Original WhiteHouse.gov Petition to Save NEA Not Counting Signatures - Here's Where to Sign

As BWW reported last week, the Trump Administration plans to reduce federal spending by $10.5 trillion over the next 10 years. Along with significant cuts to the departments of Commerce and Energy, Transportation, Justice and State, the administration also plans to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities entirely.

In response, a petition was created on January 21st seeking to preserve the National Endowment for the Arts.

But since then, there have been many reports from signees that the petition is not counting signatures. The count currently reads "46 signed" despite hundreds of tweets from signees saying they've added their names. The "share with others" link is also taking many users to an error page.

So where can you sign? Another petition, titled "Do not defund the NEA or NEH," can now be found at WhiteHouse.gov. It currently shows 747 signatures.

The description reads: "Recent reports suggest President Donald Trump plans to defund the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Without the NEA and NEH, artists and educators could be left without crucial government grants for their projects. Everything from orchestral performances to music enrichment programs in public schools would be negatively impacted. Funding for the national endowments are a minuscule portion -- 0.004% (!) -- of the nearly $4 trillion federal budget. In 2016, the NEA and NEH each received $148 million in funding. We ask President Trump to support the arts by not defunding the NEA and NEH."

In order to receive a response from the White House, the petition requires 99,253 more signatures (to reach the 100,000 goal) by February 20, 2017.

In addition, a Change.org petition is also circulating, with 11,229 signatures toward its 15,000 goal.

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. Its 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.