Dems boost National Endowment for Arts funding after Trump proposes eliminating it
House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a bill that would add funding for major arts programs that President Trump had sought to cut or eliminate altogether.
The bill funds the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Both would receive $167.5 million, an increase of $12.5 million from current spending.
{mosads}House Democrats also added $2.2 million to the budget of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Trump proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities in his 2020 budget. He prosed cutting the Kennedy Center’s budget by $1.6 million.
“The Administration does not consider NEA activities to be core Federal responsibilities,” the White House wrote in its budget request. It said private philanthropy and non-profits were sufficient to fund the arts.
Democrats also increased funding for the Smithsonian Institution and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, both of which Trump wanted to cut.
Democrats will advance the increases in the Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill in a subcommittee meeting on Wednesday. The full Appropriations Committee could consider the legislation next week.
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