National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) News

Bush proposes $18 million increase in arts budget

President Bush sent his FY 2005 budget to Congress on February 2, 2004. His proposal included a request for $18 million in new spending for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The arts funding increase, announced by First Lady Laura Bush on January 29 at an NEA press conference, would go to fund a major new initiative developed by NEA Chair Dana Gioia called "American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius."

The President's budget request increases the NEA funding from $121 million in FY 2004 to $139.4 million in FY 2005, with $15 million in new funding allocated to the American Masterpieces initiative and the remaining $3 million going for grants and administrative costs. States will receive a 40 percent share of the $15 million. American Masterpieces is described as a three-year program with three components - touring, local presentations and arts education - all focused on "acknowledged masterpieces" in a variety of art forms. The first year will highlight dance, visual arts and music.

This NEA funding marks the first time that President Bush has asked Congress to increase support for the NEA's grant-making activities. In previous budgets, the President has proposed modest increases for the arts endowment's administrative expenses. In the past three years, Congress has taken it upon themselves to add new funds for grants to the field.

"We are delighted that the President has included a substantial increase in the funding recommended for the NEA. This will mean more dollars for Maine since 40 percent of all NEA program dollars comes directly to the state arts agencies," says Alden C. Wilson, director of the Maine Arts Commission.

During the Clinton administration, the President proposed major increases of $36.5 million and later $52 million in additional arts spending, but Congress rejected the White House proposals and held the NEA"s spending to below $100 million. President George W. Bush submitted budget proposals that kept arts spending at level funding. During his two terms in office, President Reagan repeatedly tried to persuade Congress to cut the NEA budget until his last year in office when he proposed an increase of $1 million.

With the Congressional Budget Office projecting another increase in the federal deficit for 2004, and congressional members of President Bush's own party beginning to complain about the administration's spending increases, the future of the American Masterpieces initiative will depend upon the continued advocacy of the NEA and the White House; strong support from the arts constituency across the country; and the willingness of Congress to increase the NEA budget by a significant amount as proposed by the President.

Go the NEA news room.