ● Launched in 2021, the Sound Health Network is a partnership of the NEA with the University of California, San Francisco, in collaboration with NIH, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Renée Fleming. It builds on the Sound Health Partnership, which brings together scientists, music therapists, artists, and the public to explore music’s impact on the brain, health, and wellness. ● According to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), engaging with the arts can benefit mental and physical health. As the most comprehensive review of evidence on arts and health to date, the 2019 study analyzed evidence from over 3,700 studies from 900 global publications. It identified a significant role for the arts in preventing ill health, promoting health and management, and treating illness across the lifespan. ● COVID-19 and Social Distancing: Impact of Arts and Other Activities on Mental Health, an ongoing study by University College London and extended to the U.S. in partnership with the University of Florida and Americans for the Arts, is tracking 80,000 adults in the United Kingdom and United States to gauge the pandemic’s impact on mental health. Preliminary findings show that just 30 minutes of active arts activities daily may lower anxiety and depression and increase life satisfaction, combating the ill effects of isolation and loneliness associated with COVID-19. Affordable Access to Mental Health Services for Artists and Other Creative Occupations The national arts community requests the Affordable Care Act continues to provide: ● Access to affordable individual policies ● Requirement for coverage of preventative ● Protections for pre-existing conditions services ● Consumer protections and essential benefits ● Minimum standards of care BACKGROUND “Arts in Health” includes the professional creative arts therapies disciplines of art therapy, music therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, psychodrama, and biblio/poetry therapy, all of which are nationally board-certified therapies with licensure in selected states, as well as expressive arts therapy and artist-directed applications of visual, literary and performing arts, and design. They work together to provide quality, costeffective services within a variety of healthcare and community settings, assisting people through all life stages. Settings include hospitals, hospice programs, long-term care facilities, mental health programs, schools, rehabilitation treatment centers, disaster response teams, psychiatric forensic units, prisons, community centers, and wellness programs. Creative arts therapists, expressive arts therapists, and community artists have adapted the delivery of their services and diversified service options to meet needs that have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. These important contributions continue to benefit consumers, family members, and healthcare providers and should be considered when identifying potential pandemic-related treatment and support services for consumers and healthcare professionals. Creative arts therapies, expressive arts therapy, and arts-based programming have the potential to positively impact spending concerns, quality of care issues, and treatment needs of healthcare consumers. An investment in “Arts in Health” is an investment in America’s health.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
ARTS AND THE MILITARY IMPROVING THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF MILITARY AND VETERANS’ POPULATIONS THROUGH THE ARTS ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: ● Support anticipated recommendations from the National Defense Authorization Act report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees that increase use of creative arts therapies that build resilience and support recovery of service members and their families. ● Support increased funding through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand the number of creative arts therapists employed in the VA providing clinical treatment in medical centers, community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), and in virtual and telehealth services that reach a large number of rural and isolated Veterans. ● Support increased funding through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to build more community partnerships that provide lifetime access to creative arts therapies and arts-based programming for active military, Veterans, their families, and caregivers. ● Support continued funding to the National Endowment for the Arts for the Creative Forces National Grant Program, which will provide resources to nonprofit arts organizations across the country providing programs and services for military-connected populations through the arts. TALKING POINTS: Creative Arts Therapies and Community Arts-Based Programs Help Military and Veteran Populations ● The Youngstown Veterans Outpatient Clinic (YVOC), Ohio, launched Artful Living: A Whole Health Community Partnership virtual program in October 2020 to combat COVID-19-related isolation among its Veteran population and to complement the telehealth work of its art and music therapists. With funding from the VA Whole Health Program, the YVOC worked with seven community organizations to offer virtual classes including creative writing, songwriting, dance/movement, improvisation, drum circles, art appreciation, art creation, and Veteran-made/Veteran-themed national films. ● Soldier Song & Voices in Northwest Arkansas connects Veterans who perform music and create original visual arts pieces. They compete at the regional level for VA arts competition, and many have placed nationally. The artwork and cultural pieces are tied to mental health programs. ● The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, received $717,500 in CARES Act funding to support Veterans, active service members, and their families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The museum’s remote art therapy programs will be enhanced for Veterans unable to physically attend programs. ● The Oklahoma Arts Council now offers the Oklahoma Arts and the Military Grants, designed to empower organizations to serve military-connected individuals through learning and audience-based programs. These grants stem from the state agency’s arts and military initiative, which began in 2015 and has included a partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. ● Blue Star Museums offers free admission to more than 2,000 museums across America from Memorial Day through Labor Day each year. In the past five years, more than 4 million active-duty members, National Guard, Reservists, and their families have participated. ● The Big Red Barn Retreat (BRBR) in Blythewood, South Carolina, offers integrated practices and programs that allow Warriors to thrive at home. In 2021, a credentialed art therapist is leading the THRIVES Program, a 10-week art therapy group using a mindfulness approach to navigate relationships by integrating vital emotional skills.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network Established in 2012, this initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and state and local arts agencies seeks to improve the health, wellness, and quality of life for military and Veteran populations exposed to trauma, as well as their families and caregivers. Creative Forces has grown to include multiple clinical sites at the Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration treatment facilities across the nation and is managed in partnership with Americans for the Arts and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. Highlights include: ● 28 creative arts therapists (CATs) work in 13 clinical settings including providing services through telehealth programs for rural and remote areas and in response to the COVID-19 crisis. ● Despite significant disruption of services from COVID-19, over 14,000 patient treatment encounters were delivered by Creative Forces CATs in 2020. ● Over 12,000 patients have been served since 2012 with an average of 2,800 new patients annually. ● Since 2016, 19 Creative Forces clinical research studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals. ● 10 Community Connections projects were offered from 2018-2020 near existing clinical Creative Forces sites, designed to improve health, wellness, and quality of life for military-connected individuals. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, many of these projects transitioned to virtual platforms, and seven sites received funding to continue virtual work and document their learnings for the Creative Forces National Resource Center, which launched July 2020 (creativeforcesnrc.arts.gov/). ● Through a cooperative agreement with Mid-America Arts Alliance (based in Kansas City, Missouri), Creative Forces will announce its next iteration this summer to award grants to arts organizations across the country offering programs to military populations—active duty, reserve, Veterans—and their family members and caregivers. BACKGROUND “Arts and the Military” includes the professional creative arts therapies disciplines of art therapy, music therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, psychodrama, and biblio/poetry therapy, all of which are nationally board-certified therapies with licensure in selected states, as well as artist-directed applications of visual, literary and performing arts, and design. Economic analyses, cost studies, and clinical research show a positive trend in the use of creative arts therapies and their impact on containing healthcare costs and facilitating functional outcomes achievement. These clinical therapists and community artists provide quality, cost-effective healthcare and wellness services for military, Veterans, and their families. In FY 2020, Congress took a positive step forward by including language in the DoD appropriations bill to increase support for creative arts therapies for service members with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and psychological health conditions. Additionally, Congress also included language for increased support for creative arts therapies and first-time funding of $5 million to provide arts-based treatments, programs, and partnerships serving Veterans through the VA’s Whole Health Initiative. In FY 2021, Congress followed up on the DoD and VA appropriations bill language by including language in the FY 2021 NDAA bill recognizing that the use of creative arts therapies shows potential in treating servicemembers with traumatic brain injuries and psychological health conditions and that expanding this program could be beneficial to servicemembers and families. Congress directed the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees not later than 90 days after the enactment of the FY 2021 NDAA bill on the feasibility of expanding the creative arts therapies program. The report shall include: the current funding and investment in creative arts therapies at the National Intrepid Centers, the projected cost to expand creative arts therapies, and the number of locations to which the program could be expanded.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
STRENGTHENING THE ARTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION PUTTING STUDENTS ON A PATH FOR AN AFFORDABLE & SUCCESSFUL FUTURE ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to strengthen access to and affordability of higher education in the arts through supporting legislation that achieves the following: ● Funds federal financial aid at a level to ensure access to and affordability of higher education in a way that encourages students to pursue disciplines where they have the most interest and talent; ● Supports the Federal government's efforts to address diversity, equity and inclusion within higher education; ● Ensures the Department of Education’s role in properly implementing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program as well as its oversight of for-profit higher education institutions. TALKING POINTS ●
●
●
●
●
●
The Biden Administration supports doubling the Pell Grant maximum. Recent Congressional efforts to streamline the FAFSA and broaden access to federal financial aid to more students are a welcome start, but funding for the Pell Grants must increase significantly to return its impact on low and moderate income students, in turn driving economic recovery. We strongly encourage Congress to continue supporting a student-centered approach to funding higher education. Current federal financial aid policies equally support all students regardless of what they study or where they choose to obtain a higher education. Degree completion, regardless of major, is the most important factor to future success, and students should be encouraged to concentrate their studies where their interests and talents lead them. Regardless of career path, the arts contribute to the success of individuals in a variety of fields and the national economy. Closing racial equity gaps in education is good for the American economy. As stated in the American Rescue Plan, "an analysis shows that closing racial gaps in wages, housing credit, lending opportunities, and access to higher education would amount to an additional $5 trillion in GDP in the American economy over the next 5 years." Student loan debt is disproportionately held by students of color. Additionally, arts graduates have been overwhelmingly affected by the COVID-19 economic crisis. Meaningful debt forgiveness would both address previous inequities in support for federal financial aid and the particular economic stresses incurred recently by creative workers. Congress enacted the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program with bipartisan support in 2007, partly to create incentives for motivated and committed individuals to pursue careers in service to the public. PSLF is a vital tool in allowing talented and highly trained employees from all socioeconomic backgrounds to work at organizations that make an impact in their community, if implemented as intended. o 35% of all recent arts degree graduates said that debt levels had a “major” impact on their educational and career decisions, compared to only 14% of non-recent grads (from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), 2017). For-profit colleges, a substantial number of which offer arts degrees, must be properly monitored to reduce their incentive to maximize profits over student success. The highest percentage of the most extreme levels of student debt are held by those who attended for-profit institutions.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
●
Higher education in the arts is a valued investment in a career. According to the SNAAP, 90% of respondents rated their arts school experience as good or excellent, and 81% said their training is at least somewhat relevant to their current work regardless of whether or not they are a professional artist. Furthermore, 87% of master’s level respondents who intended to work as artists have done so with 62% working as artists and 72% working in a career related to the arts (artists, arts administrators, and arts educators).
BACKGROUND The last comprehensive reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) was in 2008. The HEA is the single most important piece of legislation overseeing the relationship between the federal government, colleges and universities, and students. It authorizes various federal aid programs within the Department of Education that support students pursuing a postsecondary education, including grant programs that support efforts to expand and increase access for low-income and first-generation students, such as Pell Grants. Whether addressed through reauthorization of the HEA in whole, or through targeted legislation, we urge Congress to take action on the above items. In 2018, Congress funded Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) to help borrowers who faced barriers obtaining PSLF loan forgiveness because they were on repayment plans that were ineligible for PSLF. According to the September 5, 2020, GAO Report on Public Service Loan Forgiveness, only 1% of PSLF requests were approved, even under TEPSLF, due to lack of marketing the expansion and an unclear multi-step process. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 simplified the FAFSA and expanded access to Pell Grants to a broader segment of students through a new funding formula. President Biden released an Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government in January 2021 that includes access to higher education as a critical role for the federal government in supporting racial equity.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
ARTS IN TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTING ART IN PUBLIC TRANSIT PROJECTS ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: Support the Saving Transit Art Resources (STAR) Act to restore local control to transit authorities regarding the integration of art and non-functional landscaping into federally-funded transit projects and facilities. TALKING POINTS • Artworks have been incorporated into transportation projects in the United States since the 1800s, with a tradition of targeted federal support for art to embellish public facilities that began in the mid-1930s under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), where the talents of professional artists were aligned with the values of the American people. • In December 2015, Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, P.L. 114-94, to reauthorize highway and transit programs that established a prohibition for use of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds for art in transit, disrupting a long standing and highly lauded national tradition. • The 2015 prohibition removes local control from transit authorities, and reverses nearly over 100 years of systemic enhancement of our transit systems to the detriment of communities in every state. Artists have been an integral, not extra, part of the design, improvement of safety and security, increase in ridership, reduction of vandalism; facilitating communication and community pride, and boosting economic activity through tourism (American Public Transit Association’s Best Practices for Integrating Art Into Capital Projects). Additionally, as the FTA has funded and advertised the essential benefits of art in transit, there has been a growth of professionals, programs, and processes that are built to specifically implement these recommendations, and these jobs are now being undermined. • With Americans boarding public transportation 34 million times each weekday, the impact of the FAST Act art prohibition is felt across the country from metropolitan regions to mid-size cities and rural areas. For example: o In North Carolina, the Charlotte Area Transit System will be unable to support additional jobs to fabricate the art for a Street Car Extension project through neighborhoods that have come to expect cultural inclusion of their community represented through permanent public art. o In Portland, Oregon, a new bus rapid transit project along the most culturally diverse corridor in the state will not provide an estimated $600,000 to employ local artists and fabricators, resulting in a missed opportunity for community building and a potential equity issue, since TriMet has implemented a public art percent on all projects since 1997. o Similar impacts are being felt at Los Angeles Metro, San Francisco BART, New York MTA, Chicago Transit Authority, and Broward County Transit (Florida) to name a few. •
The prohibition contradicts a 2018 public opinion poll which found that most Americans approve of arts funding by local government (60% ) and the federal government (54%).
