US Senate Proposes Level Funding for NEA & NEH
On Thursday July 24th the US Senate Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies passed a funding bill for FY26 which allocated $207 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which is a exactly the same as the FY25 allocations for both agencies. The Senate bill would maintain the current distribution to state and regional arts agencies of 40% of the total NEA allocation.
On July 15th the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies passed a funding bill for FY26 which allocated $135 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which is a 35% reduction from the FY25 allocation for both agencies. Early the following week the details of the House bill were released, which would direct the NEA to distribute over 53% of their total allocation (at least $72 million) to state and regional arts agencies, instead of the current 40% which has been in place for decades.
Earlier this year President Trump released a budget proposal that would have eliminated all funding to the NEA and NEH. As a result, it is very likely that allies of the President may try to introduce amendments when this bill goes to floor of the US House of Representatives and/or the US Senate in the coming weeks to further reduce or eliminate federal cultural funding.
Arts North Carolina will continue to support the US Senate version of the budget, maintaining NEA and NEH funding at current levels and distributing 40% of the total allocation to state and regional arts agencies and humanities councils.