Bill Text: NJ AJR141 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Opposes President Trump's proposal to eliminate National Endowment for the Arts; encourages President, administration, and Congress to increase support for arts through National Endowment for the Arts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-27 - Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading [AJR141 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-AJR141-Introduced.html
No. 141
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 15, 2017
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Opposes President Trump's proposal to eliminate National Endowment for the Arts; encourages President, administration, and Congress to increase support for arts through National Endowment for the Arts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution opposing President Donald Trump's proposal to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and encouraging the President, his administration, and Congress to increase support for the arts through the NEA.
Whereas, The National Endowment for the Arts was established in 1965 when Congress passed and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act; and
Whereas, For more than 50 years, the National Endowment for the Arts has fostered our country's diverse artistic expression by awarding more than $5 billion in funds to artists and arts organizations across the country to preserve and advance our common heritage in music, dance, drama, creative writing, film, photography, folk art, painting, sculpture, television and radio, and other creative endeavors; and
Whereas, The National Endowment for the Arts has been essential to the survival and continued existence of local artists and arts organizations and their multicultural artistic expression by awarding grants to artists and arts organizations in every state, especially through partnerships with state arts agencies and regional arts organizations; and
Whereas, In New Jersey, the National Endowment for the Arts annually awards about $800,000 in funding to the State Council on the Arts as the key state arts agency for distribution to artistic projects all over the State, and also disburses a significant amount of funds directly to artists and arts organizations in this State, fostering not only local arts and culture but also the local economy; and
Whereas, As part of its plans to cut government spending, the Trump administration is considering a proposal to completely eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, notwithstanding that at $146 million, the organization's annual budget constitutes an infinitesimal fraction of the annual United States budget; and
Whereas, The proposal to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts goes against our nation's long-standing efforts to foster artistic expression, which is vital to our growth, our spirit, and our democracy; and
Whereas, The proposal also threatens our local communities that currently benefit from the economic activity generated by the funded arts and entertainment programs; and
Whereas, We must therefore reject any proposal that seeks to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts because, in the words of President Lyndon B. Johnson, art "is a nation's most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves, and to others, the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish;" now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature of the State of New Jersey opposes President Donald Trump's proposal to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, and affirms the organization's work to foster our nation's diverse artistic expression as vital to our democracy and our economy. This Legislature encourages the President, his administration, and Congress to increase support for the arts through the NEA.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the House Majority Leader, the House Minority Leader, each member of Congress elected from this State, and the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.
3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This resolution opposes President Donald Trump's proposal to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and encourages the President, his administration, and Congress to increase support for the arts through the NEA.
The NEA is an independent agency of the federal government established in 1965 when Congress passed and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act. For more than 50 years, the NEA has fostered our country's diverse artistic expression by awarding more than $5 billion in funds to artists and arts organizations across the country to preserve and advance our common heritage in music, dance, drama, creative writing, film, photography, folk art, painting, sculpture, television and radio, and other creative endeavors. In New Jersey, the NEA annually awards about $800,000 in funding to the State Council on the Arts as the key state arts agency for distribution to artistic projects all over the State, and also disburses a significant amount of funds directly to artists and arts organizations in this State, fostering not only local arts and culture but also the local economy.
As part of its plans to cut government spending, the Trump administration is considering a proposal to completely eliminate the NEA, notwithstanding that at $146 million, the organization's annual budget constitutes an infinitesimal fraction of the United States budget. This proposal goes against our nation's long-standing efforts to foster artistic expression, which is vital to our growth, our spirit, and our democracy. It also threatens our local communities that currently benefit from the economic activity generated by the funded arts and entertainment programs. We must therefore reject any proposal that seeks to eliminate the NEA. In the words of President Lyndon B. Johnson, art "is a nation's most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves, and to others, the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish."
