Congressional leaders rejected the Trump administration's proposal to eliminate money for federal arts programs, providing a small increase as part of a bipartisan spending deal. The spending bill that Congress is expected to vote on this week includes $150 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and an identical sum for the Humanities endowment. President Trump, in his budget, had proposed eliminating all federal money for the NEA and the NEH, generating an intense lobbying campaign by arts supporters. Most NEA funds go to support community arts groups in all 50 states, with rural, Republican-leaning states topping the lists of spending per person. As a result, arts programs have a strong constituency in Congress, especially on the appropriations committees that dole out spending.

Source: Los Angeles Times May 01, 2017 17:35 UTC