A $10 million boost for the NEA. (News).

The new millennium has been good for the National Endowment for the Arts. Success that started with the 106th Congress, elected during the Clinton administration, has gained even more steam in the current Congress. In June 2001, four representatives--Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Norm Dicks (D-WA), Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), and Steve Horn (R-CA)--co-sponsored a floor amendment to increase the Bush administration's proposed $105 million NEA allotment for 2002 by $10 million. The increase was approved by the Senate in July. Then on November 5, President Bush signed H.R. 2217, the bill that contained the increase, into law.

The amendment passed the House 221 to 193 and the support seemed to indicate a shift in Congressional attitudes toward the arts. In 2000, Slaughter spearheaded a proposal to defer $22 million from the clean coal technology account and hoped to give $15 million of that to the NEA. But representatives instead voted to use the money to improve Native American healthcare. In the end, then-Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA) marked up the Senate version of the bill with a $7 million increase for the NEA while it was being considered by the appropriations subcommittee. That increase ultimately made it through the Congressional process.

In 2001, the NEA feared it might see the $10 million increase for financial year 2002 slip away after Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) led an attempt to divert the extra funds into fuel conservation accounts. But his amendment failed by 145 to 264.

Arts advocates attribute much of the NEA's recent political success to the popularity of Challenge America, an outreach initiative that the NEA launched in 2000. In fact, the entire 2002 increase is earmarked for the Challenge America program, which has a $17 million operating budget for this year. "The Challenge America program focuses on arts education, after-school arts programs for youth, access to the arts for underserved communities, and community arts development initiatives," Slaughter said. "It reaches out to all fifty states, hundreds of congressional districts, and thousands of communities, and members of Congress understand what a positive impact it has had upon their constituents." In 2001, the NEA's $105 million budget provided $7,662,500 for dance programs. Of that latter sum, $3,619,000 was for Challenge America programs. At press time, no exact figures for 2002 were available.

"Federal funding for the arts accounts for one one-hundredth of one percent of the federal budget," said Slaughter. "The arts improve our local and national economies, keep our kids off the streets, improve SAT scores, and remind us of our rich cultural and artistic heritage. Given the enormous benefits our country receives from the arts, most Americans would agree that this is a small price to pay."

To keep abreast of research on the value of the arts and the arts voting record of your representative, check the Web sites of advocacy organizations such as Americans for the Arts (www.artsusa.org) and Dance/USA (www.danceusa.org).