Order Code RS20287
Updated August 26, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Arts and Humanities:
Background on Funding
Susan Boren
Specialist in Social Legislation
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
Funding for the arts and humanities is a perennial issue in Congress. Although arts
funding represents less than 1% of the Bush Administration’s FY2006 total estimated
budget authority, Congress continues to address the concern of whether federal funding
is crucial to sustain arts institutions. The majority of federally funded arts and
humanities programs are contained in the Department of Interior and Related Agencies
appropriations bill. The Interior appropriations provide funding for the National
Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, including the National Endowment for the
Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The Office of
Museum Services, within the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is now under
the jurisdiction of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related
Agencies appropriations. After a series of continuing resolutions, the final FY2005
Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-447) provided $121.3 million for the NEA,
and $138.05 million for the NEH. The FY2005 appropriation provided $34.7 million
for the Office of Museum programs within IMLS. The FY2006 final Interior
appropriations law (H.R. 2361, P.L. 109-54) provided $126.3 million for NEA and
$143.05 million for NEH, both reflecting increases above the Bush Administration’s
FY2006 budget and the FY2005 enacted level.
Background
Of the estimated 200+ arts and humanities programs scattered throughout federal
agencies, it appears that the majority of arts and humanities funding is through the
Department of Interior appropriations.1 President Bush’s FY2006 budget request ($2.547
trillion in estimated budget authority, $2.587 trillion in outlays) includes far less than 1%
for arts and humanities-related spending. The NEA and the NEH combined specifically
1 The federal government also provides support for the arts through tax expenditures, such as the
deduction for charitable contributions to the arts, humanities, and culture on income tax and on
gift and estate taxes.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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constitute an estimated 0.01% of the FY2006 budget.2 The Department of Interior and
Related Agencies Appropriations for FY2005 (P.L. 108-447) provided a total of $121.3
million for NEA and $138.05 million for NEH, representing approximately 0.01% of total
estimated budget authority ($2.47 trillion) in FY2005.
Arts Programs
Three of the major arts programs funded by the federal government include the NEA,
the NEH, and the Office of Museum Services within the Institute of Museum and Library
Services (OMS/IMLS). NEA provides direct grants to art institutions, grants for
programs of national significance, and a limited number of individual grants for Literature
fellowships, Jazz masters, and National Heritage Fellowships in the folk and traditional
arts. NEA has awarded approximately 120,000 grants for 50 states and six U.S.
jurisdictions since 1965. State arts agencies, in compliance with the congressional
mandate, are now receiving over 40% of NEA grant-making funds. In addition to
providing state arts grants, NEA administers the Challenge America Arts fund.3 NEH
supports grants for humanities education, research, preservation, public humanities
programs, and grants under the jurisdiction of 56 state humanities councils, and has
initiated a “We the People” program. NEH also supports a Challenge grant program to
stimulate and match private donations in support of humanities institutions. Since its
creation, NEH has provided approximately 61,000 grants to all states. Within IMLS, the
OMS supports general operations grants for museums, museum leadership grants,
museum conservation grants, and museum assessment.4 In the past 25 years, the IMLS’s
Office of Museum Services has awarded approximately 44,000 grants totaling over $400
million, aiding approximately 15,000 museums of all types. OMS is now under the
jurisdiction of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related
Agencies (L-HHS-ED) appropriations instead of Interior and Related Agencies
appropriations. The rationale for this transfer was that the Office of Library Services, the
larger of the two components of IMLS, was already under L-HHS-ED appropriations, and
having a single funding stream appeared to be simpler.
FY2005 Funding
For final FY2005 funding, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (P.L. 108-
447) provided $121.3 million for NEA and $138.05 million for NEH. The conference
added $2 million to NEA’s funding for the “American Masterpieces” program. The
FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act provided $34.7 million for OMS within IMLS,
2 An estimate of the FY2006 total budget authority ($2.547 trillion) would include less than 0.1%
of the total budget authority for arts and humanities-related spending. This figure is calculated
based on programs in the FY2006 budget, and using the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
([http://www.cfda.gov]) designations for arts and humanities programs. (For estimated total U.S.
budget authority, see U.S. Budget, Historical Tables, FY2006, Tables 3.1 and 5.1)
3 The Challenge America Arts fund is a program of matching grants for arts education, outreach,
and community arts activities for rural and under served areas. Because the NEA administers the
Challenge America Arts fund, it is required to submit a detailed report to the House and Senate
appropriations committees describing the use of funds for the Challenge America fund program.
4 The IMLS and the Office of Museum Services have been reauthorized through FY2009 by
P.L. 108-81, the Museum and Library Services Act.

