National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities: FY2024 Appropriations
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities: FY2024 Appropriations
November 6, 2024
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R48255
Congressional Research Service
SUMMARY
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities: FY2024 Appropriations
The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities is the primary vehicle for federal support for the arts and the humanities. Established in 1965, the foundation currently consists of three agencies: the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). IMLS is funded through the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. NEA and NEH are funded through the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
P.L. 118-42, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, provided FY2024 appropriations for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, including NEA and NEH. P.L. 118-47, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, provided FY2024 appropriations for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, including IMLS.
For FY2024, IMLS received an appropriation of $294.8 million, and NEA and NEH each received $207.0 million. The agencies received the same amounts in FY2024 that they had received in FY2023 through P.L. 117-328, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which provided FY2023 appropriations for all three agencies. For IMLS, appropriations for FY2024 and FY2023 were the same for all major activities and programs. For NEA and NEH, FY2024 and FY2023 appropriations differed for some major activities and programs.
R48255
November 6, 2024
Shannon S. Loane Senior Research Librarian
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities: FY2024 Appropriations
Congressional Research Service
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 Institute of Museum and Library Services ................................................................................ 1 National Endowment for the Arts.............................................................................................. 2 National Endowment for the Humanities .................................................................................. 3
Recent Appropriations ............................................................................................................... 4
Tables
Table 1. Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Arts, and
National Endowment for the Humanities: FY2021-FY2024 Annual Appropriations ................. 4
Contacts
Author Information .......................................................................................................................... 5
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities: FY2024 Appropriations
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Introduction
The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities is the primary vehicle for federal support for the arts and the humanities. The foundation, established in 1965, was composed initially of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was established within the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities in 1996. NEA and NEH are funded through the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. IMLS is funded through the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
This report compares FY2024 appropriations (P.L. 118-42, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, and P.L. 118-47, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024) with FY2023 appropriations (P.L. 117-328, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023) for IMLS, NEA, and NEH. It also provides a table showing appropriations for the three agencies, by activity, for FY2021-FY2024.
Institute of Museum and Library Services
IMLS is the primary administrator of grants supporting the nation’s libraries and museums. It consolidates federal library programs dating back to 1956, with museum programs dating back to 1976. IMLS grants reach all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. In FY2024, IMLS appropriations totaled $294.8 million, equivalent to FY2023 appropriations.1
The IMLS Library Grants to States program is both the largest source of federal funding for library services in the United States and the largest IMLS-administered program. These grants are allocated, by a population-based formula, to state library administrative agencies (SLAAs) located in each of the states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. An SLAA may use funds for IMLS Grants to States to support library initiatives across its state or territory, or it may distribute the funds to public, academic, research, school, or special libraries or consortia of libraries through competitive subawards or cooperative agreements.2 Both FY2024 and FY2023 appropriations included $180.0 million for these formula grants.
IMLS also has several competitive library grant programs, including
• the Native American and Native Hawaiian Library Services program, which assists Native American and Native Hawaiian libraries in improving core services for their communities;
• the National Leadership Grants for Libraries program, which supports projects that enhance the quality of library services for the American public by addressing critical needs in the library and archive fields; and
• the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program, which supports the training and professional development of library and archives professionals; developing faculty and information leaders; and recruiting, educating, and retaining the next generation of librarians and the library workforce to meet the needs of their communities, including those needs relating to education, workforce development, lifelong learning, and digital literacy.
1 P.L. 118-47, Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Division D; Explanatory Statement Regarding Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 51, Book II (March 22, 2024), p. H1897.
2 For more information on IMLS’s Grants to States program, see CRS Report R46611, Institute of Museum and Library Services Grants to States Funding Formula: In Brief.
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For these programs, for both FY2024 and FY2023, IMLS received appropriations of $31.1 million.
