Republican Lawmakers Call for Abolition of National Endowment of the Arts & National Endowment of the Humanities

The New York Times reports today that a group of Republican politicians are campaigning to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The congressional group is called the Republican Study Committee is comprised of 165 Republican house members and "also called for eliminating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which got $430 million."  The NEA and NEH were granted $167.5 million from the Federal Government last year.

According to the report in the Times, "The proposal, made Thursday, is part of the Spending Reduction Act of 2011, which aims to reduce federal spending by $2.5 trillion over 10 years. Senator Jim DeMint, above, a South Carolina Republican who is chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, said in a statement that the bill "begins the difficult task of shrinking the federal bureaucracy that threatens our future prosperity."

Arts lobbyists have been quick to note that that some 5.7 million people are employed in arts industries and help generate billions in tax dollars for the government.

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The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.