Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, since its creation in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts has issued more than 110,000 grants; and of this total, fewer than 20 have been considered controversial. We can match that 20 against grant recipients who received 35 of the past 46 National Book Awards, National Book Critics Circle Awards, and Pulitzer Prizes in fiction and poetry since 1990. Thirty-five of those recipients have been NEA recipients. Match it against the grant recipients of PBS's Great Performances that were nominated for 121 Emmys and won 51 Emmys. Imagine all of those who are recipients of NEA awards. Great performances or small, the NEA has supported hundreds of professional orchestras, dance companies, nonprofit theaters. And before that NEA support, they really did not exist. But given NEA seed money and given the credibility that they get by NEA choosing to make an award to them, even if it be a small award, they then go out and raise substantial amounts that are in many multiples of the actual money that NEA gets. But that little seed, that credibility, makes a world of difference. Federal funding for music, dance, theater, literature, and visual arts is not just about the quality of life; it is about investments to fulfill our human economic potential.”