Speak Up for the Humanities

Let’s make sure Congress knows that federal funding for the humanities makes a difference in Kansas.

The Trump administration released its FY 2020 budget, A Budget for a Better America, and it does not include any funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). It is up to Congress to oppose the elimination and now it is up to us to work with Congress to make sure our voices are heard. The NEH has benefited from bipartisan support since President Lyndon Johnson signed the federal legislation in 1965. Every Congress since then has believed in the power of the humanities to make a difference right here at home.

Humanities Kansas depends on federal funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support and create public humanities events in Kansas.

The humanities are essential in Kansas. Humanities Kansas:

• Supports towns of all sizes
• Works with diverse organizations
• Leverages private dollars
• Focuses on grassroots needs
• Strengthens civic life
• Boosts local economies
• Small Investment, Big Impact
   

NEH received $155 million in FY 2019. This is a fraction of a percentage of the total federal budget: Less than one-tenth of one percent of annual federal spending goes to NEH, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting combined. In fact, federal investment in the NEH costs less than the price of a stamp per American per year. In Kansas, we know that the value of NEH and Humanities Kansas is priceless to Kansas communities large and small, rural and urban.

Will you join your fellow Kansans to speak up in support of funding for the humanities?

Click here to go to the Humanities Action Center.

Impact

Find stats on the humanities impact in your district to share with your representatives:

• Statewide
• District 1
• District 2
• District 3
• District 4
   

Organizations

• National Endowment for the Humanities

• Federation of State Humanities Councils

• National Humanities Alliance

News Articles

• NEH Statement on Proposed FY 2020 Budget

• For third year in a row, Trump budget plan eliminates arts, public TV and library funding. The Washington Post, March 18, 2019

• How to Block Trumps Arts Cuts? Groups Look to G.O.P Help, The New York Times, February 28, 2017

• Trump says he wants to fix our divisions. But he may gut an institution that does exactly that. The Washington Post, February 22, 2017.

• Nonprofits Targeted for Federal Funding Cuts, The NonProfit Times, February 21, 2017.

• Killing a Program That Brings History to Life, The New York Times, March 9, 2017.

• Museums build bridges across cultures, generations. Chicago Tribune, February 18, 2017.

• Statement from NEH Chairman Adams on the FY18 Budget. National Endowment for the Humanities press release, March 16, 2017.

• Trump Proposes Eliminating the Arts and Humanities Endowments. The New York Times, March 15, 2017.

• Trump wants to cut the NEA and NEH. This is the worst-case scenario for arts groups. The Washington Post, March 16, 2017.

• Why We Must Save the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Daily Beast, March 16, 2017.

• Republicans Start Lining Up to Fight for the N.E.A. and the N.E.H. The New York Times, March 17, 2017.

• Save the Humanities! The Huffington Post, March 24, 2017.

• Budget Cuts May Impact the Humanities. Dodge City Daily Globe, March 30, 2017.

• The Arts in Kansas Depend on Federal Aid. The New York Times, March 31, 2017.

• Support for the Humanities is Vital, Topeka Capital-Journal, April 6, 2017.

• Editorial: Protect the NEA and NEH, Topeka Capital-Journal, May 21, 2017.