Nita Lowey: “As a proud member of the National Council of the Arts, I cannot help but be impressed with the thoughtfulness, the…”

“As a proud member of the National Council of the Arts, I cannot help but be impressed with the thoughtfulness, the seriousness and the commitment of the Members who are making these judgments. I have seen with the gentleman from North Carolina firsthand the NEA's grant selection process. I just want to applaud them once again for successfully increasing America's access to the arts despite level funding for the last 3 years. Unfortunately, the bill before us sorely underfunds the NEA and would inhibit the NEA from funding worthy and creative programs such as Chairman Ivey's ``Challenge America'' which would further arts education and outreach, particularly in underserved areas. It is so exciting to see and to talk with Chairman Ivey about what he wants to do, to go to areas where young people do not have access to the arts, to go into schools where many of our young people really cannot express themselves as well as others can without access to music, to art, to other cultural attractions. This is so very vital for their education.”