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
BACKGROUND The federal policy restricting transit funding for art is sweeping and significant, removing local control over significant transit projects, and negatively impacting communities and economic opportunity across the nation. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has traditionally supported the expenditure of funds for public art in transit projects. The FTA provided flexible guidelines that left the level of the percent for art allocation at the discretion of the local transit entity. The highway reauthorization enacted in 2013, (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP21)), prohibited “stand-alone” artworks in transit projects. However, transit agencies could continue to use FTA funds to support the employment of an artist as a member of a design team, or other costs associated with art, provided that the artistic elements were integrated into the facility or served a functional transit-related purpose. With enactment of the FAST Act in 2015, Congress escalated these MAP-21 limitations to an outright prohibition of local control regarding the incorporation of both art and non-functional landscaping. These prohibitions apply only for transit projects, and local matching funds also face the same restrictions. Impacted projects may include bus, subway, light rail, commuter rail, trolley, and ferry projects. As more communities across the country prioritize public transit, now is the time to recognize that our nation’s transit systems are long-term assets, and our nation’s communities are deserving of aesthetic design excellence. In June 2019, Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) introduced the STAR Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2020, provisions of the STAR Act were included in the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act, the surface transportation authorization bill. This $1.3 trillion package passed the U.S. House as the Moving Forward Act. It is anticipated that Rep. Adams will reintroduce the STAR Act in spring 2021 with the hopes it will be included in another large transportation package that will successfully make its way through the House and Senate and signed into law.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
FAIR COMPENSATION FOR MUSIC CREATORS SUPPORTING ALL ARTISTS’ RIGHT TO EARN FAIR COMPENSATION FOR THEIR WORK ACTION NEEDED We urge Congress to: • Support the establishment of a performance right for sound recordings broadcast by terrestrial (AM/FM) radio. • Give music makers control of their own work and empower artists to seek fair compensation for their music. • OPPOSE the misleading, anti-artist “Local Radio Freedom Act” (LRFA). TALKING POINTS • Terrestrial radio (AM/FM stations) is the only industry in America that can take and use another’s intellectual property without permission or compensation. • AM/FM radio profits without paying a single cent to the musicians, vocalists, union performers, and recording artists whose works they exploit. • The U.S. is the only developed nation that doesn’t recognize a performance right, resulting in a loss of more than $200 million annually in royalties earned by American performers whose work is broadcast internationally. • The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA) puts members of Congress on the record against fairly compensating the many talented and hard-working artists and creators in their districts and against intellectual property. • LRFA has little to do with local radio and more to do with ensuring that radio conglomerates can continue to generate billions in annual revenues without compensating performers. • Many lawmakers, along with leaders in the music and arts community, support bipartisan and bicameral common-sense solutions that give creators control of their own work, while ensuring true community broadcasters can continue to thrive. BACKGROUND Although royalties are paid to songwriters and publishers whenever their work is used by terrestrial radio, this public performance right does not extend to the performers, musicians, or artists on the track. So, when you hear Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” on the radio, songwriter Dolly Parton receives royalties, but the estate of Whitney Houston receives nothing. Neither do the studio musicians, backing vocalists, or producers. Such a discrepancy is unique to AM/FM radio in the U.S. Digital platforms such as satellite radio, cable subscriber channels, and internet radio—including digital broadcasts of FM stations—all pay royalties directly to performers (45%) and to the sound recording copyright owner (50%) via SoundExchange. Non-featured performers receive 5% of the royalties, via a royalty pool managed by American Federation of Musicians and SAG-AFTRA. Bipartisan and bicameral Congressional leaders have long championed the establishment of a terrestrial performance right and the fundamental principle that all artists should have the right to control their own work and seek fair compensation. In the 117th Congress, leaders in the music and arts communities will continue to advance fair and balanced solutions that promote artists’ rights while truly protecting local and community broadcasters. Arts Advocacy Day 2021
ARTS SUPPORT RECORDS
The 2021 Congressional Arts Handbook is current as of March 22, 2021. Please visit AmericansForTheArts.org/AAD/Handbook to find the most up-to-date versions of the Arts Support Records.
How to Read the U.S. House of Representatives Arts Support Record 1 Date: Result: Pro-arts:
2 Date: Result: Pro-arts:
3 Date: Result: Pro-arts:
4
Date: Result: Pro-arts:
5
Date: Result: Pro-arts:
6
Date: Result: Pro-arts:
Membership in the Congressional Arts Caucus as of 3/6/2021. The list is maintained by caucus co-Chairs Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY). As of 3/6/2020 142 Members Member—YES
Membership in the Congressional STEAM Caucus as of 3/6/2021. The list is maintained by caucus co-Chairs Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY). As of 3/6/2021 84 Members Member—YES
Membership in the Congressional Humanities Caucus as of 3/6/2021. The list is maintained by caucus co-Chairs Reps. David Price (D-NC) and Steve Stivers (R-OH). As of 3/6/2021 83 Members Member—YES
Cosigned a "Dear Colleague" letter on 3/20/2020, asking House appropriators to support an increased funding level of “at least” $170 million for the National Endowment for the Arts in FY 2021. The letter was initiated by Congressional Arts Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). * 3/20/2020 166 Signatories Cosigned—YES
Cosigned a "Dear Colleague" letter on 4/1/2019, asking House appropriators to support a funding level of “at least” $167.5 million for the National Endowment for the Arts in FY 2020. The letter was initiated by Congressional Arts Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). * 4/1/2019 184 Signatories Cosigned—YES
Cosigned a "Dear Colleague" letter on 3/20/2020, asking House appropriators to support an increased funding level of “at least” $170 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities in FY 2021. The letter was initiated by Congressional Humanities Caucus CoChairs Rep. David Price (D-NC) and Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH). * 3/20/2020 178 Signatories Cosigned—YES
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
How to Read the U.S. House of Representatives Arts Support Record
7
Date: Result: Pro-arts:
8
Date: Result: Pro-arts:
Voted against the Grothman Amendment on the floor to cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) by 15% each. 7/18/2018 Failed by a vote of 114 – 297 Voted—NO
Cosigned a "Dear Colleague" letter on 5/7/2020, from Arts Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Humanities Caucus Co-chair Rep. David Price (D-NC) urging the inclusion of additional “robust” funding NEA and NEH in the next COVID-19 relief bill. * 5/7/2020 71 Signatories Cosigned—YES
11 Pro-arts position signified with a filled-in dot on accompanying chart. * Appropriations Subcommittee members typically do not sign “Dear Colleague” letters, but many still support the ask.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
District
Representative (Party)
Notes as of 3/26/2021
1
34
2
54
4
67
7 8
87 9
ALABAMA 4 5 1 2 6 3 7
m m X X m m l
m m X X m m m
m l X X m m m
m m X X m m l
m m X X m m l
m m X X m m l
l m X X m m l
l m X X m m l
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
l
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
Biggs, Andy (R) Gallego, Ruben (D) Gosar, Paul (R) Grijalva, Raul (D) Kirkpatrick, Ann (D) Lesko, Debbie (R) O'Halleran, Tom (D) Schweikert, David (R) Stanton, Greg (D)
m l m l m m m m m
m m m l m m m m m
m m m l m m m m m
m l m l X m l m l
m l m l m m m m l
m l m l m m l m l
m l m l X m l m X
m l m l X X l m X
Crawford, Rick (R) Hill, French (R) Westerman, Bruce (R) Womack, Steve (R)
m l m m
m l m m
m l m m
m m m m
m m m m
m m m m
l l m l
l m m l
Aguilar, Pete (D) Barragán, Nanette (D) Bass, Karen (D) Bera, Ami (D) Brownley, Julia (D) Calvert, Ken (R) Carbajal, Salud (D) Cárdenas, Tony (D) Chu, Judy (D) Correa, Lou (D) Costa, Jim (D) DeSaulnier, Mark (D) Eshoo, Anna (D) Garamendi, John (D) Gomez, Jimmy Harder, Josh (D) Huffman, Jared (D) Issa Darrell (R) Jacobs, Sarah (D) Khanna, Ro (D) Kim, Young (R) LaMalfa, Doug (R) Lee, Barbara (D) Levin, Mike (D) Lieu, Ted (D)
m m m m l m l l m l m m l m m m l X X m X m l l l
m m m m l m m l m m m m m m m m l X X m X m l l l
m m m m l m l m m l m l l l m m m X X m X m m l l
m l m m l m l l l m l l l l m m l X X l X m l l l
m l m l l m l l l l l l l l l m l X X l X m l l l
m l l m l m l l l l l l l l m m l X X m X m l l l
l l l l l l l l l l l l l m l m X l X m l l l
l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l m l X X l X m l l l
Aderholt, Robert (R) Brooks, Mo (R) Carl, Jerry (R) Moore, Barry (R) Palmer, Gary (R) Rogers, Mike (R) Sewell, Terri (D)
New member, replaced Bradley Byrne New member, replaced Martha Roby
ALASKA 1
Young, Don (R)
AMERICAN SAMOA 1
Radewagen, Amata (R)
U.S. Delegates are unable to vote
ARIZONA 5 7 4 3 2 8 1 6 9 ARKANSAS 1 2 4 3 CALIFORNIA 31 44 37 7 26 42 24 29 27 46 16 11 18 3 34 10 2 50 53 17 39 1 13 49
33 l indicates arts-friendly position
New member, replaced Duncan D. Hunter New member, replaced Susan Daivs
New Member, defeated Gil Cisneros
m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote 4
X non-voting member or not in office 4
District
Representative (Party)
Notes as of 3/26/2021
1
34
2
54
4
67
7 8
87 9
CALIFORNIA (cont.)
23
Lofgren, Zoe (D) Lowenthal, Alan (D) Matsui, Doris (D) McCarthy, Kevin (R)
4
McClintock, Tom (R)
9
McNerney, Jerry (D)
32
Napolitano, Grace (D)
22 8
Nunes, Devin (R) Obernolte, Jay (R)
20
Panetta, Jimmy (D)
12
Pelosi, Nancy (D)
52
Peters, Scott (D)
45
Porter, Katie (D)
48
Steel, Michelle (R)
40
Roybal-Allard, Lucille (D)
36
Ruiz, Raul (D)
38
Sánchez, Linda (D)
28
Schiff, Adam (D)
30
Sherman, Brad (D)
14
Speier, Jackie (D)
15
Swalwell, Eric (D)
41
Takano, Mark (D)
5
Thompson, Mike (D)
35 21
Torres, Norma (D) Valadao, David (R)
51
Vargas, Juan (D)
43
Waters, Maxine (D) Garcia, Mike (R)
19 47 6
25
New member, replaced Paul Cook
New member, defeated Harley Rouda
New member, defeated TJ Cox
l l l m l m l m X l m l m X l m l l l l m l l m X m m m
l l l m m m m m X m m l m X m m m l m l m l m m X m m m
m m l m m m m m X m m l m X m m m l m m m l l m X m m m
l l l m m m m m X l m l l X m l l l m l m l l l X l l m
l l l m m m m m X l m l l X l l l l m l m l l m X l m m
l l l m m l m m X l m l l X m m l l m l l l l m X l l m
l l l m m l l m X l l l X X l l l l l X l l l l l l l m
l l l m m l l m X l m l X X l l l l l l l l l l X l l m
X m m l m m m
X m m m m m m
X m m m m m m
X m l l m l l
X m l l m l l
X m l l l l l
X m X l m X l
X m X l m X l
l l m l l
m m m l m
m l m m l
l l l l l
l l l l l
l m l l l
l l X l l
l m m l l
COLORADO 3
Boebert, Lauren (R)
4
Buck, Ken (R)
6
Crow, Jason (D)
1
DeGette, Diana (D)
5
Lamborn, Doug (R)
2
Neguse, Joe (D)
7
Perlmutter, Ed (D)
New member, defeated Scott Tipton
CONNECTICUT 2
Courtney, Joseph (D)
3
DeLauro, Rosa (D)
5
Hayes, Jahana (D)
4
Himes, Jim (D)
1
Larson, John (D)
l indicates arts-friendly position
m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote 4
X non-voting member or not in office 4
District
Representative (Party)
Notes as of 3/26/2021
1
34
2
54
4
67
7 8
87 9
DELAWARE 1
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
X
l
m l Buchanan, Vern (R) X Cammack, Kat (R) New member, replaced Ted Yoho l Castor, Kathy (D) m Crist, Charlie (D) m Demings, Val (D) l Deutch, Ted (D) m Diaz-Balart, Mario (R) X Donalds, Byron (R) New member, replaced Franis Rooney m Dunn, Neal (R) l Frankel, Lois (D) X Franklin, Scott (R) New member, defeated Ross Spano m Gaetz, Matt (R) X Giménez, Carlos (D) New member, defeated Debbie Muscarsel- Powell l Hastings, Alcee (D) m Lawson, Al (D) m Mast, Brian (R) m Murphy, Stephanie (D) l Posey, Bill (R) m Rutherford, John (R) X Salazar, Maria Elvira (R) New member, defeated Donna Shalala m Steube, Greg (R) m Soto, Darren (D) m Waltz, Michael (R) l Wasserman Schultz, Debbie (D) m Webster, Daniel (R) l Wilson, Frederica (D)
m m X l m m m m X m l X m X l m m m m m X m m m m m m
m m X m m m m m X m m X m X l m m m m m X m m m m m m
m l X l l m l m X m l X m X l l m l m m X X l X l m l
m l X l m m l m X m m X m X l l m l m m X m l m l m m
m m X l m m l m X m m X m X l l m l m m X m l m m m l
l l X l l l l l X m l X X l l l l m l X X l l m l
m m X l l l l X m l X l X l m m l m m X X l m l m l
m m X m X m X m l m m
m l X m X m X m l m m
m l X m X m X m l m m
m l X m X m X m l m l
m m X m X m X m l m l
m l X m X m X m l m l
m l X m X m X m l m X
m l X m X m X m l m l
Blunt Rochester, Lisa (D)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 1
Norton, Eleanor Holmes (D)
U.S. Delegates are unable to vote
FLORIDA 12 16 3 14 13 10 22 25 19 2 21 15 1 26 20 5 18 7 8 4 27 17 9 6 23 11 24
Bilirakis, Gus (R)
GEORGIA 12
Allen, Rick (R)
2
Bishop, Sanford (D)
7
Bourdeaux, Carolyn (D)
1
Carter, Earl (R)
9
Clyde, Andrew (R)
3
Ferguson, Drew (R)
14
Green, Marjorie Taylor (R)New member, replaced Tom Graves
10
Hice, Jody (R)
4
Johnson, Hank (D)
11
Loudermilk, Barry (R)
New member, replaced Rob Woodall
New member, replaced Doug Collins
6 McBath, Lucy (D) l indicates arts-friendly position m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote X non-voting member or not in office 4
4
District
Representative (Party)
1
Notes as of 3/26/2021
34
2
54
4
67
7 8
87 9
GEORGIA (con't)
m m X
m l X
m m X
m l X
m l X
m l X
m l X
m l X
San Nicolas, Michael F.Q. U.S. (D)Delegates are unable to vote
m
m
m
X
l
X
X
X
1
Case, Ed (D)
2
Kahele Kai (D)
m X
m X
m X
X X
m X
m X
X X
l X
m l
m m
m m
X m
m m
m m
X l
X m
m m m l m l m m m l m X m l m l m m
m l m l l m m m m m m X m l m l m m
m m m m m m m m m m m X m m l l m m
m l l l m l l l m l m X m l l l l X
m l l l m l m l m m m X m m l l l m
m l l l l l l l m l m X m l l l l m
l l X l l l X l l l l X m l l l l X
m l X l m l l l m l m X m l l l l X
m m m l m X X X m
m m m l m X X X l
m m m l m X X X m
X m m l m X X X m
m m m l m X X X m
m m m l m X X X m
