{"id":2112,"date":"2016-09-28T05:13:22","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T12:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=2112"},"modified":"2016-09-28T05:13:22","modified_gmt":"2016-09-28T12:13:22","slug":"what-should-congress-do-about-the-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/09\/what-should-congress-do-about-the-arts\/","title":{"rendered":"What should Congress do about the arts?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"where's<\/a>Blog neighbour Doug McLennan reviews<\/a> the recent Congressional Arts Report Card<\/a> produced by the Americans for the Arts Action Fund PAC. He notes that there isn’t really a lot of material on which to base a report card – indeed, there were no<\/em> recorded floor votes that were solely concerned with the arts. And so in reckoning how to distribute their modest funds to assist pro-arts candidates, they looked to past votes, and to whether the member of Congress had taken part in any activities that showed at least an interest in the arts. Putting aside the question of whether “Action Fund PACs” are a good thing for American democracy (“ah, but our<\/em> money in politics is a good<\/em> thing; it’s those other<\/em> people who put money in politics who do so much harm”), he writes:<\/p>\n

Of course there are many important issues before Congress, and Republicans were determined in this session not to move legislation forward. But are there really no arts or cultural issues or policies important to supporters of the arts that could have got a voice in the 114th Congress\u00a0besides arts education and NEA\/NEH budgets?<\/p>\n

Behind most political lobbying efforts is usually some bigger vision. Political lobbyists work on accomplishing that vision on many fronts as they build constituencies. The arts are supposed to be big on vision. Unfortunately that vision didn\u2019t appear in the official records of the 114th. Perhaps erosion of the NEA\/NEH budgets is because arguing for funding for the arts has been our main issue rather than a consequence of a bigger, more urgent and inspiring vision.\u00a0According to the Arts Report Card, the arts are a bipartisan issue at a time when division is the culture. If the arts are ever going to mean more to more people this seems like an opportunity to me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But I am going to urge caution on the vision thing. Because aside from “art is good”, reasonable people can differ on what that vision ought to be. A much bigger role for the NEA? OK, but what would that do to support for state and local arts councils, or to philanthropic support? More funding for arts education? Maybe, but what do we mean by “arts education”, and what is it that would be sacrificed in otherwise highly pressed public schools to facilitate it? Copyright reform? Well, would that be to increase access to works, or to increase protections and compensation for copyright holders?<\/p>\n

What problem do we want to solve that a larger vision would be of value?<\/p>\n

Have you seen<\/em> some of the decisions made in Congress over the past few years? Do you want<\/em> it to take a bigger role in proclaiming a vision for the arts?<\/p>\n

Arts policy in the US is pretty much a matter of “muddling through<\/a>“. I’m not convinced that this is the worst thing in the world, in a big diverse country with a great variety of ideas for what to support in the arts. Let cities and states experiment with different initiatives in the arts and arts education, learn from what seems to have worked, and let the NEA try a few new things too (with some rigorous policy evaluation to check on the performance of the new programs). This isn’t a place where we need grand visions for the arts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blog neighbour Doug McLennan reviews the recent Congressional Arts Report Card produced by the Americans for the Arts Action Fund PAC. He notes that there isn’t really a lot of material on which to base a report card – indeed, there were no recorded floor votes that were solely concerned with the arts. And so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2112","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-issues","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Mr-Smith.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-y4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2118,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/10\/what-arts-legislation-do-we-want-then-a-call-for-suggestions\/","url_meta":{"origin":2112,"position":0},"title":"What arts legislation do we want then? A call for suggestions","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"October 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago blog neighbour Doug McLennan lamented that Congress seems to have no interest in arts-related legislation, with no bills coming to floor on which we could even guess at how elected officials actually weigh the arts as a matter of national importance. I responded that we should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"not sure about this one...","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/suggestion-box.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4607,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2025\/11\/we-dont-need-an-alt-cultural-policy\/","url_meta":{"origin":2112,"position":1},"title":"We Don’t Need an Alt Cultural Policy","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"November 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In\u00a0a recent post\u00a0comparing the White House\u2019s proposed \u201ccompact\u201d with universities to the situation facing the nonprofit arts in the United States, I wrote: The administration\u2019s interventions into the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian museums have received a lot of press, and these \u201canti-woke\u201d interventions have a lot in common with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2234,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2017\/11\/about-that-arts-council-england-economic-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":2112,"position":2},"title":"About that Arts Council England economic report","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"November 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been away from the blog for a while, but I just can't keep myself away from economic impact studies of the arts. The latest is from Arts Council England - you can read the report here. Three things: First, the goals of the study are not clear. Britain's Office\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"now multiply by 2.77 precisely","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/abacus.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/abacus.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/abacus.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4599,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2025\/09\/public-funding-for-the-arts-and-viewpoint-discrimination-at-the-nea\/","url_meta":{"origin":2112,"position":3},"title":"Public Funding for the Arts and Viewpoint Discrimination at the NEA","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"September 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0ACLU is pleased to announce\u00a0that they succeeded in court against the new National Endowment for the Arts provision prohibiting funding for organizations or projects promoting \u201cgender ideology\u201d. The case is\u00a0Rhode Island Latino Arts v. National Endowment for the Arts. Here is an excerpt from the ACLU report: In an important\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2154,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/12\/what-to-do-about-the-nea\/","url_meta":{"origin":2112,"position":4},"title":"What to do about the NEA","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"December 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"At Bloomberg, Tyler Cowen posts some recommendations on US federal government arts policy. He has written at length about this in his book Good and Plenty; here he gives some ideas for the new administration. The thing I always enjoy about Cowen - especially in his blog - is his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"let's give some support?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sculpture_Studio_Classroom.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sculpture_Studio_Classroom.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sculpture_Studio_Classroom.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Sculpture_Studio_Classroom.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1516,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/09\/wellbeing-and-how-to-fund-the-arts\/","url_meta":{"origin":2112,"position":5},"title":"Wellbeing and how to fund the arts","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"September 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Via The Stage, what arts funding should have priority? The (UK) All-Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics has released a report recommending that changes in the wellbeing of individuals ought to be the central concern of policy, beyond calculations of narrower economic measures such as are at the core of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Aye, that's wellbeing!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/jimmy-shand.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/jimmy-shand.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/jimmy-shand.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2112"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2116,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112\/revisions\/2116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}