The White House released its proposed 2019 budget to Congress on 2/12, officially calling once again for termination of the nation’s cultural agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. We’re calling on our members to help us once again #SavetheNEA.

This is the second time in a row that President Trump has called on Congress to terminate the budgets of these agencies. Ignoring the fact that Congress soundly rejected this same attempt last year, the Administration has once again proposed $28.9 million for the orderly close out of the NEA. Despite the President’s State of the Union speech last month proclaiming ‘Americans fill the world with art and music,’ there is no intention to invest in our nation’s future support of the arts and arts education. Federal investment in the arts helps power the creative economy in America.

Eliminating the NEA would be a devastating blow to the arts in America. For more than 50 years, the NEA has expanded access to the arts for all Americans, awarding grants in every Congressional district throughout all 50 states and U.S. Territories, as well as placing arts therapists in 12 military hospitals to help returning soldiers heal from traumatic brain injuries. The NEA generates more than $600 million annually in matching funds, helps shape a $730 billion arts and culture industry, supports 4.8 million jobs, and represents 4.2% of the nation’s GDP.

The most important thing you can do is to take two minutes to send a customizable message to your elected representatives in Congress and urge them to oppose any attempt to eliminate or cut funding to the NEA.