X m l l l X X X l
X m m l m X X X m
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
8
Scott, Austin (R)
13
Scott, David (D)
5
Williams, Nikema (D)
New member , replaced the late John Lewis
GUAM 1 HAWAII
New member, replaced Tulsi Gabbard
IDAHO 1
Fulcher, Ross (R)
2
Simpson, Michael (R)
ILLINOIS 12
Bost, Mike (R)
17
Bustos, Cheri (D)
6
Casten, Sean (D)
7
Davis, Danny (D)
13
Davis, Rodney (R)
11
Foster, Bill (D)
4
Garcia, Chuy (D)
2
Kelly, Robin (D)
16
Kinzinger, Adam (R)
8
Krishnamoorthi, Raja (D)
18
LaHood,Darin (R)
15
Miller, Mary (R)
New member, replaced John Shimkus
3
Newman, Marie (D)
New member, defeated Dan Lipinski
5
Quigley, Michael (D)
1
Rush, Bobby (D)
9
Schakowsky, Janice (D)
10
Schneider, Brad (D)
14
Underwood, Lauren (D)
INDIANA
3
Baird, Jim (R) Banks, Jim (R)
8
Bucshon, Larry (R)
7
Carson, André (D)
9
Hollingsworth, Trey (R)
1
Mrvan, Frank (D)
6
Pence, Greg (R)
5
Spartz, Victoria (R)
2
Walorski, Jackie (R)
4
New member, replaced Pete Visclosky
New member, replaced Susan Brooks
IOWA 3 Axne, Cindy (D) l indicates arts-friendly position
m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote 4
X non-voting member or not in office 55 4
District
Representative (Party)
1
Notes as of 3/26/2021
34
2
55 54
4 44
67
7 8
87 9
IOWA (con't) 1
Hinson, Ashley (R)
4
King, Steve (R)
2
Miller-Meeks, Mariannette New (R)member, replaced David Loebsack
New member, defeated Abby Finkenauer
X m X
X m X
X m X
X m X
X m X
X m X
X m X
X m X
m m m X
m m m X
m m m X
m m m X
m m m X
l m m X
X m m X
l m m X
KANSAS 3 4 2 1
Davids, Sharice (D) Estes, Ron (R) LaTurner, Jake (R) Mann, Tracy (R)
New member, defeated Steve Watkins New member, replaced Roger Marshall
KENTUCKY 6
Barr, Andy (R)
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
l
1
Comer, James (R)
m
m
l
m
m
m
m
m
2
Guthrie, Brett (R)
l
m
l
m
m
l
m
m
4
Massie, Thomas (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
5
Rogers, Harold (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
3
Yarmuth, John (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
5
Abraham, Ralph (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
6
4
Graves, Garret (R) Higgins, Clay (R) Johnson, Mike (R)
1
Scalise, Steve (R)
m m m m
m m m m
m m m m
m m m m
m m m m
m m m m
m m m
m m m
2
Vacant
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2
Golden, Jared (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
X
m
1
Pingree, Chellie (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
4
Brown, Anthony (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
1
Harris, Andy (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
5
Hoyer, Steny (D)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
7
Mfume, Kweisi (D)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
8
Raskin, Jamie (D)
m
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
2
Ruppersberger, Dutch (D)
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
l
3
Sarbanes, John (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
6
Trone, David (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
LOUISIANA
3
MAINE
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS 4
Auchincloss, Jake (D)
5
Clark, Katherine (D)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
l
9
Keating, William (D)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
8
Lynch, Stephen (D)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
New member, replaced Joe Kennedy III
2 McGovern, James (D) l indicates arts-friendly position m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote 4
X non-voting member or not in office 4
District
Representative (Party)
Notes as of 3/26/2021
1
34
2
54
4
67
7 8
87 9
5
MASSACHUSETTS (con't) 6
Moulton, Seth (D)
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
l
1
Neal, Richard (D)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
7
Pressley, Ayanna (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
X
l
3
Trahan, Lori (D)
m
m
m
m
m
l
X
X
m l
m m
m l
m l
m l
l l
m l
MICHIGAN 1
Bergman, Jack (R)
12
Dingell, Debbie (D)
m l
2
Huizenga, Bill (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
5
Kildee, Daniel (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
14
Lawrence, Brenda (D)
l
l
m
l
m
m
l
m
9
Levin, Andy (D)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
3
Meijer, Peter (R)
New member, replaced Justin Amash
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
10
McClain, Lisa (R)
New member, replaced Paul Mitchell
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
4
Moolenaar, John (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
8
Slotkin, Elissa (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
11
Stevens, Haley (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
13
Tlaib, Rashida (D)
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
l
6
Upton, Fred (R)
l
l
m
m
m
l
l
m
7
Walberg, Tim (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
2
Craig, Angie (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
m
6
Emmer, Tom (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
7
Fischbach, Michelle(R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
Hagedorn, Jim (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
4
McCollum, Betty (D)
l
l
l
m
m
m
l
l
5
Omar, Ilhan (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
l
3
Phillips, Dean (D)
l
m
m
X
l
l
X
X
8
Stauber, Pete (R)
m
m
m
X
l
l
X
X
3
Guest, Michael (R)
m
m
m
X
m
X
X
X
1
Kelly, Trent (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
4
Palazzo, Steven (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
2
Thompson, Bennie (D)
m
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
MINNESOTA
New member, defeated Collin Peterson
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI 1
Bush, Cori (D)
5
Cleaver, Emanuel (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
6
Graves, Sam (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
4
Hartzler, Vicky (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
7
Long, Billy (R)
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
l indicates arts-friendly position
New member, defeated Lacy Clay
m indicates opposition or no action taken
l indicates missed vote
X non-voting member or not in office
4
4
District
Representative (Party)
Notes as of 3/26/2021
1
34
2
4 4
54
4
5
67
7 8
87 9
MISSOURI (con't) 3
Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
8
Smith, Jason (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
2
Wagner, Ann (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
m m
l l
m m
m m
l m
l l
m m
MONTANA 1
Rosendale, Matt (R)
New member, replaced Greg Gianforte
NEBRASKA 2
Bacon, Don (R)
1
Fortenberry, Jeff (R)
m m
3
Smith, Adrian (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
2
Amodei, Mark (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
4
Horsford, Steven (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
m
3
Lee, Susie (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
m
1
Titus, Dina (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
m
NEVADA
5
NEW HAMPSHIRE 2
Kuster, Ann McLane (D)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
1
Pappas, Chris (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
5
Gottheimer, Josh (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
m
3
Kim, Andy (D)
m
m
l
l
l
l
X
X
7
Malinowski, Tom (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
1
Norcross, Donald W. (D)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
m
6
Pallone, Frank (D)
l
m
l
l
m
l
l
m
9
Pascrell, Bill (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
m
10
Payne Jr., Donald (D)
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
m
11
Sherrill, Mikie (D)
m
m
m
m
l
l
X
m
8
Sires, Albio (D)
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
l
4
Smith, Christopher (R)
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
m
2
Van Drew, Jeff (R)
m
m
m
m
l
l
X
X
12
Watson Coleman, Bonnie (D)
l
m
m
l
m
m
l
l
3
Fernandez, Teresa Legar (D) New member, replaced Ben Ray Lujan
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
Haaland, Debra (D)
m
m
m
l
m
l
X
l
2
Herrel, Yvette(R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO
New member, defeated Xochitl Torres Small
NEW YORK 9
Clarke, Yvette (D)
16
Bowman, Jamaal (D)
19
Delgado, Antonio (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
13
Espaillat, Adriano (D)
m
m
m
l
m
l
l
l
2
Garbarino, Andrew (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
l indicates arts-friendly position
New member, defeated Eliot Engel
New member, replaced Peter T. King
m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote
X non-voting member or not in office 4
4
District
Representative (Party)
Notes as of 3/26/2021
1
34
2
54
4
67
7 8
87 9
NEW YORK (con't)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
m
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
m
l
m
m
m
l
l
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
m
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Maloney, Carolyn (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
18
Maloney, Sean (D)
l
l
m
l
l
m
l
m
5
Meeks, Gregory (D)
m
m
m
m
m
l
l
m
6
Meng, Grace (D)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
l
25
Morelle, Joseph (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
m
10
Nadler, Jerrold (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
14
Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
23
Reed, Tom (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
4
Rice, Kathleen (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
21
Stefanik, Elise (R)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
m
3
Suozzi, Thomas (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
22
Tenney, Claudia (R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
l
X
15
Torres, Ritchie (D)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
20
Tonko, Paul (D)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
7
Velázquez, Nydia (D)
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
m
1
Zeldin, Lee (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
26
Higgins, Brian (D)
27
Jacobs, Chris (R)
8
Jeffries, Hakeem (D)
17
Jones, Mondaire (D)
24
Katko, John (R)
11
Malliotakis, Nicole (D)
12
New member, replaced Chris Collins
New member, replaced Nita Lowey
New member, defetaed Max Rose
New member, replaced Jose Serrano
NORH CAROLINA 12
Adams, Alma S. (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
9
Bishop, Dan (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
13
Budd, Ted (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
1
Butterfield, G.K. (D)
l
l
m
l
m
l
l
l
11
Cawthorn, Madison (R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
5
Foxx, Virginia (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
8
Hudson, Richard (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
6
Manny, Kathy(D)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
10
McHenry, Patrick (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
3
Murphy, Gregory Francis (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
4
Price, David (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
2
Ross, Deborah (D)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
7
Rouzer, David (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
New member, replaced Mark Meadows
New member, repalced Mark Walker
New member, replaced George Holding
NORTH DAKOTA 1
Armstrong, Kelly (R)
l indicates arts-friendly position
m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote 4
X non-voting member or not in office 4
District
Representative (Party)
Notes as of 3/26/2021
1
34
2
54
4
67
7 8
87 9
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 1
Sablan, Gregorio (I)
U.S. Delegates are unable to vote
l
m
l
l
l
l
X
X
12
Balderson, Troy (R)
Special election 8/7/2018
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
3
Beatty, Joyce (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
1
Chabot, Steve (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
8
Davidson, Warren (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
11
Fudge, Marcia (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
7
Gibbs, Bob (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
16
Gonzalez, Anthony (R)
m
m
m
m
m
l
X
m
6
Johnson, Bill (R)
l
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
4
Jordan, Jim (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
14
Joyce, David (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
9
Kaptur, Marcy (D)
l
m
l
m
m
m
l
m
5
Latta, Robert (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
13
Ryan, Tim (D)
l
l
l
m
m
m
l
l
15
Stivers, Steve (R)
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
m
10
Turner, Michael (R)
m
m
m
l
m
l
l
m
2
Wenstrup, Brad (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
m
m
l
m
m
m
l
m
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
OHIO
OKLAHOMA 5
Bice, Stephanie (R)
4
Cole, Tom (R)
1
Hern, Kevin (R)
3
Lucas, Frank (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
2
Mullin, Markwayne (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
New member, defeated Kendra Horn
Special election 11/6/2018
OREGON 2
Bentz, Cliff (R)
3
Blumenauer, Earl (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
1
Bonamici, Suzanne (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
4
DeFazio, Peter (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
5
Schrader, Kurt (D)
l
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
New member, replaced Greg Walden
PENNSYLVANIA 2
Boyle, Brendan F. (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
8
Cartwright, Matthew (D)
m
l
m
m
m
m
l
m
4
Dean, Madeleine (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
18
Doyle, Michael (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
3
Evans, Dwight (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
1
Fitzpatrick, Brian R)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
6 Houlanhan, Chrissy (D) l indicates arts-friendly position m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote 4
X non-voting member or not in office 4
District
Representative (Party)
1
Notes as of 3/26/2021
34
2
4
54
4
5
67
7 8
87 9
PENNSYLVANIA (con't) 13
Joyce, John (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
12
Keller, Fred (R)
m
m
m
X
X
X
l
l
16
Kelly, Mike (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
17
Lamb, Conor (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
9
Meuser, Dan (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
10
Perry, Scott (R)
m
l
m
m
m
m
m
m
14
Reschenthaler, Guy (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
5
Scanlon, Mary (D)
m
m
l
l
l
l
X
X
11
Smucker, Lloyd (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
15
Thompson, Glenn (R)
l
m
m
m
m
l
l
m
7
Wild, Susan (D)
m
m
l
X
m
l
X
m
m
m
m
l
m
l
X
X
PUERTO RICO 1
González-Colón, Jenniffer (R)
Resident Commissioners are unable to vote
RHODE ISLAND 1
Cicilline, David (D)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
2
Langevin, James (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
SOUTH CAROLINA 6
Clyburn, James (D)
l
m
l
m
m
m
l
m
3
Duncan, Jeff (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
1
Mace, Nancy (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
5
Norman, Ralph (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