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$39.9 million for “Congressionally directed grants” and $205.9 million for Library
programs for a total of $280.6 million for IMLS. This included $16.9 million for the
“Museums for America” program, to “build the capacity of museums to serve
communities through technology and education.” P.L. 108-447 also provided $35.6
million for the Arts in Education program.
FY2006 Budget Request
The Bush Administration’s FY2006 budget proposed $121.3 million for NEA
(including an additional $14.9 million for the Challenge America Arts Fund). In the NEA
budget, NEA’s direct grants would constitute an estimated $45.1 million. The new
national initiative called American Masterpieces was proposed to be funded at $8.0
million and includes touring programs, local presentations, and arts education programs
in the fields of dance, visual arts, and music. For IMLS, the FY2006 budget proposed
$262.2 million, and of that amount the Office of Museum Services (which serves an
estimated 15,000 museums) would have received $38.9 million. For NEH, the FY2006
budget would have provided $138.05 million, the same as the FY2005 appropriation.
NEH’s FY2006 budget proposed $11.2 million for the “We the People” initiative. These
grants include model curriculum projects for schools to improve course offerings in the
humanities — American history, culture, and civics. The FY2006 budget proposed $56.8
million to support NEH’s grant programs for education, research, preservation and access,
and public programming in the humanities; and $31.4 million for the federal state
partnership program for the 56 state humanities councils; and $15.4 million would have
funded the NEH Challenge Grants program and Treasury funds to stimulate private
donations.
FY2006 Appropriations
After a series of hearings, the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and
Related Agencies Appropriations marked up the Interior Appropriations bill on May 4,
2005. The full House Appropriations Committee met May 10, 2005 and reported H.R.
2361 (H.Rept. 109-80, May 13, 2005), providing $121.3 million for the NEA and $138.05
million for NEH. On May 19, 2005 the House passed the Interior, Environment and
Related Agencies appropriations bill, H.R. 2361, by a vote of 329 to 89. The House-
passed bill would have provided $131.3 million for NEA, $10.0 million above the
Administration’s FY2006 request and the FY2005 Appropriation. (See Table 1 below
for additional arts-related appropriations.) A House floor amendment by Representative
Slaughter was approved that increased NEA’s appropriation by $10.0 million and the
NEH by $5.0 million with offsets totaling $15.0 million from the National Forest system
and Department of Interior’s Departmental Management activities. Under the House
passed bill NEA’s Challenge America program was increased to $24.9 million funded
under NEA grants and state partnerships. Other House floor amendments that were not
agreed to would have reduced funding for the NEA. One sought to cut $15.0 million from
NEA to provide $4.8 million for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program. Another
proposed cutting $30.0 million from the NEA to shift $27.5 million to the Forest
Service’s Wildland Fire Management program. On June 10 the Senate Appropriations
committee reported their version of H.R. 2361 (S.Rept. 109-80), and on June 29 the
Senate passed H.R. 2361, providing $126.3 million for NEA and $143.05 million for
NEH for FY2006. The Senate passed H.R. 2361 on June 29, 2005. The Senate Committee

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version and the Senate bill included $5 million in general increases to NEA and NEH.
(Note: The House considered and passed H.R. 3010, the L-HHS-ED appropriations for
FY2006, providing $0 for Arts in Education and $249.6 million for the IMLS. The
FY2006 Senate-reported figure for Arts in Education is $35.7 million and for IMLS is
$290.1 million total with $37.4 million for OMS.) On August 2, 2005, the FY2006
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill (H.R. 2361) was signed
into law as P.L. 109-54 providing $126.3 million for NEA and $143.05 million for NEH.
Reauthorization of the Institute of Museum and Library Services
(IMLS)
The legislation authorizing the IMLS expired at the end of FY2002. However,
funding was carried through appropriations law until enactment of P.L. 108-81. H.R. 13,
the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003, which authorized funding for IMLS
through FY2009 was signed into law on September 24, 2003 as P.L. 108-81. The
provisions for P.L. 108-81 included an “obscenity clause” requiring the IMLS Director
to establish procedures to prohibit funding to any project that has been “determined to be
obscene” in the judgment of the courts, and require the Director in making grants to “take
into account consideration of general standards of decency and respect for the diverse
beliefs and values of the American public.” The law used the definition of obscenity that
was formulated by the United States Supreme Court in Miller vs. California (413 U.S. 15
(1973)), and this language was carried through Interior appropriations and became
amendments to the NEA statute (National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities
Act, as amended (20 U.S.C. §954(d)).5 In addition to this provision, the law also clarified
the definition of museum and revised the purposes section to restate the importance of
museums’ public service role of connecting the whole of society to our cultural heritage.
