Lois Capps: “Mr. Chairman, today it is my pleasure to join with my colleagues in strong support of this critical amendment to…”

“Mr. Chairman, today it is my pleasure to join with my colleagues in strong support of this critical amendment to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; and I thank my colleagues, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), for their leadership on this amendment to the Interior appropriations bill. The arts are our cultural language. They bring our communities together. They serve to define who we are as a people, as a society, and they help us to link with other communities around the world our cultural heritages and our vast resources of our diversity. Both the NEA and the NEH broaden public access to the arts and the humanities for all Americans. They improve the quality of our lives, those of ourselves and our children and our families. I have spent a good deal of my career in our public schools. I have seen firsthand the positive impacts that arts have in our children's education. The arts teach our children rhythm, design, creativity and critical thinking skills. The arts have also been shown to deter delinquent behavior of at-risk youth, to help dramatically improve the academic performance, truancy rates and other critical skills, crucial skills, among our young people.”