NEA and NEH Equity and Diversity Language in the FY 2023 Omnibus Bill

Body

NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

Grant and Administration

Appropriation enacted, 2022 .............................................................. $180,000,000

Budget estimate, 2023 ....................................................................... 203,550,000

Recommended, 2023 ........................................................................... 207,000,000

Comparison:

    Appropriation, 2022 ........................................................................ +27,000,000

    Budget estimate, 2023 .................................................................... +3,450,000

The Committee recommends $207,000,000 for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), $27,000,000 above the enacted level and $3,450,000 above the budget request.

The Committee recognizes the broad bipartisan support for the NEA and its work to promote access to the arts in every community across America. Each year, every district receives NEA funding to support art programs that can enhance economic development, create jobs, and expand arts learning.

The Committee remains committed to supporting proven national initiatives with broad geographic reach. The Big Read, Challenge America, and Shakespeare in American Communities are among the cost-effective grant programs that extend the arts to underserved populations in both urban and rural communities across the United States. Through the innovative program, ‘‘Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network,’’ the NEA, in partnership with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, provides creative arts therapies and arts engagement strategies that promote healing and support the reintegration of service members and veterans recovering from traumatic brain injuries and psychological health issues.

Addressing Equity Through the Arts.—The Committee recognizes the progress and commitment the NEA and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have made to advance racial equity through the arts and humanities. The Committee strongly supports NEA and NEH continuing to make grants available to eligible entities, including faith-based and community-based organizations, with a specific focus on those that serve and are led by people of color, especially in underserved and rural communities. The Committee encourages additional focus on arts and humanities projects that highlight the history of systemic racism and the current work to overcome its impact. The NEA shall continue to report to Congress on actions taken to provide equitable outreach and education to increase engagement with and grant access to prospective applicants for funding.

Diversity at the National Endowment.—The Committee continues to recognize the power of NEA grants to provide arts programming access to minority and underserved populations. These grant programs also have the potential to increase opportunities for, and develop the potential of, minority and underserved artists, particularly in the film, television, theater, publishing, and other industries. The Committee directs the NEA to continue prioritizing diversity in its work and to work with relevant stakeholders including Members of Congress on identifying ways to increase outreach and engagement with historically underrepresented communities and regions, as well as to continue prioritizing increasing diversity in NEA staff, the National Council of the Arts, Discipline Directors, and Peer Panelists.

Maternal Music Programs.—The Committee recognizes the efficacy of maternal music programs to improve maternal health, early childhood development, and strengthen family bonds. NEA is encouraged to support music programs that promote maternal-child wellbeing, particularly for mothers facing adversity, such as poverty, homelessness, incarceration, behavioral health, and teenage pregnancy. The NEA is directed to provide a report to the Committee not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act on the NEA’s past support for and future opportunities for supporting the use of music for maternal-child wellbeing.

Tribal Engagement.—The Committee is encouraged to see the Endowment’s efforts to ramp up engagement with Tribal governments and communities. The Committee strongly urges the NEA to continue to support projects that promote the culture, language, and related arts of indigenous peoples’ communities, including American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.

The bill includes funding to continue the longstanding collaborative relationship between the NEA and the States. State governments match NEA grant funds to support programs that respond to local needs in arts education, community development, cultural preservation, and arts access. More than 4,000 communities benefit annually from these programs.

Bill Language.—As in previous years, bill language is included to provide grant program direction to the NEA. With the exception of established honorific programs, grant funding to individual artists is strictly prohibited. The Committee directs that priority be given to providing services or grant funding for projects, productions, or programs that encourage public knowledge, education, understanding, and appreciation of the arts.

 

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES

Grants and Administration

Appropriation enacted, 2022 .............................................................. $180,000,000

Budget estimate, 2023 ....................................................................... 200,680,000

Recommended, 2023 ........................................................................... 207,000,000

Comparison:

    Appropriation, 2022 ........................................................................ +27,000,000

    Budget estimate, 2023 .................................................................... +6,320,000

The Committee recommends $207,000,000 for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), $27,000,000 above the enacted level and $6,320,000 above the budget request. The Committee expects the NEH to obligate and expend funds as directed in the table that is included at the end of this report. 

