Yesterday the Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with a vote of 61 to 37. As the bill heads to Congressional conference, $50 million in recovery funds to be distributed by the National Endowment for the Arts hang in the balance.<\/p>\n
Unlike the Senate bill, which with the Coburn Amendment bars funding going to art centers, the House bill only bars money going to "casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or swimming pool." As the bill goes to conference the House and Senate members will debate which language to adopt. <\/p>\n
Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert Lynch said:<\/p>\n
"The United States Senate missed an opportunity today to provide much needed stimulus support to the nation’s creative workforce. By not including $50 million in recovery funds to assist nonprofit arts organizations from closing or laying-off more workers, the Senate has failed to respond to the very real economic crisis facing the nonprofit arts industry …. As the bill heads to conference, Congressional leaders and the White House need to recognize that the arts are a legitimate U.S. economic industry and must keep the arts recovery funds in the final version of the legislation. These funds will allow arts organizations—large and small—to play a vital role in reviving their local economy."<\/p>\n