IMLS’s competitive grant programs for museums include the following:
• the Museums for America program, which supports museums of all sizes and disciplines in strategic, project-based efforts to serve the public through exhibitions, education and interpretive programs, digital learning resources, professional development, community debate and dialogue, audience-focused studies, and/or collections management, curation, care, and conservation;
• the Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services program, which supports organizations that primarily serve and represent Native Americans and Native Hawaiians; and
• the National Leadership Grants for Museums program, which supports projects that address critical needs of the museum field and that have the potential to advance practice in the profession to strengthen museum services for the American public.
For these programs for both FY2024 and FY2023, IMLS received appropriations of $43.5 million.
In addition, IMLS received appropriations of $6.0 million for the grant program authorized by the National Museum of African American History and Culture Act (P.L. 108-184) in both FY2024 and FY2023. The program provides grants for capacity-building, professional development, and collection access for African American museums and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. IMLS has supported more than 250 African American museums and Historically Black Colleges and Universities through this program.
In both FY2024 and FY2023, IMLS received $6.0 million to implement the education provisions related to the National Museum of the American Latino (P.L. 116-260, Division T, Title II). In FY2024, IMLS awarded funding to five partnerships of Hispanic-Serving Institutions and American Latino Museums to support the development and implementation of museum internship and fellowship partnerships between the institutions and museums.
IMLS program administration received $22.7 million in both FY2024 and FY2023. Included in this increase were $4.0 million for the continuation and expansion of the Information Literacy Taskforce and $1.0 million in preparation for the America250 commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
Additionally, the explanatory statement accompanying the FY2024 appropriations law directed the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on the physical condition of library and museum facilities in the United States and to report findings within 18 months of the date of enactment.3
National Endowment for the Arts
NEA is a major source of support for all arts disciplines. Typically, NEA grants are used to support nonprofit arts organizations, public arts agencies and organizations, and individual writers
3 P.L. 118-47, Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024; Division D; Explanatory Statement Regarding Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 51, Book 11 (March 22, 2024), p. H1897.
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and translators.4 Since 1965, NEA has awarded more than $5 billion in funding across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. For each of FY2024 and FY2023, appropriations for NEA totaled $207.0 million.5
NEA’s largest grant program is its state partnerships grants, which are awarded by formula to state and regional arts agencies. These agencies apply annually for this support, and the funding they receive includes general funding for their priorities and designated funding for folk and traditional arts, arts education, and outreach to underserved communities. FY2024 appropriations included $65.2 million for these grants, an increase of $0.2 million (0.3%) over the FY2023 appropriations of $65.0 million.
NEA’s direct grants include the following:
• Grants for Arts Projects, which is the principal competitive grant program for nonprofit organizations and awards grants in a number of artistic disciplines;
• Our Town, which provides competitive grants that support projects that integrate arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities by advancing local economic, physical, or social outcomes; and
• Challenge America, which is a competitive program that provides support for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations.
NEA also supports several national initiatives, including Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, Poetry Out Loud, and the NEA Big Read. FY2024 appropriations included $97.8 million for these grant programs and initiatives, an increase of $0.3 million (0.3%) over the FY2023 appropriations of $97.5 million.
National Endowment for the Humanities
NEH supports grants for humanities education, research, preservation and public programs; the creation of regional humanities centers; and the development of humanities programs under the jurisdiction of the state humanities councils. Typically, NEH grants are used to support cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television and radio, and individual scholars. Since 1965, NEH has awarded almost 70,000 grants worth more than $6.4 billion across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. For each of FY2024 and FY2023, NEH appropriations totaled $207.0 million.6
The Federal/State Partnership program is the largest program in NEH’s budget. Program grants are awarded, by formula, to state humanities agencies to increase public awareness of, access to, and support for the humanities in the United States. The FY2024 appropriations act included $65.0 million for this program, the same amount as provided for in the FY2023 appropriations act.
The FY2024 appropriations act included $78.0 million for NEH’s direct competitive grants, a decrease of $2.3 million (2.8%) over the $80.3 million in FY2023 appropriations. These grants are in the following areas:
4 The National Endowment for the Arts, by law (P.L. 111-88, Title IV, Section 438), is not permitted to give grants to individuals with the exception of literature fellowships (creative writing and translation), National Heritage Fellowships, or American Jazz Masters Fellowships.
