Thank you for contacting me regarding federal funding for the arts and humanities. I appreciate hearing your views.

As you may know, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent federal agency established by Congress in 1965 that promotes opportunities for the enjoyment of the arts. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and philanthropists, the NEA supports the arts in communities across America.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), another federal agency, is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States. Founded in 1965, the NEH promotes excellence in the humanities by awarding grants to museums, archives, libraries, universities, radio stations and individual scholars.

Like you, I understand how valuable the arts and humanities are to our culture and economy. Given our current fiscal situation, we must carefully consider and monitor how we spend taxpayer dollars. Our debt is our greatest national security threat; it hurts our ability to create family-sustaining jobs and makes us uncompetitive globally. As the House of Representatives considers legislation to fund the NEA and the NEH, please know that I’ll certainly keep your thoughts in mind while also continuing the fight for a balanced budget

Once again, thank you for contacting me. I appreciate your concerns and encourage your continued feedback.  Please visit our website at perry.house.gov to submit further questions/comments or to sign up for our e-newsletter, Facebook page, and/or Twitter updates.