The law required that the IMLS director carry out and publish analyses of the “impact”
of museum and library services.
P.L. 108-81 authorizes OMS at $38.6 million for FY2004 and “such sums” as may
be necessary for FY2005-FY2009. The public law also included amendments to the
National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Act and the Arts and Artifacts
Indemnity Act to raise liability limits to $8 billion. For those aspects of P.L. 108-81
related to libraries, see CRS Report RL31320, Federal Aid to Libraries: The Library
Services and Technology Act.
Private Giving to the Arts and Humanities
Giving USA, a publication by the American Association of Fundraising Counsel
(AAFRC) Trust for Philanthropy, provides an annual report on philanthropy. According
to Giving USA 2004, private giving to organizations in the arts, culture, and humanities
category totaled $13.11 billion in 2003. This represents 5.4% of total estimated giving
($240.7 billion) in 2003. In current dollars, private giving to the arts, culture and
humanities reflects an increase of 7.3% over 2002. One of the largest gifts reported in
2003 was for $300 million, the value of the Meyerhoff art collection, which was
transferred to the National Gallery of Art.
5 See CRS Report RS21509, Museum and Library Services Act of 2003: Using “Obscenity” and
“Decency” Criteria in Selecting Grantees, by Andrew W. Murnane.

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Table 1. FY2002-FY2006 Appropriations for Selected Arts and Humanities Programs
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
FY2006 budget
FY2006 House-
FY2006
FY2006
approp.
approp.
approp.
approp.
request
passed
Senate-passed
approp.
National Endowment for the Arts
$98,234,000
$115,732,000
$120,972,000
$121,264,000
$121,264,000
$131,264,000
$126,264,000
$126,264,000
(NEA) (Grants, Admin.)a
Challenge America Arts Funda
17,000,000
16,889,000
21,729,000
21,427,000
14,922,000
14,922,000
14,922,000
14,922,000b
NEA total
115,234,000
115,732,000
120,972,000
121,264,000
121,264,000
131,264,000
126,264,000
126,264,000b
National Endowment for the
124,504,000
124,936,000
135,310,000
138,054,000
138,054,000
143,054,000
143,054,000
143,054,000b
Humanities (NEH)
Office of Museum Services, IMLS
26,899,000
28,637,000
31,403,000
34,724,000
38,915,000
36,990,000
c
na
Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS) — totald,e
224,501,000
243,890,000
262,240,000
280,564,000
262,240,000
249,640,000
c
na
446,096,000
488,653,000
489,035,000
524,135,000
524,381,000
524,135,000
524,281,000
Smithsonianf
420,960,000
t518,860,000
t544,875,000
t596,279,000
t615,158,000
t615,035,000
t615,281,000
t624,135,000
t624,281,000
Kennedy Center
38,310,000
33,690,000
32,159,000
33,021,000
33,000,000
27,800,000
33,000,000
30,800,000
National Gallery of Art
85,335,000
92,842,000
98,225,000
102,653,000
113,300,000
113,300,000
111,600,000
112,800,000
Commission of Fine Arts
1,224,000
1,216,000
1,405,000
1,768,000
1,893,000
1,893,000
1,893,000
1,893,000
Institute of American Indian, and
Alaska Native Culture and Arts
4,490,000
5,454,000
6,173,000
5,916,000
6,300,000
6,300,000
6,300,000
6,300,000
Development
Holocaust Memorial Council
36,028,000
38,412,000
39,505,000
40,858,000
43,233,000
41,880,000
43,233,000
42,780,000
c
Arts in Educatione
30,000,000
33,779,000
35,071,000
35,633,000
0
0
na
a. With the exception of the FY2002 number, the NEA Grants and Administration total now includes the Challenge America Arts Fund.
b. The FY2006 appropriation contained a general increase of $5.0 million to NEH and NEA, for NEA — $3.0 million was to go to Challenge America grants and $2.0 million to American
Masterpieces.
c. The Senate-reported numbers for FY2006 are $37.4 million for the Office of Museum Services and $290.1 million for the total IMLS, assuming $40.0 million for congressional
earmarks, and $35.7 million for arts in education.
d. The total for IMLS includes congressional earmarks in FY2002 ($29.5 million), FY2003 ($35.1 million), FY2004 ($32.6 million), and FY2005 ($39.9 million).
e. Both IMLS and Arts in Education are under L-HHS-ED appropriations.
f. The top figure for Smithsonian is for Salaries and Expenses. The lower figure in the table is the total (t = total) appropriation including repair and construction.
na = not available at this time/no action on the particular bill.

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