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McCollum Leads Field Hearing on Federal Investments in Arts & Culture

May 30, 2017

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) today heard testimony from Minnesota arts, humanities, libraries, museum, and public broadcasting leaders about the devastating impacts of President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2018 budget at a field hearing organized by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. The hearing was called in response to President Trump's proposed elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute for Museum and Library Services, and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Congresswoman McCollum, Ranking Member of the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, shared her strong support for robust federal investment in arts and culture and her strong opposition to President Trump's budget. In particular, Congresswoman McCollum focused on the impact the proposed eliminations and cuts would have in Minnesota and laid out her plans to work with Democrats and Republicans to block President Trump's backwards proposals.

"We are an arts leader. We have amazing public broadcasting. Our libraries and museums are nationally admired. All the federal benefit from Minnesota's leadership in these areas is eliminated in this budget," Congresswoman McCollum said. "For me, this is about our quality of life. The arts, humanities, public broadcasting, our cultural institutions, and education system make this a great state to live in – they keep our communities whole, thriving and striving. These are among the amenities – necessities – that attract workers to Minnesota and keep businesses in our state."

Among others, Congresswoman McCollum heard testimony from leaders of the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Minnesota Humanities Center, Twin Cities Public Television, Veterans Voices, Arts Midwest, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Deaf Artist Residency, Minnetonka Center for the Arts, and the Park Square Theatre.

Congresswoman McCollum's full opening statement at today's hearing is below:

Good morning. I would like to thank Minnesota Citizens for the Arts and Sheila Smith for hosting today's hearing on the Trump administration's Fiscal Year 2018 federal budget.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee I take the budget proposal submitted by any president seriously. It sets forth an administration's priorities, values, and policy direction. But let me remind everyone, the president proposes and it is Congress' constitutional role to put the finalize the budget and appropriate the funds.

Of the over $4 trillion budget submitted by Mr. Trump, my committee is responsible for allocating over $1 trillion in discretionary federal funding annually.

As the lead Democrat on the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, I have direct jurisdiction for $32 billion in annual spending for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, the Indian Health Service and Indian Education, the Smithsonian Institutions, and the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Only last month and seven months late, Congress finally concluded its work on the Fiscal Year 2017 budget. Despite 103 House Republicans voting against the omnibus appropriations bill, I am very pleased to report that were able to sustain funding levels for most of the agencies in the Interior-Environment bill. Despite pressure from the Trump administration, the NEA and NEH each maintained their respective budgets of $150 million each.

One bright spot that I'd like to report is that I was able to secure $5 million in new funding to "re-start" a program call "Save America's Treasures" which had not been funded since 2010. SAT is a grant program for the historic preservation of buildings, collections, artifacts, and items of historic and cultural significance. It is administered by the National Park Service in partnership with NEA, NEH and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). This is a small start, but it is time for the federal government to once again partner with communities to save America's history, culture and art for future generations.

Looking ahead,the proposed Trump budget for FY2018 reflects a set of priorities that if enacted would hurt families, tear communities apart, and undermine the very fabric that keeps America safe, strong, and successful. The president's budget prioritizes tax cuts for the wealthy, a border wall with Mexico, and a massive defense spending increase to over $680 billion in 2018 alone. To pay for this shift in priorities the Trump White House would abandon families, vulnerable citizens in need,
and local communities. The federal funds that flow to states, local governments, non-profits and even small businesses would be slashed.

Education, housing, environmental protection, transit, health research – all slashed. A priority program here in Minnesota, the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), is eliminated. That would leave 140,000 Minnesota households – mostly seniors – literally in the cold. Nutrition assistance for children and needy families – slashed. Environmental programs are gutted – a 30% cut to EPA would result in 3,800 agency employees terminated. Federal funding for the Great Lakes Restoration is eliminated. As we know, the NEA, the NEH, IMLS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Arts in Education are all proposed for elimination. Nearly 70 federal programs are eliminated in the Trump budget.

The cost savings is insignificant in comparison to the terrible harm inflicted from destroying decades of partnerships, assistance, and economic opportunity resulting from valuable federal programs. In my view, this is a budget that is cruel, harmful, and literally eliminates the smart investments that help to keep our country growing and strong.

Many of my Republican colleagues have said this budget is "dead on arrival." I hope they are right. But I take this Trump budget seriously – we all better take the threat is represents seriously. Last year many of us didn't take Mr. Trump seriously enough – too many Americans discounted the prospect of him being president – and here we are!

Today, I want to hear why federal investment in culture, creativity, arts education, and citizen engagement are valuable to our nation. I want to know what would happen if these federal agencies and investments were terminated. What would be the consequence for our state and communities?

I view this Trump budget as devastating for Minnesota. Here's why: Our state a donor state – Minnesota receives less than $0.75 in federal spending for every $1 we pay in federal taxes. We are 49th among states in benefiting from defense spending. So, a massive increase to the Pentagon's budget will have marginal impact in Minnesota.But, the Trump budget cuts directly target some of Minnesota's great successes.

We are an arts leader. We have amazing public broadcasting. Our libraries and museums are nationally admired. We are number on in the nation in national service – AmericaCorps, SeniorCorps and Conservation Corps. The list goes on and on. All the federal benefit from Minnesota's leadership in these areas is eliminated in this budget.

For me, this is about our quality of life. The arts, humanities, public broadcasting, our cultural institutions, and education system make this a great state to live in – they keep our communities whole, thriving and striving. These are among the amenities – necessities – that attract works to Minnesota and keep businesses in our state.

We can't solve our nation's challenges with tax cuts and more bullets and bombs. We need creative, dynamic citizens who can think, dialogue, analyze and solve problems, ask questions and build a better America. So, we need to stop this White House from advancing this budget and I am going to work with my colleagues in Congress – Democrats and Responsible Republicans – to move appropriation bills forward that invest in America's future, not harm it.

You can count on me to support full federal funding for the arts and humanities. But, I am also determined to fight for all the Minnesota communities that are being shaped by the creativity and energy of artists and writers and thinkers and teachers and students and hard working Americans.

Thank you for being here today and I look forward to hearing your stories and testimony.