7
Rice, Tom (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
4
Timmons, William (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
2
Wilson, Joe (R)
l
m
m
m
m
l
m
m
Johnson, Dusty (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
2
Burchett, Tim (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
9
Cohen, Steve (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
5
Cooper, Jim (D)
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
l
4
DesJarlais, Scott (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
3
Fleischmann, Chuck (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
7
Green, Mark (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
1
Harshbarger, Diana (R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
8
Kustoff, David (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
New member, defeated Joe Cunningham
SOUTH DAKOTA 1 TENNESSEE
New member, replaced Phil Roe
6 Rose, John (R) l indicates arts-friendly position m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote 4
X non-voting member or not in office 4
District
Representative (Party)
1
Notes as of 3/26/2021
34
2
54
4
67
7 8
87 9
TEXAS 32
Allred, Colin (D)
m
m
m
m
l
l
X
X
19
Arrington, Jodey (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
36
Babin, Brian (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
8
Brady, Kevin (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
26
Burgess, Michael (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
31
Carter, John (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
20
Castro, Joaquin (D)
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
m
27
Cloud, Michael (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
2
Crenshaw, Dan (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
28
Cuellar, Henry (D)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
35
Doggett, Lloyd (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
m
16
Escobar, Veronica (D)
m
m
m
m
m
l
X
m
4
Fallon, Pat (R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
7
Fletcher, Lizzie (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
m
29
Garcia, Sylvia (D)
m
m
m
l
m
l
X
X
1
Gohmert, Louie (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
15
Gonzalez, Vicente (D)*
l
m
l
l
l
l
X
l
12
Granger, Kay (R)
l
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
9
Green, Al (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
23
Gonzales, Tony (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
5
Gooden, Lance (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
m
13
Jackson, Ronny (R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
18
Jackson Lee, Sheila (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
30
Johnson, Eddie Bernice (D)
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
l
10
McCaul, Michael (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
22
Nehls, Troy (R)
New member, replaced Pete Olson
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
11
Pfluger, August (R)
New member, replaced Mike Conaway
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
21
Roy, Chip (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
17
Sessions, Pete (R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
l
X
3
Taylor, Van (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
24
Van Duyne, Beth (R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
33
Veasey, Marc (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
34
Vela, Filemon (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
14
Weber, Randy (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
25
Williams, Roger (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
New member, replaced John Ratcliffe
New member, repalced Will Hurd
New member, replaced Mac Thornberry
New member, replaced Bill Flores
New member, replaced Kenney Marchant
* Mistakenly voted for Grothman Amendment, but corrected with a statement in the Congressional Record. l indicates arts-friendly position
m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote
X non-voting member or not in office
District
Representative (Party)
1
Notes as of 3/26/2021
34
2
4
54
4
5
67
7 8
87 9
PENNSYLVANIA (con't) 6
Wright, Ron (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
3
Curtis, John R. (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
1
Moore, Blake (R)
New member, replaced Rob Bishop
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
4
Owens, Burgess (R)
New member, defeated Ben McAdams
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2
Stewart, Chris (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
Welch, Peter (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
m
UTAH
VERMONT 1
VIRGIN ISLANDS 1
Plaskett, Stacey E. (D)
U.S. Delegates are unable to vote
VIRGINIA 8
Beyer, Donald (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
m
6
Cline, Ben (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
X
11
Connolly, Gerry (D)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
5
Good, Bob (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
9
Griffith, Morgan (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
2
Luria, Elaine (D)
m
m
m
m
l
m
X
X
4
McEachin, Donald A. (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
3
Scott, Bobby (D)
l
l
l
l
l
m
m
l
7
Spanberger, Abigail (D)
m
m
m
X
l
l
X
X
10
Wexton, Jennifer (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
1
Wittman, Robert (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
New member, defeated Denver Riggleman
WASHINGTON 1
DelBene, Suzan (D)
l
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
3
Herrera Beutler, Jaime (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
7
Jayapal, Pramila (D)
l
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
6
Kilmer, Derek (D)
l
l
l
m
m
m m
l
l
2
Larsen, Rick (D)
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
m
5
McMorris Rodgers, Cathy (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
4
Newhouse, Daniel (R)
m
m
m
m
m
l
l
m
8
Schrier, Kim (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
X
X
9
Smith, Adam (D)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
m
10
Strickland, Marilyn (D)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
l indicates arts-friendly position
New member, replaced Denny Heck
m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote
X non-voting member or not in office
District
Representative (Party)
1
Notes as of 3/26/2021
34
2
4 555
4
67
7 8
87 9
5
WEST VIRGINA 1
McKinley, David (R)
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
m
3
Miller, Carol (R)
m
m
m
X
m
m
X
X
2
Mooney, Alex (R)
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
m
6
Grothman, Glenn (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
m
3
Kind, Ron (D)
l
m
l
l
l
l
l
m
4
Moore, Gwen (D)
m
m
m
l
l
l
l
l
2
Pocan, Mark (D)
l
l
l
m
m
m
l
m
5
Scott, Fitzgerald (R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
Steil, Bryan (R)
m
m
m
m
m
m
X
m
7
Tiffany, Thomas (R)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
m
m
m
m
m
m
l
m
Wisconsin
New member, replaced Jim Sensenbrenner
New member, replaced Sean Duffy
WYOMING 1 Cheney, Liz (R) l indicates arts-friendly position m indicates opposition or no action taken
indicates missed vote
X non-voting member or not in office
How to Read the U.S. Senate Arts Support Record 1
Date: Result: Pro-arts:
2
Date: Result: Pro-arts:
3
Date: Result: Pro-arts:
4
Date: Result: Pro-arts:
Membership in the Senate Cultural Caucus (arts and humanities) as of 3/6/2021. The list is maintained by the office of Caucus Co-Chairs Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME). As of 3/6/2021 35 Members Member—YES
Cosigned a “Dear Colleague” letter on 8/12/2020, asking Senate leadership to provide support for charitable nonprofits. The letter was led by Sens. Jim Lankford (R-OK) and Angus King (I-ME).* As of 8/12/2020 21 Signatories Cosigned—YES
Cosigned a “Dear Colleague” letter on 3/20/2020, asking Senate appropriators to fund the NEA and NEH at $170 million in FY 2021. The letter was led by Senator Tom Udall (DNM).* As of 3/20/2020 40 Signatories Cosigned—YES
Cosigned a "Dear Colleague" letter on 4/15/2019, asking Senate appropriators to support "robust" funding for the Office of Museum Services in FY 2020. The letter was led by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Angus King (I-ME) and Senate Cultural Caucus Co-Chair Senator Susan Collins (R-ME). * 4/15/2019 40 Signatories Cosigned—YES
Pro-arts position signified with a filled-in dot on accompanying chart. * Appropriations Subcommittee members typically do not sign “Dear Colleague” letters, but many still support the ask.
Arts Advocacy Day 2021
U.S. Senate Arts Support Record Senator
Party-State
Notes as of 3/26/2021
1
21
3 41 3
43
l l X m m m m l l X l X l l m l m m X X l l m m m m m l m m m X m m m m l m m l l l l l l l m m
m m X m l m m m m X l X l m m l m m X X m l m m m m m m m m m X m m m m m m m m m l l m l l m m
m m X m m m m l l X l X l l l l m m X X l l m m m m m l m m m X m m m m l l l l m l l l l l m m
m m X m m m m l l X m X l l l l m m X X l l m m m m l l m m m X m m m m l l l l l l l l l l m m
R-MS
m
l
m
m
R-MS
l
m
m
m
Lisa A. Murkowski Dan Sullivan Tommy Tuberville Richard C. Shelby John Boozman Tom Cotton Martha McSally Krysten Sinema Dianne Feinstein Alex Padilla Michael Bennet John Hickenlooper Richard Blumenthal Christopher Murphy Thomas R. Carper Chris Coons Marco Rubio Rick Scott Rev. Ralph Warnock Jon Ossoff Mazie Hirono Brian Schatz Joni Ernst Charles E. Grassley Michael D. Crapo Jim Risch Tammy Duckworth Richard J. Durbin Mike Braun Todd Young Jerry Moran Roger Marshall Mitch McConnell Rand Paul William Cassidy John Kennedy Edward J. Markey Elizabeth Warren Benjamin L. Cardin Chris Van Hollen Susan M. Collins Angus S. King, Jr. Gary C. Peters Debbie Stabenow Amy Klobuchar Tina Smith Roy Blunt Josh Hawley
R-AK R-AK R-AL R-AL R-AR R-AR R-AZ D-AZ D-CA D-CA D-CO D-CO D-CT D-CT D-DE D-DE R-FL R-FL D-GA D-GA D-HI D-HI R-IA R-IA R-ID R-ID D-IL D-IL R-IN R-IN R-KS R-KS R-KY R-KY R-LA R-LA D-MA D-MA D-MD D-MD R-ME I-ME D-MI D-MI D-MN D-MN R-MO R-MO
Cindy Hyde-Smith Roger Wicker
Defeated Doug Jones (D)
Replaced VP Kamala Harris (D)
Defeated Cory Gardner (R)
Defeated Kelly Loeffler(R) Defeated David Perdue(R)
Replaced Pat Roberts (R)
l indicates pro-arts position m indicates opposition or no action taken indicates missed vote X not in office
U.S. Senate Arts Support Record Senator Steve Daines Jon Tester Richard Burr Thom Tillis Kevin Cramer John Hoeven Deb Fischer Ben Sasse Margaret Wood Hassan Jeanne Shaheen Cory A. Booker Robert Menendez Martin T. Heinrich Ben Ray Luján Catherine Cortez Masto Jacky Rosen Kirsten Gillibrand Charles E. Schumer Sherrod Brown Rob Portman James M. Inhofe James Lankford Jeff Merkley Ron Wyden Robert P. Casey Patrick J. Toomey Jack Reed Sheldon Whitehouse Lindsey Graham Tim Scott Mike Rounds John Thune Bill Hagerty Marsha Blackburn John Cornyn Ted Cruz Mike Lee Mitt Romney Tim Kaine Mark Warner Patrick J. Leahy Bernard Sanders Maria Cantwell Patty Murray Tammy Baldwin Ron Johnson Shelley Moore Capito Joe Manchin John Barrasso Cynthia Lummis
Party-State R-MT D-MT R-NC R-NC R-ND R-ND R-NE R-NE D-NH D-NH D-NJ D-NJ D-NM D-NM D-NV D-NV D-NY D-NY D-OH R-OH R-OK R-OK D-OR D-OR D-PA R-PA D-RI D-RI R-SC R-SC R-SD R-SD R-TN R-TN R-TX R-TX R-UT R-UT D-VA D-VA D-VT I-VT D-WA D-WA D-WI R-WI R-WV D-WV R-WY R-WY
Notes as of 3/26/2021
Replaced Tom Udall (D)
Replaced Lama Alexander (R)
Replaced Mike Enzi (R)
1 m l m m m l m m l l l l m X m m l l l m m m l m m m l l m m m m X m m m m m m m m m l l m m l l m X
21
l l m l l l m m m m m m m X m l m m m m m l l m m m m m m m l m X m m m m m l m m m m m m m m m m X
3 41 3
m l m m m m m m l l l l l X l l l m l m m m l l l m l l m m m m X m m m m m l l m l l l l m m l m X
43
m l m m m m m m l l l l l X l l l m l m m m l l l m l l m m m m X m m m m m l m m l l m l m m l m X
l indicates pro-arts position m indicates opposition or no action taken indicates missed vote X not in office
THE CONGRESSIONAL ARTS CAUCUS 117TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION 126 Members as of March 26, 2021
Chellie Pingree (D-ME)—Co-Chair ALABAMA Terri Sewell ARIZONA Ruben Gallego Raúl Grijalva ARKANSAS French Hill CALIFORNIA Julia Brownley Salud Carbajal Tony Cárdenas Lou Correa Anna Eshoo Jared Huffman Barbara Lee Mike Levin Ted Lieu Zoe Lofgren Alan Lowenthal Doris Matsui Tom McClintock Grace Napolitano Jimmy Panetta Scott Peters Lucille Roybal-Allard Linda Sánchez Adam Schiff Brad Sherman Jackie Speier Mark Takano Mike Thompson
Elise Stefanik (R-NY) —Co-Chair
CONNECTICUT Joe Courtney Rosa DeLauro Jim Himes John Larson DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Eleanor Holmes Norton FLORIDA Vern Buchanan Kathy Castor Ted Deutch Lois Frankel Alcee Hastings Bill Posey Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Frederica Wilson GEORGIA Hank Johnson IDAHO Mike Simpson ILLINOIS Danny Davis Bill Foster Mike Quigley Jan Schakowsky
KENTUCKY Brett Guthrie John Yarmuth MAINE Chellie Pingree* Jared Golden MARYLAND Jamie Raskin John Sarbanes MASSACHUSETTS William Keating Stephen Lynch James McGovern Seth Moulton Richard Neal Ayanna Pressley MICHIGAN Debbie Dingell Brenda Lawrence Haley Stevens Fred Upton MINNESOTA Betty McCollum Dean Phillips
INDIANA André Carson
COLORADO Diana DeGette
Members of the House of Representatives are encouraged to join the Congressional Arts Caucus. For more information, please contact: Evan Johnston in the office of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree at (202) 225-6116 or evan.johnston@mail.house.gov, or Marek Laco in the office of Congressman Elise Stefanik at 202-225-4611 or marek.laco@mail.house.gov.
THE CONGRESSIONAL ARTS CAUCUS MISSOURI Billy Long NEVADA Dina Titus NEW HAMPSHIRE Ann McLane Kuster NEW JERSEY Josh Gottheimer Donald Norcross Frank Pallone Bill Pascrell, Jr. Donald Payne, Jr. Albio Sires Bonnie Watson Coleman NEW YORK Yvette Clarke Antonio Delgado Brian Higgins Carolyn Maloney Sean Patrick Maloney Jerrold Nadler Elise Stefanik* Paul Tonko Nydia Velázquez NORTH CAROLINA Alma Adams G.K. Butterfield David Price
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS Gregorio Sablan OHIO Bill Johnson Marcy Kaptur Tim Ryan Steve Stivers OREGON Earl Blumenauer Suzanne Bonamici Peter DeFazio Kurt Schrader PENNSYLVANIA Brendan Boyle Mike Doyle Glenn Thompson RHODE ISLAND David Cicilline James Langevin SOUTH CAROLINA James Clyburn Joe Wilson TENNESSEE Steve Cohen Jim Cooper
TEXAS Lloyd Doggett Kay Granger Vincente Gonzalez Al Green Sheila Jackson-Lee Eddie Bernice Johnson Marc Veasey VERMONT Peter Welch VIRGINIA Don Beyer Gerry Connolly Bobby Scott WASHINGTON Suzan DelBene Pramila Jayapal Derek Kilmer Rick Larsen Adam Smith WEST VIRGINIA David McKinley Alex Mooney WISCONSIN Ron Kind Mark Pocan
Members of the House of Representatives are encouraged to join the Congressional Arts Caucus. For more information, please contact: Evan Johnston in the office of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree at (202) 225-6116 or evan.johnston@mail.house.gov, or Marek Laco in the office of Congressman Elise Stefanik at 202-225-4611 or marek.laco@mail.house.gov.
