Cutting Arts Funding Is Not the Answer!

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President Donald Trump has vowed to eliminate nearly all the federal government's discretionary spending in the next ten years in an effort to help reduce our national debt. However, cutting funding for the programs Trump has chosen does far more to undermine democratic ideals than it does to save money.

Seventeen programs, including **the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting** are all on the chopping block. These programs do important work for our nation, like funding services for veterans, supporting local artists' projects, and financing research for museums, colleges, and libraries \[1\]. They also provide jobs and other important resources for many Americans \[2\].

Collectively, **these three organizations cost each American only $2.29 per year** and have a total budget of $745 million \[3\], which is less than a tenth of a percent of the federal government's annual spending \[4\]. These cuts would be just a drop in the bucket¬óand at a huge price for Americans.

The Association of Art Museum Directors has issued a statement saying the NEA and NEH's funding is "modest" but an "invaluable" investment nonetheless. **"It is the mark of a great democracy to support the arts, which are an expression of what makes us human"** \[5\].

It is time to stand up for the arts. It's time to make it clear that the American people is not interested in making small dents in the national debt at the expense of so much important research and so many public services and grants.

**Sign to tell President Trump and the House and Senate Committees On The Budget to find somewhere else to cut spending and leave the arts alone.**