Official: Trump Administration Budget Plan Calls to Eliminate National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities

As BroadwayWorld reported in January, as a part of the Trump Administration's plans to reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over the next 10 years, it was revealed that the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities were at risk of being eliminated entirely.

Today, Trump's plans have officially been announced, and as many have feared, the two programs will suffer. According to the New York Times, the administration's first federal budget plan will eliminate the endowments- the first time this has been proposed since their creation in 1965.

The endowments' budgets (about $300 million) will not be cut until the federal budget is written by Congress in the coming months, though it remains unclear whether Republicans will go against the White House's plans, as they often " telegraph a president's priorities."

Teresa Eyring of the Theatre Communications Group told NYT: "This is the beginning of a long road. Now advocates and people in the arts community will communicate with their legislators and really try to make clear the value of this relatively modest but very important investment in our country through the arts."

A recent statement from the NEA reads: "The grants and programs that the NEA administers are powerful examples of how the arts are a vital and valuable part of our everyday lives. In communities across the nation, NEA-supported projects ensure that the arts are accessible to all Americans, through arts education, healing arts, and arts-based community development - as well as through projects that feature dance, music, visual arts, literature, folk and traditional arts, and more."

Click here to read more statements from other NEA-funded theatres across the country.

A petition seeking to preserve the National Endowment for the Arts was launched earlier this year. As of today, the petition has over 200k signatures. To learn more and to sign the petition, click here.

The Tony Award winning National Endowment for the Arts was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. It's purpose is to promote and strengthen the creative capacity of communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation. Click here to learn more about how the National Endowment for the Arts benefits theater across the country.