Tom Harkin: “This amendment all but eliminates the National Endowment for the Arts. In other words, it eliminates a Federal role. I…”

“This amendment all but eliminates the National Endowment for the Arts. In other words, it eliminates a Federal role. I believe the Senator from Texas is well-intentioned. However, the result would be disastrous for the arts. NEA national leadership grants have supported a number of very worthy projects that would not have been supported by a State. For example, the design competition in 1981 that led to the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. What State would have funded that if it was not going to be in the State, but was going to be located in the District of Columbia? The Senator from Ohio made mention of all the money that goes to New York. Let's look at some of that money. Through the national leadership grants, the NEA provided a grant to Chamber Music of America in New York, but this grant sponsored chamber music rural residencies, which brought professional musicians to small towns, such as Jesup and Decorah and Fayette and Mount Vernon, IA. Artists lived and worked in these small towns for up to 2 years. They taught in the schools. They performed concerts for citizens in the communities all over the State of Iowa. Thousands of Iowans benefited from this.”