Political Quotes

“I am just so sad that we have to debate this amendment to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA is the Federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans-- that is all Americans--with diverse opportunities for arts participation. With the very small $186.3 million in this bill, the small but mighty agency supports arts organizations and artists in every congressional district in the country, and these investments yield enormous economic benefits. My colleague on the other side of the aisle says that he pays for his own arts. He makes sure that his family has the arts opportunities and that his children's art is paid for. However, every community does not have the funding to pay for their own arts. Not every community can afford arts and music in their schools. They can't afford these opportunities. Yes, there is private- sector funding, but private-sector funding goes to where the private sector wants it to be spent. It doesn't make sure that in rural States like mine that small towns can take advantage of this and that small arts organizations can have these opportunities. A 2021 analysis done by the Department of Commerce and the NEA found that arts and cultural industries add over $1 trillion to the U.S. economy, support nearly 5 million jobs, and account for 4.4 percent of the GDP--4.4 percent.…”