Sisters and brothers —
Today, IATSE members are on Capitol Hill, telling members of Congress not to cut the NEA.
The latest budget proposal eliminates funding for the National Endowment for the Arts — the NEA — along with the other federal agencies that support the arts. Losing this funding would devastate the arts industry in the United States, and the jobs that depend on it.
The NEA is under attack. Without our activism, Congress could decide to scrap the program and eliminate thousands of good arts jobs. Will you sign our petition and add your name to the growing list of people demanding that Congress protect the NEA?
Click here to sign our petition and demand that Congress protect the NEA.
Arts funding faced a similar threat last year, and because of the activism of people like you, Congress restored the funding. We can do it again if we all get involved now, but we can’t wait.
Every dollar that the NEA spends is matched nine-to-one by outside sources, creating a powerful force for supporting new art. Many theater productions and small-budget motion pictures rely on this funding to get started, and without it, the jobs they create would not exist.
Spending only $148 million, each year the NEA is able to support a $730 billion arts and culture industry in America, which accounts for about 4.2 percent of the annual GDP, and touches every community in the country. This arts and culture industry supports nearly 5 million jobs and provides billions of dollars in exports. And performing arts — which employ thousands of IATSE members — accounts for a large and rapidly growing portion of that.
The NEA is essential for supporting the arts in America, and our federal government must continue to invest in this job-creating agency. Will you join us in demanding that Congress protect the NEA?
Sign our petition today.
In solidarity,
Erika Dinkel-Smith
Assistant Department Director, Political and Legislative
IATSE