THE CONGRESSIONAL STEAM CAUCUS 117TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION 75 Members as of March 26, 2021
Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)—Co-Chair ARIZONA Rául Grijalva
KENTUCKY John Yarmuth
ARKANSAS French Hill
MAINE Chellie Pingree
CALIFORNIA Julia Brownley Tony Cárdenas Jared Huffman Barbara Lee Ted Lieu Zoe Lofgren Alan Lowenthal Doris Matsui Scott Peters Adam Schiff Jackie Speier Mark Takano
MARYLAND Jamie Raskin
CONNECTICUT Jim Himes
MINNESOTA Betty McCollum
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Eleanor Holmes Norton
MISSISSIPPI Bennie Thompson
FLORIDA Kathy Castor Ted Deutch Lois Frankel Alcee Hastings
NEVADA Dina Titus
GEORGIA Sanford Bishop Hank Johnson David Scott
NEW JERSEY Josh Gottheimer Donald Norcross Bill Pascrell
ILLINOIS Cheri Bustos Danny Davis Rodney Davis Mike Quigley Jan Schakowsky
NEW YORK Brian Higgins Hakeem Jeffries Carolyn Maloney Sean Patrick Maloney Jerrold Nadler Elise Stefanik* Paul Tonko
INDIANA André Carson Jackie Walorski
MASSACHUSETTS Bill Keating Stephen Lynch James McGovern Richard Neal MICHIGAN Debbie Dingell Brenda Lawrence Fred Upton
NEW HAMPSHIRE Ann McLane Kuster
Elise Stefanik (R-NY)—Co-Chair NORTH CAROLINA Alma Adams G. K. Butterfield David Price OHIO Tim Ryan OREGON Earl Blumenauer Suzanne Bonamici* Peter DeFazio PENNSYLVANIA Matthew Cartwright Scott Perry RHODE ISLAND David Cicilline James Langevin TENNESSEE Steve Cohen TEXAS Lloyd Doggett VIRGINIA Gerry Connolly Bobby Scott WASHINGTON Suzan DelBene Derek Kilmer Adam Smith West Virginia David McKinley Carol Miller WISCONSIN Mark Pocan
All Members of the House of Representatives are encouraged to join the Congressional STEAM Caucus. For more information, please contact Jessica Bowen in the office of Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici at 202-225-0855 or jessica.bowen@mail.house.gov, or Marek Laco in the office of Congressman Elise Stefanik at 202-225-4611 or marek.laco@mail.house.gov.
THE SENATE CULTURAL CAUCUS 117TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION 34 Members as of March 26, 2021
Co-Chairs Jack Reed (D-RI) Members Lisa Murkowski Dan Sullivan Dianne Feinstein Michael Bennet Richard Blumenthal Chris Murphy Chris Coons Mazie Hirono Brian Schatz Richard Durbin Ed Markey Chris Van Hollen Susan Collins Angus King, Jr. Debbie Stabenow Gary Peters Amy Klobuchar Roger Wicker Jon Tester John Hoeven Maggie Hassan Jeanne Shaheen Robert Menendez Cory Booker Charles Schumer Kristen Gillibrand Sherrod Brown Jeff Merkley Jack Reed Sheldon Whitehouse Maria Cantwell Patty Murray Joe Manchin Shelley Moore Capito
Susan Collins (R-ME) State AK AK CA CO CT CT DE HI HI IL MA MD ME ME MI MI MN MS MT ND NH NH NJ NJ NY NY OH OR RI RI WA WA WV WV
All Members of the Senate are encouraged to join the Senate Cultural Caucus. For more information, please contact Moira Lenehan in the office of Senator Reed (202) 224-4642, Moira_Lenehan@reed.senate.gov ,or Rowan Bost in the office Senator Collins (202) 224-2523, Rowan_Bost@collins.senate.gov. .
FACTS & FIGURES
The 2021 Congressional Arts Handbook is current as of March 22, 2021. Please visit AmericansForTheArts.org/AAD/Handbook to find the most up-to-date versions of the Facts & Figures.
10 Reasons to Support the Arts in 2021 The arts are fundamental to our humanity. They ennoble and inspire us—fostering creativity, empathy, and beauty. The arts also strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically—benefits that persist even during a pandemic that has been devastating to the arts. The following ten reasons show why an investment in artists and arts organizations is vital to the nation’s post-pandemic healing and recovery. 1.
Arts unify communities. 72% of Americans believe “the arts unify our communities regardless of age, race, and ethnicity” and 73% agree that the arts “helps me understand other cultures better”—a perspective observed across all demographic and economic categories.
2.
Arts improve individual well-being. 81% of the population says the arts are a “positive experience in a troubled world,” 69% of the population believe the arts “lift me up beyond everyday experiences,” and 73% feel the arts give them “pure pleasure to experience and participate in.”
3.
Arts strengthen the economy. The nation’s arts and culture sector—nonprofit, commercial, education—is an $878 billion industry that supports 5.1 million jobs. That is 4.5% of the nation’s economy—a larger share of GDP than powerhouse sectors such as agriculture, transportation, and tourism. The arts have a $30 billion international trade surplus. The arts also accelerate economic recovery: a growth in arts employment has a positive and causal effect on overall employment.
4.
Arts drive tourism and revenue to local businesses. The nonprofit arts industry alone generates $166.3 billion in economic activity annually—spending by organizations and their audiences—which supports 4.6 million jobs and generates $27.5 billion in government revenue. Arts attendees spend $31.47 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission on items such as meals, parking, and lodging—vital income for local businesses. Arts travelers are ideal tourists, staying longer and spending more to seek out authentic culture experiences.
5.
Arts improve academic performance. Students engaged in arts learning have higher GPAs, standardized test scores, and college-going rates as well as lower drop-out rates. These academic benefits are reaped by students across all socio-economic strata. Yet, the Department of Education reports that access to arts education for students of color is significantly lower than for their white peers. 91% of Americans believe that arts are part of a well-rounded K-12 education.
6.
Arts spark creativity and innovation. Creativity is among the top five applied skills sought by business leaders—per the Conference Board’s Ready to Innovate report—with 72% saying creativity is of “high importance” when hiring. Research on creativity shows that Nobel laureates in the sciences are 17 times more likely to be actively engaged arts an arts maker than other scientists.
7.
Arts have social impact. University of Pennsylvania researchers have demonstrated that a high concentration of the arts in a city leads to higher civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher child welfare, and lower poverty rates.
8.
Arts improve healthcare. Nearly one-half of the nation’s healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and even staff. 78% deliver these programs because of their healing benefits to patients— shorter hospital stays, better pain management, and less medication.
9.
Arts for the health and well-being of our military. The arts heal the mental, physical, and moral injuries of war for military servicemembers and Veterans, who rank the creative arts therapies in the top four (out of 40) interventions and treatments. Across the military continuum, the arts promote resilience during pre-deployment,
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
deployment, and the reintegration of military servicemembers, Veterans, their families, and caregivers into communities. 10. Arts Strengthen Mental Health. The arts are an effective resource in reducing depression and anxiety and increasing life satisfaction. Just 30 minutes of active arts activities daily can combat the ill effects of isolation
and loneliness associated with COVID-19.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
What Americans Say About the Arts Americans are highly engaged in the arts and believe more strongly than ever that the arts promote personal well-being, help us understand other cultures in our community, are essential to a well-rounded K-12 education, and that government has an important role in funding the arts. 1. “The arts provide meaning to our lives.” 69% of Americans believe the arts “lift me up beyond everyday experiences,” 73% feel the arts give them “pure pleasure to experience and participate in,” and 81% say the arts are a “positive experience in a troubled world.” 2. “The arts unify our communities.” The personal benefits of the arts extend beyond the individual to the community. 72% believe “the arts unify our communities regardless of age, race, and ethnicity” and 73% agree that the arts “helps me understand other cultures better.” 3. “Most of us seek out arts experiences.” Nearly three-quarters of the adult population (72%) attended an arts or culture event during the previous year, such as the theater, museum, zoo, or a musical performance. 4. “We experience the arts in unexpected places.” Americans also enjoy the arts in "non-traditional" venues, such as a symphony in the park, a performance in an airport, or exhibitions in a hospital or shopping mall (70%). 5.
“There is near universal support for arts education.” 91% agree that the arts are part of a wellrounded K-12 education. Over 90% say students should receive an education in the arts in elementary school, middle school, and high school. 89% say the arts should also be taught outside of the classroom in the community.
6. “We support government arts funding at all levels.” Most Americans approve of arts funding by local government (60%), state government (58%), federal government (54%), and by the National Endowment for the Arts (64%). 7. “We will vote for candidates who increase arts funding.” 53% support increasing federal government spending on nonprofit arts organizations (vs. 22% against). Americans are twice as likely to vote for a candidate who increases federal arts spending from 45 cents to $1 per person than against one (37% vs. 18%). 8. “We make art in our personal time.” Half of all Americans are personally involved in art-making activities such as painting, singing in a choir, making crafts, writing poetry, or playing music (47%). 9. “Creativity boosts job success.” 55% of employed adults say their job requires them to “be creative and come up with ideas that are new and unique.” An even greater proportion (60%) say that the more creative and innovative they are at their job, the more successful they are in the workplace. 10. “Cultural institutions add value to our community.” Whether people engage with the arts or not, 90% believe cultural facilities (theaters, museums, sculpture parks, neighborhood arts centers) improve quality of life, and 86% believe cultural facilities are important to local business and the economy.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org/PublicOpinion
11. “We donate to the arts.” 24% of the population donated to an arts, culture, or public broadcasting organization in the previous year. Donors were typically younger and had higher incomes and education. 12. “Not everyone in my community has equal access to the arts.” Despite many benefits that the arts bring to individuals and communities, just 50% believe that “everyone in their community has equal access to the arts.” Americans Speak Out About the Arts in 2018, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for Americans for the Arts in 2018, is based on a nationally representative sample of 3,023 adults.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org/PublicOpinion
Arts Facts . . . Economic Impact of the Arts The nonprofit arts industry generated $166.3 billion in total economic activity in 2015—supporting 4.6 million jobs and generating $27.5 billion in government revenue.
Economic Impact of the Nonprofit Arts and Culture Industry Total Economic Activity
$166.3 Billion
Direct spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations Direct spending by culture audiences
Total Full-Time Equivalent Jobs Supported
$63.8 Billion $102.5 Billion
4.6 Million
Total Household Income Generated
$96.1 Billion
Total Government Revenue Generated
$27.5 Billion
Federal income tax revenue
$12.9 Billion
State government revenue
$7.7 Billion
Local government revenue
$6.9 Billion
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
•
Nonprofit arts and culture organizations are valued members of the business community. They employ people who live in the community, purchase goods and services from local businesses, are members of their Chambers of Commerce, and promote their regions.
•
In 2015, these organizations—performing and visual arts organizations, festivals, public art programs, municipally owned museums and arts centers, and more—pumped an estimated $63.8 billion into the nation’s economy. This economic activity leveraged an additional $102.5 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences. The $166.3 billion in total economic activity supported 4.6 million full-time equivalent jobs and generated $27.5 billion in total government revenue.
•
When patrons attend an arts event, they may pay for parking, eat dinner at a restaurant, shop in local retail stores, and have dessert on the way home. Based on the 212,691 audience surveys conducted for this study, the typical attendee spends $31.47 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission. 34% of attendees came from outside the county in which the arts event took place. They spent twice as much as their local counterparts ($47.57 vs. $23.44).
•
Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 demonstrates that the arts are an industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is a cornerstone of tourism. Business and elected leaders need not feel that a choice must be made between arts funding and economic prosperity. This study proves that they can choose both. Nationally as well as locally, the arts mean business!
Visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AEP5 for more information about the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Arts Facts . . . Artist Employment As counted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 2.6 million artists in the U.S. workforce—1.6% of all workers. The unemployment rate for artists grew from 3.7% in 2019 to 10.3% in 2020.
•
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that there were 2.57 million artists in the U.S. workforce in 2020—representing 1.6% of all workers ages 16 and older.
•
In 2020, the unemployment rate for artists was 10.3%, up from 3.7% in 2019. The 2020 unemployment rate for artists remains higher than “Professionals” (4.9%), a category of workers that includes artists and other occupations that generally require college training. The 2020 unemployment rate for the total workforce was 7.8%.
•
It is important to note that this analysis of the artist labor force is comprised of just 11 occupational categories: architects; art directors, fine artists, and animators; designers; actors; producers, and directors; dancers and choreographers; musicians; announcers; writers and authors; photographers; and other artists and entertainers. While these categories only capture a portion of all artists in the workforce, this methodology has been used by the federal government for over 50 years, which makes it a valuable artist employment trend.
•
Also noteworthy is that this is an analysis solely of artist employment. It does not include many arts-related jobs such as arts administrators, curators, technical staff, and fundraisers. Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Office of Research & Analysis and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Arts Facts . . . Economic Impact of the Arts The nonprofit arts industry generated $166.3 billion in total economic activity in 2015—supporting 4.6 million jobs and generating $27.5 billion in government revenue.
Economic Impact of the Nonprofit Arts and Culture Industry Total Economic Activity
$166.3 Billion
Direct spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations Event-related spending by arts audiences
Total Full-Time Equivalent Jobs Supported
$63.8 Billion $102.5 Billion
4.6 Million
Total Household Income Generated
$96.1 Billion
Total Government Revenue Generated
$27.5 Billion
Federal income tax revenue
$12.9 Billion
State government revenue
$7.7 Billion
Local government revenue
$6.9 Billion
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Arts Facts . . . Spending by Arts Audiences The arts leverage significant amounts of event-related spending by their audiences. Attendees to nonprofit arts and culture events spend an average $31.47 per person, per event (beyond the cost of admission).
Arts Audiences Spend an Average of $31.47 Per Person, Per Event (Not including admission costs)
•
When patrons attend an arts event, they may pay for parking, eat dinner at a restaurant, shop in local retail stores, and have dessert on the way home. Based on the 212,691 audience surveys conducted in the AEP5 study, the typical attendee spends $31.47 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission.
•
34% of attendees came from outside the county in which the arts event took place. They spent twice as much as their local counterparts ($47.57 vs. $23.44). When asked WHY they traveled from out of town to attend that arts event, 69% reported that the primary reason for their trip was, “Specifically to attend this arts event.” This demonstrates the power of the arts to attract out-of-town visitors.
