Patrick Kennedy: “I want to join those who have already stood in support of the National Endowment for the Arts. It has been spoken to in…”

“I want to join those who have already stood in support of the National Endowment for the Arts. It has been spoken to in many instances already, but let me say, for our State of Rhode Island, this is an issue of particular importance, because we are very proud in Rhode Island that our former Senator, Claiborne Pell, was amongst the champions of NEA when he first got here to the Congress in 1960 and, with the help of my uncle, President Kennedy, was able to fashion the National Endowment of the Arts early on. And what a success it has been. In my State of Rhode Island, we have a program called Arts Talk that focuses on dropouts in our schools. We have found students in the Vo- Tech schools, who have no exposure to the arts, are able to get exposure through the programs like Arts Talk, which expand the arts to people that do not ordinarily have access to the arts. What this has done is, it has helped awaken their imaginations, helped them have a better self-image, because in many instances they learn about their own cultural heritage expressions within the arts. In addition to that, they may find some inherent talent in their own being that will allow them to express themselves through the arts, either by playing an instrument, acting in a play or painting a picture. These things may sound esoteric to us, but I can tell you in Rhode Island they have had a marked impact on helping reduce juvenile delinquency in the schools.”