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Last week (as many of you probably know), the U.S. House of Representatives passed their version of the Economic Recovery Package, which successfully included $50 million in supplemental grants funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)!

This provision was threatened throughout the House process by opponents of the NEA who questioned its effectiveness in providing economic stimulus. In response, the NEA offered the following statement, "the arts and culture industry is a sector of the economy just like any other with workers who pay taxes, mortgages, rent and contribute in other ways to the economy; and that the National Endowment for the Arts is uniquely positioned to assist in job stimulation for that industry."

As Americans for the Arts CEO Bob Lynch wrote in a December 2008 message to the organization's constituents: "The arts are part of the solution to the challenges our country faces... they bring inspiration, meaning, and delight to our lives... and are a road-tested tool that strengthens our communities socially, educationally, and economically." On a basic level, the arts keep people employed: more full-time jobs are supported by the nonprofit arts than are in accounting, public safety officers, even lawyers. Too many arts organizations have already gone out of business due to the poor economy, and it is expected that, on average, the remaining arts organizations will experience up to 20% in budget cuts in 2009, resulting in losses of approximately 468,000 jobs.

The Senate Appropriations Committee did not include an arts jobs funding provision in their version of the bill, but advocates still have an opportunity to change the final outcome because the Senate is still debating on the bill.

Fellow Americans, please take two minutes to take action and ask your Member of Congress and Senators to support the arts in this legislation. Americans for the Arts has supplied fresh research and key quotes that support this funding (and a really easy template to use) -- your help in communicating this information to your Member of Congress is now more important than ever:

February 04, 2009- Coburn to museums: drop dead (From the American Association of Museums)
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has introduced an amendment to prohibit any funds in the economic stimulus bill from going to museums. The language of the amendment, (Amendment No. 175, as filed) is, "None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, arts center, or highway beautification project, including renovation, remodeling, construction, salaries, furniture, zero-gravity chairs, big screen televisions, beautification, rotating pastel lights, and dry heat saunas." This amendment may be offered as early as Wednesday, February 4. Call your Senators TODAY and urge them to vote NO on the Coburn "Limitation of Funds Amendment No. 175." To reach your Senators, call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senators' offices. Please call today! Click HERE to use your zip code to identify your legislators. (Posted by Douglas Britt at February 4, 2009 09:33 AM)

I love that museums, theaters, and zoos (all essential informal learning environments) are lumped in with dry heat saunas… what?

In this critical time, please help to protect the livelihoods of performers, curators, visual artists, arts educators, guards, IT professionals, writers, human resources staff, accountants, custodians, designers, plumbers, engineers, food service, etc. - and, yes, my job as well. As a group, we are deeply committed to playing an active role in society. To that end, we strive to provide programs and experiences that fulfil peoples' needs ranging from pure entertainment, to social interaction and development, to academic education. With your help, we will be able to continue to apply our unique skills and dedication as we work together to revitalize the economy and restore the fabric of our community.

Thanks for your time,
Katy