•
Communities that attract culture tourists stand to harness these significant economic rewards. When governments invest in the arts, they are supporting local jobs, generating tax revenues, and fueling a creativity-based economy.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
•
www.AmericansForTheArts.or
Visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AEP5 for more information on the Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 g study.
‐
‐
Arts Facts…Access to Arts Education is Not Equitable In 2008, African American and Hispanic students had less than half of the access to arts education than their White peers.
Percentage of 18 to 24-year-olds who received any arts education in childhood
Decline of Arts Education in Underserved Populations
64.8% 59.2%
57.9% 53.4% 50.9%
43.5%
47.2%
White 36.0%
African American
34.8%
28.1% 27.4%
1982
1992
Hispanic
26.2%
2002
2008
Study Year
•
Access to arts education for Black and Hispanic students is significantly lower than for their White peers, and has been steadily declining for three decades.
•
Findings by UCLA researcher James Catterall indicate that low socio-economic-status students who are engaged in arts learning have increases in high school academic performance, college-going rates, college grades, and holding jobs with a future.
•
Despite these findings, the decline of arts education is most drastic in underserved populations, where students who could benefit the most from arts education are getting it the least.
Source: NEA Office of Research & Analysis, NORC at the University of Chicago (Rabkin & Hedberg, 2011).
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Arts Facts…Improved Academic Performance Students who participate in the arts, both in school and after school, demonstrate improved academic performance and lower dropout rates.
•
Longitudinal data of 25,000 students demonstrate that involvement in the arts is linked to higher academic performance, increased standardized test scores, more community service, and lower dropout rates (see chart above). These cognitive and developmental benefits are reaped by students regardless of their socioeconomic status.
•
The report, Critical Links, contains 62 academic research studies that, taken together, demonstrate that arts education helps close the achievement gap, improves academic skills essential for reading and language development, and advances students’ motivation to learn.
•
Research conducted between 1987 and 1998 on young people working in the arts for at least three hours on three days of each week throughout at least one full year, demonstrated the following: ✓ 4 times more likely to have been recognized for academic achievement. ✓ Being elected to class office within their schools more than 3 times as often. ✓ 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair. ✓ 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance. www.AmericansForTheArts.org ✓ 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem.
Sources: NEA Office of Research & Analysis (Catterall 2012); Arts Education Partnership (Deasy, 2002); Americans for the Arts (Heath 1998).
Arts Facts . . . Business Support to the Arts With billions in arts funding, businesses play a key role in ensuring the health and vitality of the nation’s arts sector. Business support for the arts is driven less by a charitable focus than it is targeted on how the arts impact the communities in which their employees live and work. Corporate Support to the Arts in 2019 According to Giving in Numbers 2020 by Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), the “share” of corporate philanthropy directed to the arts by large corporations decreased to 5% in 2019.
Business Leaders Support the Arts for its Benefits to Quality of Life and the Economy Business leaders responding to the Conference Board’s 2019 Business Contributions to the Arts Survey indicated that they support the arts because it improves quality of life (62%) and strengthens the local economy (46%). The report also showed that companies are increasingly aligning arts contributions programs with business strategy and goals.
Corporate Arts Sponsorship Tops $1 Billion in 2018 • IEG reports that corporate sponsorship of the arts was $1.03 billion in 2018. • The business sectors with the largest arts sponsorship activity are banks, professional services, financial services, insurance, and retail. • The arts were projected to receive 4% of all corporate sponsorship in 2018.
Source: Compiled by Americans for the Arts, 2021.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Arts Facts . . . Government Funding to Arts Agencies In 2021, local and state government funding to their arts agencies is expected to decrease due to the pandemic’s impact on government budgets. NEA funding increased to $167.5 million.
•
Local government funding to their local arts agencies will be an estimated $797.3 million in 2021, a decrease of 7.5% from 2020. This is the second consecutive year of decline—both resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic—and followed eight consecutive years of local government funding increases. There are an estimated 4,500 local arts agencies in the U.S. ($797.3 million = $2.66 per capita)
•
State legislative arts appropriations are expected to decrease 18.2% to $400.8 million in 2021, down from a high-water mark of $490 million in 2020. State arts agencies received a 36% increase in 2020. Even with the major appropriations decrease in 2021, it still exceeds 2019 ($354 million vs. $400.8 million). ($400.8 million = $1.21 per capita)
•
Federal appropriations to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) increased to $167.5 million in 2021, up from $162.25 million in 2020. The highest level of NEA funding was $176 million in 1992. ($167.5 million = 51 cents per capita) Note: These figures are limited to government funding directly to the NEA, state arts agencies, and local arts agencies. They do not represent the full breadth of government funding, such as legislative line items to culture organizations, facilities, or arts funding by non-arts government agencies. Sources: Americans for the Arts, Nationalwww.AmericansForTheArts.org Assembly of State Arts Agencies, and U.S Census Bureau, 2021. *Estimated
Arts Facts . . . Arts and Healthcare Nearly half of the nation’s healthcare institutions provide arts programming for patients, families, and staff. 80% provide these programs because they benefit patients and create a healing environment.
•
A 2007 national survey about arts programs in healthcare institutions conducted by The Joint Commission—which accredits the nation’s 22,000 hospitals and healthcare entities— showed that nearly half (49%) have active arts programs, and all indicators point to a larger percentage today. When hospital administrators were asked, “Why the arts,” chief among the responses were that they aid in the mental and emotional recovery of patients (80%) as well as their physical recovery (41%).
•
Many programs extend beyond the patients to strengthen the entire healing system: 80% serve patients directly, 58% include the patient’s family, and 42% are for staff to help them deal with workplace stress. Arts programs in hospitals have even been shown to reduce nursing staff turnover.
•
A landmark study published in The Gerontologist revealed that weekly arts participation (singing in a choral group) by persons aged 65 and older resulted in better physical and mental health, fewer doctor visits, and less medication usage than the study’s non-singing control group. In fact, comparing just medication use and doctor visits, the individuals who sang in the chorus had an annual savings of $172.91 per year, per participant. Incorporating the arts into elder care can add up to huge savings for Medicare, private insurers, and individuals.
•
In addition to humanizing the hospital environment, there is a growing body of research that demonstrates the economic benefits of arts in healthcare programs, including shorter hospital stays, less medication, and fewer doctor visits.
Source: Americans for the Arts, 2021.
Arts Facts . . . National Endowment for the Arts The NEA supports the creation, preservation, and presentation of the arts in America—a profound responsibility yet funded by Congress at just $167.5 million in 2021 (51 cents per capita). Fiscal Year
Total Funds
2021
$
167,500,000
2020
$
162,250,000
2019
$
155,000,000
2018
$
152,800,000
2017
$
150,000,000
2016
$
147,949,000
2015
$
146,021,000
2014
$
146,021,000
2013
$
146,020,000
2012
$
146,020,992
2011
$
154,690,000
2010
$
167,500,000
2009
$
155,000,000
2008
$
144,706,800
2007
$
124,561,844
2006
$
124,406,353
2005
$
121,263,000
2004
$
120,971,000
2003
$
115,731,000
2002
$
115,220,000
2001
$
104,769,000
2000
$
97,627,600
1999
$
97,966,000
1998
$
98,000,000
1997
$
99,494,000
1996
$
99,470,000
1995
$
162,311,000
1994
$
170,228,000
1993
$
174,459,382
1992
$
175,954,680
1991
$
174,080,737
1990
$
171,255,000
1989
$
169,090,000
1988
$
167,731,000
1987
$
165,281,000
1986
$
158,822,040
1985
$
163,660,000
1984
$
162,223,000
1983
$
143,875,000
1982
$
143,456,000
1981
$
158,795,000
1980
$
154,610,000
1979
$
149,585,000
1978
$
123,850,000
1977
$
99,872,000
1976
$
87,455,000
1975
$
80,142,000
1974
$
64,025,000
1973
$
40,857,000
1972
$
31,480,000
1971
$
16,420,000
1970
$
9,055,000
1969
$
8,456,875
1968
$
7,774,291
1967
$
8,475,692
1966
$
2,898,308
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
If the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) had simply maintained its 1984 percentage of nondefense discretionary spending (11 cents per $100 of spending), the 2020 NEA budget would be $693.2 million instead of $162.25 million.
If the NEA's 1992 budget had simply remained constant and was only adjusted for inflation, it would have been $326 million in 2020, instead of $162.25 million, a $164 million difference.
Source: NEA; Congressional Budget Office. Analysis by Americans for the Arts, 2021.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Arts Facts . . . Private Sector Philanthropy Giving to the arts by individuals, foundations, and corporations grew 12.6% to $21.64 billion in 2019 (+10.6% when adjusted for inflation) and represented 4.8% of all charitable giving.
•
In 2019, private sector giving to the arts, culture, and humanities—by individuals, foundations, and corporations—was $21.64 billion, up 12.6% from a revised $19.21 billion in 2018. When adjusted for inflation, this represents a 10.6% increase.
•
As a percentage of all charitable giving, the arts held relatively steady at 4.8%. Maintaining a strong and steady share of overall philanthropy demonstrates relevance of the arts sector. Even small fluctuations in the share of total philanthropy have significant financial implications.
•
Private contributions to all charities were up 4.2% in 2019 (+2.4% when adjusted for inflation) reaching $449.64 billion. Total giving by corporations giving soared 13.4% to $21.09 billion and foundations increased 2.5% to $75.69 billion. Individual giving rebounded with a 4.7% increase to $309.66 billion, following a decrease in 2018 (-2.3%).
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Source: Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2019. Giving USA Foundation, June 2020.
Arts Facts . . . Arts Organization Revenues Revenue from earned income is the largest source of income for nonprofit arts organizations. The remainder must be raised through contributions and grants. Even small fluctuations in contributed revenue can mean deficits for many organizations.
Support for the nonprofit arts is a mosaic of funding sources—a delicate 60-30-10 balance of earned revenue, private sector contributions, and government support. The chart above provides a snapshot of the revenue picture for a typical nonprofit arts and culture organization in the U.S. Considering that there are approximately 120,000 such organizations, including public sector ones, the revenue picture for individual organizations can vary widely. These estimates are pre-COVID19 pandemic. 1. Earned income (60%) represents a little over half of the total revenue pie and includes ticket sales, sponsorships, fundraising events, and investment and endowment income. 2. Private sector (30%) contributions (individual, foundation, and corporate giving) are the second largest portion of the revenue pie. The largest segment is comprised of individuals. 3. Government funding (10%)—local, state, and federal—is the smallest of the three revenue categories, yet is a vital lever in generating private sector contributions. Note that total federal arts support is not limited to the National Endowment for the Arts. It also includes the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Institution, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and even arts programming within the agencies such as the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education. Local and state governments have similarly diverse sources of arts funding. Source: Estimate by Americans for the Arts based on analyses of federal and industry association data. 2020.
www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Percentage of Schools Offering Instruction in the Arts
Uneven Arts Education Opportunities Nationwide 94%
91%
89% 83%
45%
12% 4%
3%
Dance
Music Elementary
Drama/Theatre Secondary
Visual Arts
LETTERS FROM PARTNERS
The 2021 Congressional Arts Handbook is current as of March 22, 2021. Please visit AmericansForTheArts.org/AAD/Handbook to find the most up-to-date versions of the Letters from Partners.
• • •
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress, As a National Partner of the National Arts Action Digital Summit 2021, the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) is calling on Congress to increase current support and funding for federal agencies and programs that promote, sustain, and support the arts and the creative arts therapies in all areas of American life. The mission of the AATA is to advocate for expansion of access to professional art therapists and advance art therapy as a regulated mental health profession, working in concert with our 38 state and regional chapters. Art therapy is a mental health profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, the creative process, and applied psychological theory within a psychotherapeutic relationship. It offers a means of communication for people who cannot find the words to express anxiety, pain, or emotions. Art therapists are clinicians, educators, and researchers with Masters-level degrees or higher, trained in art and psychotherapy. During the Coronavirus pandemic, art therapists have been on the frontlines, both risking their safety in-person as essential workers and supporting Americans via teletherapy through loss, isolation, depression, and other challenges. Art therapists are keenly aware of the serious mental health needs of children and adolescents caused by the pandemic, the consequences of prolonged isolation of older adults, the added toll on LGBTQIA mental health, as well as persistent disparities in access to mental health services among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. We thank Congress for passing the American Rescue Plan which provided critical support for the arts, mental health, and those who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Congress has long supported the arts and mental health, as well as the creative arts therapies, through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Older Americans Act, the recent passage of Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, and other federal programs. However, much more still needs to be done. To better respond to the mental health crisis that has accompanied the pandemic, the AATA urges Congress to strengthen our national arts and mental health infrastructure with the following actions: •
Continue bipartisan support and substantially increase National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding in the FY 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to broaden access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts and to advance creativity and innovation in communities across the United States.
•
Increase funding through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand the number of creative arts therapists employed in the VA providing clinical treatment in medical centers, community based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) and in virtual and telehealth services that reach a large number of rural and isolated veterans.
•
Support anticipated recommendations from the National Defense Authorization Act report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on the feasibility of expanding the creative arts therapies programs.
•
Support research funding for creative arts therapies and arts in health programs within federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services.
•
Support the Promoting Local Arts and Creative Economy Workforce Act (PLACE Act), to direct the Department of Labor, Department of Education, and Small Business Administration to develop grant, education, and job training programs to assist individuals involved in projects that support a creative industry or occupation and to promote job growth, entrepreneurship, and economic inclusion in the creative arts workforce.