5 P.L. 118-42, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 Division E; Explanatory Statement Regarding Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Congressional Record, vol. 170, no. 39 (March 5, 2024), pp. S1175, S1858.
6 P.L. 118-42, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Division E; Explanatory Statement Regarding Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Congressional Record, vol. 170, no.39 (March 5, 2024), pp. S1175, S1858.
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• preservation and access,
• public programs,
• research programs,
• education programs,
• program development, and
• digital humanities initiatives.
The FY2024 and FY2023 appropriations both included $7.0 million for special initiatives, including A More Perfect Union and American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future.
A More Perfect Union is an NEH-wide initiative launched in 2019 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. It builds on NEH’s background in projects that catalog, preserve, explore, and promote American history.
American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future is a wide-ranging program that leverage the humanities to strengthen democracy, advance equity for all, and address the changing climate.
Further, NEH supports a Matching Grant program to stimulate and match private donations in support of humanities institutions. NEH estimates that since their start in 1977, matching grants have generated more than $1.3 billion in nonfederal funds for the humanities. The FY2024 appropriations act included $15.0 million, a decrease of $3.8 million (20%) over the FY2023 appropriations of $18.8 million for this program.
Recent Appropriations
Table 1 details appropriations for the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities agencies. It provides enacted appropriations for FY2021 through FY2024.
Table 1. Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the
Arts, and National Endowment for the Humanities:
FY2021-FY2024 Annual Appropriations
(in thousands of dollars)
Agency and Program
FY2021
Enacted
FY2022
Enacted
FY2023
Enacted
FY2024
Enacted
Institute of Museum and Library Services (Total)
257,000 268,000 294,800 294,800
Library Grants to States 168,803 168,803 180,000 180,000
Native American and Native Hawaiian Library Services
5,263 5,263 5,763 5,763
National Leadership: Libraries 13,406 13,406 15,287 15,287
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000
Museums for America 26,899 27,899 30,330 30,330
Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services
2,272 2,272 3,772 3,772
National Leadership: Museums 8,113 8,113 9,348 9,348
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities: FY2024 Appropriations
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Agency and Program
FY2021
Enacted
FY2022
Enacted
FY2023
Enacted
FY2024
Enacted
Museum Grants for African American History & Culture
3,231 5,231 6,000 6,000
Museum Grants for American Latino History & Culture
— 4,000 6,000 6,000
Research, Analysis, and Data Collection 3,513 4,513 5,650 5,650
Program Administration 15,500 18,500 22,650 22,650
National Endowment for the Arts (Total)
167,500 180,000 207,000 207,000
State Partnerships 53,540 57,540 64,980 65,180
Direct Grantsa 80,310 86,310 97,470 97,770
Program Support 1,950 2,000 2,500 2,500
Administration 31,700 34,150 42,050 41,550
National Endowment for the Humanities (Total)
167,500 180,000 207,000 207,000
Federal/State Partnership 51,576 54,348 65,000 65,000
Preservation and Access 19,000 19,500 22,500 21,400
Public Programs 13,500 14,000 15,800 15,000
Research Programs 14,500 15,000 17,500 17,500
Education Programs 13,000 13,500 15,400 15,400
Program Development 500 2,500 2,800 2,500
Digital Humanities Initiatives 5,000 5,500 6,250 6,200
Special Initiativesb 5,724 5,052 7.000 7,000
Matching Grants 15,000 15,600 18,750 15,000
Administration 29,700 35,000 36,000 42,000
Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, appropriations acts, and congressional justifications. Notes: The table does not include any funding the agencies received other than in the annual appropriations acts, for instance from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136) or the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2). a. Includes Challenge America grants, Grants for Arts Projects grants, Our Town grants, and national initiatives.
b. Includes A More Perfect Union and American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future.
Author Information
Shannon S. Loane Senior Research Librarian
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities: FY2024 Appropriations
Congressional Research Service R48255 · VERSION 1 · NEW 6
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