Call to Action — NEA Funding Increase Threatened, Vote is Tomorrow! [06.26.07]

Another posting straight from the Missoula Cultural Council email distribution list.  This time, every state in the nation is directly afftected.  Read on.  Act.

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After postponing due to a procedural delay, the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to begin floor consideration of the FY 2008 Interior appropriations bill tomorrow [( 06.26.07)]. As you might have read in our Arts Action Alerts in the past few weeks, this bill includes an historic $35 million increase for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).  This increase will bring the NEA budget to $160 million and will provide new funding for the grants to state and local organizations, Challenge America, and American Masterpieces programs.  This directly affects the arts in Montana!

We learned this morning [ 06.25.070] that Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) (who received a “D” voting grade in our 2006 Congressional Arts Report Card) is planning to offer an amendment to cut funding to the NEA when the bill is considered on the House floor.  We have worked too hard to allow this amendment to pass!

If you have not yet sent a message, we ask that you take just two minutes to visit our Americans for the Arts E-Advocacy Center to contact your Members of Congress and ask them to support passage of H.R. 2643, (the House Interior Appropriations bill) and oppose this amendment.  With a few clicks, you can send this customizable message to your Representative and Senators.

It only takes two minutes to make a difference - please send this message now