The AATA strongly believes that accessibility to, and active participation in, the arts and the creative arts therapies promotes physical and emotional well-being and enhanced quality of life for people of all ages. We join with our partners in Americans for the Arts in urging Congress to continue its vital support for the arts and the creative arts therapies. Sincerely,
Margaret Carlock Russo, EdD, LCAT, ATR-BC, ATCS President, American Art Therapy Association American Art Therapy Association ▪ 4875 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 240, Alexandria, VA 22304 www.arttherapy.org ▪ 888-290-0878 ▪ info@arttherapy.org
4/5/21
Dear Member of Congress: The American Association of Community Theatre (AACT) is proud to continue its role as an advocate for the arts by being a National Co-Sponsor of Arts Advocacy Day 2021. AACT represents the interests of 7,000 community theatres in the United States including U.S. Military theatres throughout the world. Music Theatre International’s (a provider of rights and materials for productions) Community Theatre customer base exceeds over 20,000 Community Theatres. These theatres, in communities from major cities to rural villages, have a combined budget of approximately one billion dollars and engage more than 1.5 million volunteers, expressing their creativity through the art of theatre and engaging a combined audience of over 85 million theatre goers of all ages. Beyond the volunteers served, community theatre collectively is the largest employer of theatre professionals in our nation. According to the Americans for the Arts, community theatre has contributed over three billion dollars to the economic impact of communities throughout our country. More than just an economic engine, however, community theatres throughout the country, probably including your hometown, help stimulate the minds and creativity of all who participate. The impact on youth in building confidence and honing communications skills and problem-solving capabilities are well documented and can only be achieved by theatre and the arts. AACT supports our member organizations by providing specific resources to assist in the management and execution of theatre with a constant goal of improving quality in all aspects of theatre. Through our workshops, national festivals, and interactive web site, we provide networking opportunities for both theatre professionals and avocational artists. AACT facilitates relationships for various services and discounts for our members only achievable through our collective efforts. To continue the vital role the arts play in our country, AACT urges Congress to: • Continue and increase the funding for the National Endowment for the Arts • Support new and strengthen existing COVID recovery programs and initiatives that encourage individual and community financial support for the arts • Look to develop new and innovative ways to further financially support the arts post-pandemic • Improve the visa process for foreign guest artists visiting our nation Thank you for your leadership and commitment to our country and the arts. Please let us know how we might be of help in the future in achieving our mutual goals. Sincerely,
Chris Serface President PO Box 101476 Fort Worth, TX 76185 T: 817-732-3177 info@aact.org www.aact.org
April 5, 2021
Dear Member of Congress: The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) is proud to serve as a Partner of the National Arts Action Summit 2021. AMTA is committed to the mission of advancing public awareness of music therapy benefits and increasing access to quality music therapy services. With more than 70 years of clinical history in the United States, nationally board certified music therapists work across the lifespan, serving client groups in healthcare and education settings, using carefully structured and evidence-based interventions informed by the best available research in the published literature. ➢ Board certified music therapists have adapted service delivery and diversified treatment options to meet needs that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing both live and telehealth interventions to enhance physical, psychological, cognitive and social functioning. ➢ Music therapy programs serve America’s service members and their families on military installations, in military treatment facilities, in Veterans Administration healthcare facilities, and in communities. ➢ A recent report from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), “Arts Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Examining the Evidence” found that incorporating music into treatments for opioid use disorder can contribute significant, positive effects for patients. ➢ Launched in 2021, the Sound Health Network is a partnership of the NEA with the University of California, San Francisco in collaboration with NIH, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Renée Fleming. It builds on the Sound Health Partnership, that brings together scientists, music therapists, artists, and the public to explore music’s impact on the brain, health, and wellness. To improve access to cost-effective music therapy services, we urge your support of the following: •
Expand coverage of music therapy for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries
•
Support Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Education funding for music therapy, including telehealth, designed to address mental health needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic
•
Support increased funding through the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense for music therapy services, including telehealth, for veterans, active military, and their families
Thank you for your support of all Arts programs in America, especially those programs and services that improve healthcare quality and support communities respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sincerely,
Judy Simpson, MT-BC Director of Government Relations
Adonia Calhoun Coates, CAE, CMP Chief Executive Officer
8455 Colesville Rd. Suite 1000 | Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA | 301-589-3300 | www.musictherapy.org
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress: We are pleased to submit this letter as a National Partner of Americans for the Arts National Arts Action Summit 2021. We write to you on behalf of more than 250 members of the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE). AAAE represents higher education arts administration training programs from all over the world, with 85% in the U.S. Our members and alumni have dedicated their professional lives to the arts - working in institutions such as theatres, museums, orchestra halls, and community arts centers. They are also at the forefront of arts and culture research, studying funding and operating models, diversity in the arts, and how the arts can transform and uplift communities. On behalf of our members, AAAE offers the following recommendations: 1. Funding for the National Endowment of the Arts. Continue bipartisan support and substantially increase National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding in the FY 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to broaden access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts and to advance creativity and innovation in communities across the United States. Support the recovery of the arts sector by allowing the NEA to provide more and larger grants, suspend matching requirements, and allow for general operating support funding. 2. A Favorable Environment for Higher Education: We urge Congress to strengthen access to and affordability of higher education in the arts through supporting legislation that achieves the following: a. Funds federal financial aid at a level to ensure access to and affordability of higher education in a way that encourages students to pursue disciplines where they have the most interest and talent. Current federal financial aid policies equally support all students regardless of what they study or where they choose to obtain a higher education. Degree completion, regardless of major, is the most important factor to future success. b. Supports a significant increase in funding for the Pell Grant to return its impact on low and moderate income students, in turn driving economic recovery. c. Supports the Federal government's efforts to address diversity, equity and inclusion within higher education. President Biden released an Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government in January 2021 that includes access to higher education as a critical role for the federal government in supporting racial equity. d. Ensures the Department of Education's role in properly implementing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF) as well as its oversight of for-profit higher education institutions. PSLF is a vital tool in allowing talented and highly trained employees from all socioeconomic backgrounds to work at organizations that make an impact in their communities. e. Supports meaningful debt forgiveness. Student loan debt is disproportionately held by students of color. Additionally, arts graduates have been overwhelmingly affected by the COVID-19 economic crisis. Meaningful debt forgiveness would both address previous inequities in support for federal financial aid and the particular economic stresses incurred recently by creative workers. The arts are vital to our nation’s healing and recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, and arts graduates will drive this recovery. Thank you for the opportunity to submit our thoughts to you. Sincerely,
Lee Ann Adams Executive Director, AAAE
1 2 3
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress: The Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) is pleased to be a National Co-Sponsor of the 2021 National Arts Action Summit and Advocacy Day. AICAD is a non-profit consortium of the leading specialized arts and design schools in the US and Canada. AICAD’s mission is to help strengthen its member schools individually and collectively, and to inform the public about the value of studying arts and design in higher education.
On behalf of our member schools, AICAD highlight the following policy recommendations:
236 Hope Street Providence, RI 02906 P — 401-270-5991 F — 401-270-5993 W — aicad.org
1.
Promote access to arts and design education at all levels for all students, through ensuring Federal Financial Aid policy continues to forefront student choice in higher education, supporting the Biden Administration’s efforts to double the Pell Grant maximum, and ensuring that all Americans have access to high speed broadband regardless of income or location.
2.
Revitalize the federal government’s use of the arts, design and higher education in global relations and diplomacy efforts. Both policymakers and diplomacy experts agree that the cultural exchange, including at the student level, enhances international understanding. We ask Congress to support efforts to return access to US higher education to all international students, regardless of country of origin, and also expand and publicly promote the use of the arts and design in diplomacy through the Cultural Programs Division.
3.
Recognize the value of and support the Creative Economy as a key component of the country’s overall economic health. To do this effectively, the federal government st must work with national field experts to update the NAICS code system to reflect 21 century industry classifications and fields of work and study, as well as expand funding opportunities for arts and design-based research that leads to new economic development opportunities through agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Commerce, Health and Human Services and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency.
We strongly believe that the future success of the United States depends upon our ability to retain our place in the world as innovators and creators, now more than ever. The arts, and arts education, are a critical component to achieving this future. Thank you for your interest and thoughtful consideration of these recommendations. Sincerely,
Deborah Obalil President & Executive Director
Alberta University of the Arts
Laguna College of Art and Design
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Art Academy of Cincinnati
Lesley University College of Art and Design
Parsons School of Design
Art Center College of Design
Maine College of Art
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
California College of the Arts
Maryland Institute College of Art
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design
California Institute of the Arts
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Pratt Institute
College for Creative Studies
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Columbus College of Art and Design
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Ringling College of Art and Design
Cornish College of the Arts
Montserrat College of Art
San Francisco Art Institute
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Moore College of Art and Design
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Delaware College of Art & Design
New York School of Interior Design
School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University
Emily Carr University of Art and Design
NSCAD University
School of Visual Arts
Kansas City Art Institute
OCAD University
The University of the Arts
Institute of Art & Design at New England College
Otis College of Art and Design
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress: CERF+ -- The Artists Safety Net is proud to be a National Partner of Arts Advocacy Day 2021. The lack of a safety net for professional artists when personal or natural disasters strike was the impetus in 1985 for a group of artists to create the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (DBA CERF+). From a modest, grassroots mutual aid organization, CERF+ has emerged as a leading voice for safeguarding artists’ livelihoods to ensure that they have the resources and protections they need to sustain their careers before, during, and after disasters. Artists are not only vulnerable to disasters; they contribute significantly to recovery in their communities after disasters. With 36 years of service and more than 8,000 supporters across the country, CERF+ is dedicated to a future in which artists can thrive and contribute in their communities across the United States. As a National Partner of Arts Advocacy Day, CERF+ is pleased to join with many national arts, humanities, and civic organizations in urging Congress to support legislation that promotes the arts and values artists’ contributions to our society. On behalf of our supporters and those we serve, we encourage you to strengthen federal support for the arts, especially in the following ways: Continue bipartisan support and substantially increase National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding in the FY 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to broaden access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts and to advance creativity and innovation in communities across the United States; Support the recovery of the arts sector by allowing the NEA to provide more and larger grants, suspend matching requirements, and allow for general operating support funding; Improve the support for creative workers after disasters by making permanent reforms enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic affecting self-employed workers, non-employer businesses, and low employer businesses; Build resilience in the “gig economy” by directing the Small Business Administration, the Department of Labor, FEMA, and other federal agencies to create resilience and disaster recovery programs responsive to the needs of creative workers and single-person (non-employer) businesses and businesses with under 20 employees; Take steps to enable FEMA to fully-integrate the arts and culture sector into disaster planning, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts; Support the Artist-Museum Partnership Act (H.R. 1793 in the 116th Congress) to provide artists a fair market value tax deduction when they donate their artwork to museums. We thank you for valuing the creative work of America’s artists and cultural organizations and the contributions they make to our lives. Thank you for your work. Sincerely,
Cornelia Carey Executive Director 535 Stone Cutters Drive, Ste 202 Montpelier, VT 05602-3796 Ph: (802) 229-2306 Fax: (802) 223-6484 www.cerfplus.org
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress: The Educational Theatre Association is proud to be a national partner of Arts Advocacy Day 2021. Today we advocate for the arts and ask members of Congress to consider the value of arts education. EdTA, the professional organization for theatre education, works to ensure that every student has access to quality theatre arts experiences as part of their well-rounded education. The Educational Theatre Association is an international association with more than 120,000 active members. EdTA’s mission is shaping lives through theatre education; honoring student achievement in theatre; supporting teachers by providing professional development, resources, and recognition; and influencing public opinion that theatre education is essential and builds life skills. EdTA is the home of the International Thespian Society, an honorary organization established at nearly 5,000 schools, that has inducted more than 2.4 million theatre students since its founding in 1929. We ask you to support the following actions as described in the issue briefs included in this handbook: • Continue bipartisan support and substantially increase National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding in the FY 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to: o broaden access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts. o support the recovery of the arts sector by allowing the NEA to provide more and larger grants, suspend matching requirements, and allow for general operating support funding. • Appropriate $40 million for the Assistance for Arts Education programs authorized under Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Strengthen equitable access to arts education through implementation of the following well-rounded provisions of ESSA: • Co-sponsor the “Arts Education for All” bill written by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). • Fully fund ($1.6 billion) the Student Support & Academic Enrichment Grants under Title IV, Part A to support Well-Rounded Education. • Make explicit the eligibility under current law for the arts to be supported through Title I funds and through professional development opportunities for arts educators under Title II. • Fully fund ($1.1 billion) the 21st Century Community Learning Centers after-school program. • Provide at least $4 million to the Institute of Education Sciences’ Fast Response Survey System for the administration of a survey on arts education. • Include pre-K–12 arts education in the School and Staffing Survey, the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), and other data instruments, and restore and appropriately fund the arts in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including full and robust assessments in dance, theater, music, and visual arts. Urge the FCC to restore access to a reliable geo-location database and preserve non-profit performing arts, education, and media organization’s financial investment in technical equipment. Thank you for supporting arts education and your thoughtful consideration of these issues. Sincerely,
Julie Theobald Executive Director
James Palmarini Policy and Advocacy Advisor
Board of Directors Nell Painter Chair Andrew M. Senchak President Thomas P. Putnam Vice Chair Peter Wirth Treasurer Robert M. Olmsted Secretary Philip Himberg David Macy Assistant Secretaries Susan Davenport Austin David Baum William B. Beekman Eleanor Briggs Ken Burns Peter Cameron Michael Chabon Nicholas Dawidoff Amelia Dunlop Rosemarie Fiore Edmée de M. Firth Christine Fisher Sarah Garland-Hoch Gerald J. Gartner Elizabeth F. Gaudreau Adele Griffin John A. Hargraves Larry Harris Darrell Harvey Dan Hurlin Lewis Hyde Catherine Ingraham Julia Jacquette Carol Krinsky Michael Krinsky Lisa Kron Robert M. Larsen Monica Lehner Tania León Anne Stark Locher Robert MacNeil Scott Manning Terrance McKnight Mollie Miller Paul Moravec Carlos Murillo Julie Orringer Olivia Parker Ileana Perez Velazquez Peter C. Read Paul Reyes Barbara Case Senchak Vijay Seshadri Josh Siegel Arthur Simms Alvin Singleton Julia Solomonoff Amy Davidson Sorkin Charles F. Stone III Robert Storr Jamie Trowbridge Mabel Wilson Vartan Gregorian Chair Emeritus
