19 March 2025
On Friday, President Trump signed a spending package to fund the U.S. government through the remainder of the fiscal year, and keeping level funding for the arts and arts education.
Legislators avoided a government shutdown in late December by passing a Continuing Resolution to extend the federal budget through mid-March passing budget negotiations to the 119th Congress. Congress has now agreed to a “year-long” Continuing Resolution to keep the government open through September 30th (the end of the Fiscal Year).
What Does This Mean for the Arts?
- The C.R. funds agencies at FY24 levels through the end of FY25. This means level funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities at $207 Million for each agency. This also preserves level funding in the Every Student Succeeds Act that supports a well-rounded education (including the arts), and the Department of Education’s Assistance for Arts Education grant program.
- A year-long C.R. also means no Congressionally Directed Spending Projects (earmarks) this year, but South Carolina did not have any arts-related earmarks on the table.
What’s Next
Congress will now turn their attention to passing FY26 Appropriations Bills which would fund the government beginning on October 1st — although they have not passed a budget on time for the last 20 years. We are advocating for an increase to the NEA and the NEH, funding both agencies at $209M.
Congressional leaders are also working through a process called Budget Reconciliation, which will include an extension of the Tax Cuts an Jobs Act of 2017. We are working with our members of Congress to urge them to use this focus on tax policy to restore the Universal Charitable Deduction — a key provision for nonprofit organizations — and the Performing Arts Tax Parity Act.
We know that there is a good bit of news coming out of Washington, and that things are often moving very quickly. We encourage you to visit this page from Arts Action Fund, which updates regularly, for breaking news affecting Arts and Culture.