The Committee recognizes the broad bipartisan support for the NEH mission to serve and strengthen our nation by making the humanities available to all Americans. NEH programs support cultural infrastructure projects, education programs, and initiatives; advance scholarly research; and provide for exhibitions, documentaries, and the preservation of historic collections.

The Committee commends the NEH for its support of grant programs to benefit wounded warriors and to ensure educational opportunities for veterans and service members transitioning to civilian life. In partnership with NEH, State humanities councils have developed and delivered local programs that support veterans, their families and caregivers. The Committee continues to encourage the NEH to fully support efforts to connect the humanities to the experience of veterans and provide educational opportunities to these American heroes.

Collaboration with State Councils.—The bill includes funding to continue the longstanding collaborative relationship between the NEH and State humanities councils. The Committee commends the NEH for its ongoing, successful collaboration with State humanities councils in each of the 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. State humanities councils support public humanities programming in more than 6,000 rural and urban communities and nearly every congressional district. These programs increase public awareness of national issues such as the opioid epidemic, help veterans reintegrate into their communities, promote family literacy, and record and preserve the stories, language, and histories of our native cultures. The Committee urges the NEH to provide program funding to support the work of State humanities councils consistent with the guidance provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018. 

Diaspora Groups.—The Committee recognizes the cultural contributions of diaspora groups from nations and communities across the world to the United States and appreciates the value in preserving their traditions. The Committee recognizes the important work the NEH is doing to support the archival of stories, documents, and other materials from cultural diasporas worldwide. The Committee urges NEH to strengthen its partnerships with, and funding opportunities for cultural organizations across the country to collect additional stories, documents and materials from families and institutions dedicated to diaspora communities, including Eastern Europe, particularly among the former Soviet Union.

Diversity at the National Endowment.—The Committee continues to recognize the power of NEH grants to provide humanities programming access to minority and underserved populations. The Committee directs the NEH to continue prioritizing diversity in its work and to work with relevant stakeholders including Members of Congress on identifying ways to increase outreach and engagement with historically underrepresented communities and regions, as well as to continue prioritizing increasing diversity in NEH staff, members of the National Council of the Humanities, Division Directors, and Peer Panelists.

The Committee commends the Endowment’s effort to establish an Office of Research and Analysis, Office of Outreach, and Chief Diversity Officer office. These offices will significantly bolster the Endowment’s engagement with underserved communities and ensure the investments the Endowment makes are efficient and effective at reaching key audiences, including underserved and economically disadvantaged communities. To that end the Committee provides no less than $814,000 to establish an Office of Research and Analysis, $838,000 to establish an Office of Outreach, and $356,000 to establish an Office of the Chief Diversity Officer. The Committee is hopeful these investments will aid the NEH in reaching populations which have historically received proportionally less assistance from the Endowment.

Documenting the Covid Pandemic.—The Committee recognizes the grave toll that the Covid–19 pandemic has had, and continues to have, on American families across the country. The Committee urges NEH to support the documentation of the Covid–19 pandemic and its effects on Americans. Documentation might be done through podcasts, documentaries, oral histories, nonfiction books, and other types of humanities research. The Committee further encourages NEH to find an appropriate way to ensure that this documentation is freely available to the public.

Equitable Outreach.—The NEH shall continue to report to Congress on actions taken to provide equitable outreach and education to increase engagement with and grant access to prospective applicants for funding.

Indigenous Communities Support.—The Committee further commends the NEH for its ongoing support to American Indian and Alaska Native communities in preserving their cultural and linguistic heritage through the Documenting Endangered Languages program and a variety of preservation and access grants that enable American Indian and Alaska Native communities to preserve cultural artifacts and make them broadly accessible. The Committee encourages the NEH to expand its support to Native Hawaiian communities to ensure access to and preservation of cultural artifacts and practices across more indigenous communities. The Committee further commends the NEH for its support for Tribal colleges and encourages NEH to strengthen these relationships. The Committee encourages NEH to increase its outreach and support for projects and programs, such as the Humanities Initiatives at Tribal Colleges and Universities grant, that focus on Native Americans, including American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.

 

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The full Omnibus Bill language can be found online.