Federal bailout for the arts?

An $825 billion economic recovery bill being drafted by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee proposes funding for the arts in the form of a $50 million supplementary appropriation for the National Endowment for the Arts. The focus seems to be on maintaining jobs in cultural nonprofits.

A report (pdf) put out today by the committee chairman, Congressman Dave Obey (D-Wisconsin), says:

“The arts community throughout the United States has been heavily impacted by recent funding reductions due to philanthropic retrenchment after the past year’s stock market declines and by reductions in state and local support because of revenue shortfalls in a depressed economy. The National Endowment for the Arts is positioned to use existing mechanisms to allocate lifeline funding quickly to these nonprofit organizations to retain jobs. These existing mechanisms provide direct grants to fund arts projects and activities with 40 percent distributed by formula to State arts agencies and regional arts organizations and 60 percent set aside for competitively selected arts projects and activities.”

Here’s the text of the relevant section of the draft “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” (pdf) proposing additional funding for the NEA:

“For an additional amount for ‘‘Grants and Administration’’, $50,000,000, to be distributed in direct grants to fund arts projects and activities which preserve jobs in the non-profit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn: Provided, That 40 percent of such funds shall be distributed to State arts agencies and regional arts organizations in a manner similar to the agency’s current practice and 60 percent of such funds shall be for competitively selected arts projects and activities according to sections 2 and 5(c) of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 951, 954(c)): Provided further, That matching requirements under section 5(e) of such Act shall be waived: Provided further, That the amount set aside from this appropriation pursuant to section 1106 of this Act shall be not more than 5 percent instead of the percentage specified in such section.”

Stay tuned.