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Bush Wants $18 Million More for National Endowment for the Arts NewsMax.com WiresRead more about Bush the big spender. WASHINGTON – President Bush will ask Congress for an $18 million budget increase for the National Endowment for the Arts, an agency whose budget was slashed a decade ago for supporting what critics said was obscene art. Bush's proposed spending increase would be the largest in years. Last year, Congress increased the agency's funding to $122.5 million, up from $115.7 million, for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The president's proposal was being announced by his wife, Laura, at a White House ceremony, highlighting one of the few domestic programs in line for a major spending increase. Bush on Monday will unveil his budget for the federal government, proposing to hold spending for non-defense, non-domestic security programs to an increase of about 0.5 percent. Though federal spending on the arts has edged up slightly, cash-strapped state governments have slashed funding for theaters, museums and performance groups by nearly one quarter. The current $122.5 million appropriation is the largest for NEA since 1995, when it came under attack in Congress for supporting what conservatives said was a threat to the nation's moral standards, such as works by controversial artists including Robert Mapplethorpe. The appropriation was reduced from $162.3 million for 1995 to $99.5 million for 1996.
© 2003 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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