Norman D. Dicks: “I thought that the study was very professionally done, and I think the arts generate probably more than $134 billion in…”

“I thought that the study was very professionally done, and I think the arts generate probably more than $134 billion in economic activity. The most important number was the Federal revenues, $10.5 billion for a $116 million investment. I do not think we are going to do any better than that on return in investment. The other thing I would point out, when the House of Representatives was under the control of the Democratic Party in 1994, we provided $162 million for the National Endowment for the Arts on a very bipartisan basis. I see many Members here on the floor supported that level of funding; and then, of course, in 1995 that was reduced to less than $100 million, we had this dramatic Draconian cut in funding. We have come back, and last year we had a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives for an increase of $15 million: $10 million for the endowment for the arts, because it was cut more severely than the endowment for the humanities, $3 million for humanities, $2 million for museums and library services. We do not have museum services anymore in this bill, so it is $10 million for the arts, $5 million for the humanities this year. We can go to every part of this country now and we can see the consequences, the impact of these efforts, the Challenge America program. These moneys are going all over the country. We made sure that all the arts are not in the big cities.”