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress: MacDowell is proud to stand with Americans for the Arts as a National Partner of the 2021 National Arts Action Summit. The mission of MacDowell is to nurture the arts by offering artists an inspiring environment in which they can produce enduring works of the imagination. The MacDowell residency experience has long been an incubator for new ideas, a haven for interdisciplinary exchange, and provided creative people the opportunity to be intensely productive while free from the worry and responsibilities that often accompany the insecurity of the artist’s life. In 1907, Marian MacDowell, our founder, included in MacDowell’s original mission the stipulation that, “no social distinctions should be allowed to determine the choice” of who is admitted to MacDowell. Marian would have been proud to learn that in 1997, MacDowell received the National Medal of Arts, for giving artists “the opportunity to work within a dynamic community of their peers, where creative excellence is the standard.” Any artist may apply for a MacDowell residency. Our admissions philosophy is that residencies are offered based on commitment to artistic practice that is demonstrated by work samples and the clarity of purpose expressed in the project description, rather than reputation or past achievements. Our ongoing outreach efforts seek to inform and encourage any artist to apply to MacDowell. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated America's arts industry: 63% of the nation's artists and creative industry workers are now unemployed; thousands of arts and arts-adjacent businesses doubt they will survive the pandemic. And yet artists continue to create. Each year MacDowell invests more than $4 million in artists because we believe in the power of art to connect us, to show us an alternate view of the world we live in, to challenge that world, and to change it. In support of the Put Creative Workers To Work Proposal, MacDowell encourages decision makers at all levels of government to (1) provide relief funds to creative workers and organizations devastated by the pandemic and economic crisis, (2) invest in restart funds and hiring/retention incentives for businesses, creative nonprofits, and schools, (3) directly employ creative industry workers in the recovery through residencies and commissions, (4) improve existing local, state, and federal policies that treat creative industry workers inequitably, (5) improve conditions for independent workers of all types, including access to unemployment benefits and healthcare, and (6) install a senior advisor on arts, culture, and the creative economy in the Executive Office of the President. With your help the arts sector can continue to inspire imagination, growth, humanity, and creativity across all of our nation’s communities. Sincerely,
Philip Himberg Executive Director David Macy Resident Director
Philip Himberg Executive Director 100 High Street, Peterborough NH 03458 T: (603) 924-3886 | 521 West 23rd Street, 2nd Floor, New York NY 10011 T: (212) 535-9690 macdowell.org | social media @macdowell1907
2018 BALTIMORE AVENUE, KA NSAS CITY, MISSOURI, 64108 -1 914 www.maaa.org | in fo@maaa.org | (816 )421 -1388 | fax (816 )421 -3918
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress, As a National Partner of Arts Advocacy Day 2021, Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) believes that the freedom of cultural and creative expression is fundamental to all Americans. The arts of all disciplines are essential to lifelong learning and creativity, and access to extraordinary cultural experiences must not be limited by geography, economics, race, identity, or other barriers. M-AAA proudly serves millions of Americans in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, including many artists and cultural workers that have been deeply impacted by the pandemic. We know that the arts and artists can energize communities—both urban and rural—and citizens flourish as a result. Whether through our national touring exhibition programs, grants, or professional development for artists and arts organizations, M-AAA could not succeed in its work without the support of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among other federal initiatives. We respectfully urge you to support the arts, particularly through the following: Federal Cultural Agencies: Continue bipartisan support and increase funding to the National Endowment for the Arts at no less than $176 million and the National Endowment for the Humanities at $225 million in the FY 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to broaden access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts and humanities. Funding of the Institute of Museum and Library Services is related and critical. COVID-19 Recovery: With 5.1 million arts and culture workers and more than 675,000 small businesses generating $878 billion annually in every congressional district and local economy, America’s creative economy offers the best path to help revive the economy across our nation. The arts sector is also one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. We ask that you support the art sector’s recovery by allowing the National Endowment for the Arts to provide more and larger grants, suspend matching requirements, and allow for general operating support funding. Direct the Small Business Administration and other agencies to ensure that existing economic development programs and tools include the creative economy, supporting the range of business types in this industry. Arts and the Military: Support funding through the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense for creative and expressive arts therapies services and arts-based programming for veterans, active military, and their families through community and wellness programs. M-AAA is honored to be the cooperative partner for the NEA’s next iteration of Creative Forces to award grants to arts organizations across the country offering artsbased programs to military populations and their family members and caregivers. On behalf of M-AAA and our partner states and organizations, I thank you for your dedicated work and hope you will join me in empowering communities through the arts throughout the United States. Sincerely yours,
Todd Stein President and CEO MORE ART FOR MORE PEOPLE Our partners: Arkansas Arts Council, Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, Missouri Arts Council, Nebraska Arts Council, Oklahoma Arts Council, Texas Commission on The Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities
Music Teachers National Association Gary L. Ingle Executive Director & CEO
April 5, 2021
Dear Member of Congress: Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), founded in 1876, is the professional organization for 19,000 independent and collegiate music teachers. Our members teach private music lessons to several hundred thousand children and adults all across the country. MTNA is a National CoSponsor of Arts Advocacy Day 2021, and I urge you to support increased appropriations for federal cultural agencies. The accomplishments of our own and past civilizations are revealed to us through music and the arts--the most creative and enduring record of our history. Music and the arts have always been at the center of human endeavor and achievement, helping us understand our world and our place in it. As such, music and the arts are not luxuries to be enjoyed by a few. Instead they are necessities to be experienced by all. In order to secure and advance our nation’s musical future, federal funding of the arts is vital. All Americans must have the opportunity to be enriched by the arts. And while private support is necessary and available, it is not sufficient. The benefits music and the arts bring to our citizens are too important to be left to the private sector alone. Our federal government must demonstrate its pride in our music and our arts through the act of supporting them financially. Otherwise we will miss out on the significant benefits to our culture and society, which only come through the achievement of our nation’s highest artistic ideals. Sincerely,
Gary L. Ingle Executive Director & CEO
600 Vine St., Ste. 1710 ◆ Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Office Phone: (513) 421-1420 or (888) 512-5278 gingle@mtna.org ◆ www.mtna.org
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress, The National Art Education Association is pleased to be a National Partner of the National Arts Action Summit 2021. The National Art Education Association (NAEA) advances visual arts education to fulfill human potential and promote global understanding. Founded in 1947, The National Art Education Association is the leading professional membership organization exclusively for visual arts educators. Members include elementary, middle and high school visual arts educators, college and university professors, researchers and scholars, teaching artists, administrators and supervisors, art museum educators and university students preparing to be art educators. NAEA promotes art education through professional development, service, advancement of research, knowledge, and leadership. In order to fulfill this mission, NAEA provides expertise, training, and resources that support professional growth and leadership, helping members affect the quality of student learning in their local schools, communities, and states. NAEA believes that all students deserve a comprehensive, balanced and sequential program of instruction in the visual arts, taught by teachers who are certified and qualified in the visual arts and designed to provide students with skills and knowledge in the arts in accordance with national, state and local standards. On behalf of the nation’s 90,000 professional visual arts educators, we offer these recommendations:
● Appropriate $40 million for the Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) programs in the FY 2022 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill and authorized under Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
● Fully implement the Well-Rounded Education provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) by including the arts and strengthen equitable access to arts learning by: o Co-sponsor the “Arts Education for All” bill written by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). o Fully fund ($1.6 billion) the Student Support & Academic Enrichment Grants under Title IV, Part A to support Well-Rounded Education. o Make explicit the eligibility under current law for the arts to be supported through Title I funds and through professional development opportunities for arts educators under Title II. o Fully fund ($1.1 billion) the 21st Century Community Learning Centers after-school program. o Provide at least $4 million to the Institute of Education Sciences’ Fast Response Survey System for the administration of a survey on arts education. o Include pre-K–12 arts education in the School and Staffing Survey, the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), and other data instruments, and restore and appropriately fund the arts in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including full and robust assessments in dance, theater, music, and visual arts.
● Strengthen access to and affordability of higher education in the arts through legislation that achieves the following: o Funds federal financial aid at a level to ensure access to and affordability of higher education in a way that o o
encourages students to pursue disciplines where they have the most interest and talent; Supports the Federal government's efforts to address diversity, equity and inclusion within higher education; Ensures the Department of Education’s role in properly implementing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program as well as its oversight of for-profit higher education institutions. Continue bipartisan support and substantially increase National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding in the FY 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to broaden access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts and to advance creativity and innovation in communities across the United States. Support the recovery of the arts sector by allowing the NEA to provide more and larger grants, suspend matching requirements, and allow for general operating support funding. The NEA funds school- and community-based programs that help children and youth acquire knowledge and skills in the arts and supports educational programs for adults and partnerships between arts institutions and K-12 and college/university educators.
Thank you for your interest and thoughtful consideration of these recommendations. Sincerely,
James Haywood Rolling, Jr., NAEA President and Professor/Chair Art Education, Syracuse University, New York
Mario R. Rossero Executive Director
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress: The New England Foundation for the Arts is a proud National Partner of Arts Advocacy Day 2021. NEFA invests in artists and communities and fosters equitable access to the arts, enriching the cultural landscape in New England and the nation, and serves as a regional partner for the National Endowment for the Arts, New England’s state arts agencies, and private foundations. NEFA represents a constituency of over 31,000 artists, creative businesses, and arts and cultural nonprofits, all of whom are represented on CreativeGround, NEFA’s online directory of cultural enterprises in New England. We urge you to recognize and invest in the role of the creative sector in strengthening our country and fostering community vitality. Art, culture, and creativity are key to the recovery of our cities, suburbs, and rural areas, from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and are also a crucial vehicle for social justice and social change. To support employment, economic impact, and excellence in the creative sector, we ask that you: 1. Continue bipartisan support and substantially increase National Endowment for the Arts funding in the FY 2022 Interior Appropriations bill to broaden access to the cultural, educational, and economic benefits of the arts and to advance creativity and innovation in communities across the United States. 2. Support the recovery of the arts sector by allowing the NEA to provide more and larger grants, suspend matching requirements, and allow for general operating support funding. 3. Support legislation to invest in the country’s creative economy and promote economic inclusion; to recognize artists, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit arts organizations as contributors to the small business community; improve and revitalize rural, remote, and underserved areas; and support the creative economy through federal programs and actions. 4. Appropriate $115 million to the Office of Citizen Exchanges within the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the FY 2021 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill. 5. Reintroduce and enact the Arts Require Timely Service (ARTS) provision, which will require U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to reduce the total processing time for petitions filed by, or on behalf of, arts-related organizations. With support from the federal government, NEFA made grants of $1,278,307 reaching over 88,000 community members in FY20. This ensures that music, dance, theater, and public art animate the lives of all citizens, and foster the innovation and creative thinking that will help our communities prosper in the future, attract tourism, and retain young people. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,
Cathy Edwards, Executive Director
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress, The Recording Academy is proud to be a National Partner for the 2021 National Arts Action Summit. While the Recording Academy is best known for the GRAMMY Awards, it is also the only trade association that represents all music creators—songwriters, performers and studio professionals— on important policy matters, and works every day to promote music and the arts as an indispensable part of American culture. As you are determining policy, I invite you to use the Recording Academy, and our membership, as a resource that speaks for the individuals who create the music we all love and enjoy. This Congress, the Recording Academy urges lawmakers to continue to work in bipartisan fashion to promote polices that better the future for American music makers, including:
Continue to support the creative workforce, and small businesses, as they recover from the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Co-sponsor the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act (H.R. 1945/S. 752) to ensure independent recording artists receive fair tax treatment, while incentivizing the production of new recordings. Support policies that enable all artists, songwriters, and creators to earn fair compensation for their work. Oppose the “Local Radio Freedom Act” which puts Congress on the record against intellectual property and the rights of creators. Incorporate strong copyright protections in bilateral and multilateral trade deals. Encourage cultural exchanges through improved visa processing for foreign artists. Support music and arts education in the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Protect wireless microphone users from spectrum-related interference.
As you consider these and other issues, I hope you will always remember how American music makers, and other artists, helped to buoy our spirits, lift our hearts, and shine optimism amidst the death, despair, and isolation brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic. Art and artists are truly an indelible part of American culture and economy, and the industry deserves the full support of the 117th Congress. Sincerely,
Daryl P. Friedman Chief Advocacy Officer Recording Academy
April 5, 2021 Dear Member of Congress: Theatre Development Fund is a proud Supporter for Arts Advocacy Day 2021. TDF is dedicated to making the unique experience of live theatre and dance available to everyone. Since our founding in 1968, TDF has provided more than 90 million people with access to the performing arts, including students and people with disabilities. On behalf of the audiences and artists that we serve, we urge you to preserve bi-partisan support for the National Endowment for the Arts. The mission of the NEA is to strengthen the creative capacity of our communities by providing everyone in America with diverse opportunities for arts participation. The NEA envisions a nation in which everyone benefits from arts engagement, and every community recognizes and celebrates its aspirations and achievements through the arts. TDF understands the importance of preserving access to the cultural, educational and economic benefits of the arts, and we hope that you will support this, too. We thank you for your continued support of the arts and audiences in our communities. With your help, we can make the performing arts accessible to everyone. Sincerely,
Victoria Bailey Executive Director
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS
Actors Equity Association
CERF+
American Alliance for Theatre & Education
Concord Theatricals
American Alliance of Artists and Audiences (4A Arts) American Alliance of Museums American Art Therapy Association American Association of Community Theatre American Music Therapy Association Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) Arts Action Fund Association of Arts Administration Educators Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design c4 Atlanta
The 2021 Congressional Arts Handbook is current as of March 22, 2021, and can be found online at: AmericansForTheArts.org/AAD/Handbook The National Arts Action Summit is organized by Americans for the Arts and is cosponsored by dozens of national, regional, state, and local organizations representing thousands of arts, culture, business, civic, and education organizations and individuals nationwide in support of federal policies for the arts and arts education in America.
New England Foundation for the Arts
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO Eat More Art Vegas
New York City Arts in Education Roundtable Recording Academy
Educational Theatre Association
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
MacDowell
Sing for Hope
Mid-America Arts Alliance
South Carolina Arts Alliance
Music Teachers National Association
SouthArts
NAMTA – The International Art Materials Association
Stage Managers’ Association of the United States
National Art Education Association
Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA/USA)
National Association of State Arts Agencies
Council on Undergraduate Research, University of Dayton, Ohio
National Dance Education Organization National Organization of Arts in Health (NOAH)
For more information, please contact: Narric W. Rome Vice President of Government Affairs and Arts Education nrome@artsusa.org Americans for the Arts 1000 Vermont Avenue, NW 6th Floor Washington, D.C. 20005 www.AmericansForTheArts.org