Dear Dance Advocacy Network,

As you may have already heard, the House Interior Appropriation Subcommittee yesterday passed a bill to fund the National Endowment for the Arts at $135 million in FY2012. This cut is $20 million less than current levels of funding and more than $10 million less the President’s proposed FY12 budget.

The Subcommittee’s 13% cut to the NEA is disproportionate to the 7% cut to spending levels in the rest of the Interior bill. This decrease in funding will put the NEA back to 2007/2008 funding levels.

The bill will move to the full committee as soon as Tuesday and it is so important for you to contact your legislators, particularly if they sit on this committee. (See the attached list from Americans for the Arts that matches committee members with AFTA’s arts report card grades.)

Just to break down recent funding and proposals:
FY10 Funding: $167.5 million
FY11 Funding: $155 million
FY12 President’s Proposed budget: $146 million
FY12 Interior Appropriations Bill: $135 million

40% of NEA funding goes directly to the States, which means a significant cut to state arts councils in addition to the decrease in direct grants.

Please visit www.theperformingartsalliance.org to send a customizable letter to your legislators, telling them how important arts funding is in your community and urging them to protect funding to the NEA. (The list of House Appropriations Committee members is on the PAA website.)

Best,
Brandon

Brandon Gryde
Director of Government Affairs
Dance/USA and OPERA America
1111 16th St., NW | Suite 300 | Washington, DC 20036
202-833-1717 ext 113 | bgryde@danceusa.org| bgryde@operaamerica.org

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The Dance Advocacy Network is an initiative of Dance/USA.