Bill Text: NJ AR143 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Congress and President to support and fully fund the National Endowment for the Arts.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-22 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Tourism and the Arts Committee [AR143 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-AR143-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblyman MATTHEW W. MILAM
District 1 (Cape May, Atlantic and Cumberland)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Schroeder, Assemblywoman Vandervalk and Assemblyman Coutinho
SYNOPSIS
Urges Congress and President to support and fully fund the National Endowment for the Arts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution urging the United States Congress and the President to support and fully fund the National Endowment for the Arts.
Whereas, The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), an independent agency of the United States government created by the U.S. Congress in 1965, offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence, both new and established, and provides leadership in arts education; and
Whereas, The NEA is the largest grantmaker to arts organizations in the nation, offering grants for arts projects, national art initiatives, partnership agreements, and individual fellowships, with more than 128,000 grants, totaling more than $4 billion, being awarded between 1965 and 2008; and
Whereas, The NEA's partnership agreements with state arts agencies and regional arts organizations make these agencies the NEA's primary partners in serving the American people through the arts; and
Whereas, Past and present efforts to abolish the NEA or reduce its budget have been attempted and, if successful, would seriously impact the operations of state arts agencies and regional arts organizations, as forty percent of all NEA funding is provided to these organizations; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House strongly urges the United States Congress and the President of the United States to resist any effort to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This House further urges the Congress and the President to provide full and sufficient financial support for the NEA's current and upcoming annual budget in order for it to maintain and potentially expand its present level of operations and activities.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk thereof, shall be transmitted to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives, every member of the United States Congress elected from the State of New Jersey, and the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the United States Congress and the President of the United States to (1) resist any effort to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and (2) provide full and sufficient financial support for its current and upcoming annual budget. This is in response to recent proposals by various members of the U.S. Congress to abolish the NEA or reduce its budget. Such actions, if successful, would seriously impair the ability of New Jersey's arts community and art educators to continue providing New Jerseyans with arts-related opportunities that have previously been fully or partially supported by the NEA.