Despite Threats, Congress Proposes NEA Funding Increase, Not Elimination
Image by VALERY HACHE/Getty Images
If there is one thing those of us who oppose Trump can celebrate about the man and his presidency, it is his propensity to abandon proposals he had previously championed — like completely dismantling Obamacare or putting Hillary Clinton in prison, to name a few. His administration’s new budget blueprint, which excludes, for instance, funding for a border wall, is a perfect example.
Not long ago, the Trump administration promised a budget that would entirely defund the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH). In other words, the federal budget, as Trump, the Heritage Foundation, and other right-wing organizations and individuals around the country conceived it, would have signaled the end of the government’s interest in the cultural wellbeing of its country.
But, thanks to the, uh, flexibility of the Trump administration, the Fiscal 2018 budget blueprint not only includes funding for the CPB, but also increases the (still diminutive) funding for the NEH and NEA by $2 million, total.
Arguments for keeping the NEA, the potential defunding of which garnered widespread public attention, came from both sides of the aisle. It’s worth remembering, though, that the eradication of the NEA has long been a goal of the more rightwing factions of the political spectrum, due to a preference for small government, a misunderstanding of the purpose of art, and somewhat puritanical concerns regarding certain NEA-funded pieces.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
