Aug 25, 2021
by
Alexandra Klein, NHA Communications and Government Relations Manager
The Biden administration’s request for a funding increase for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and other humanities programs earlier this year was a welcome change from the Trump administration’s yearly calls to eliminate the NEH along with other programs that support humanities scholars and organizations.
Each year of the Trump administration, we mobilized the humanities community to cultivate bipartisan support in Congress to reject these proposals. Humanities advocates had a clear impact, building strong support in Congress. Happily, with this congressional support, we were not only able to turn back the Trump administration’s threats, we were also able to win increases for the NEH and other priorities. The legacy of these battles is the increased mobilization of the humanities community and the resulting increased level of support for humanities funding in Congress.
Now, with the Biden Administration’s FY 22 request as a starting point, humanities advocates are poised to work toward even larger funding increases. In late May, the Biden administration released its FY 22 President’s Budget Request with increases for nearly all humanities funding streams. In addition, the agencies’ budget justifications ensured that the administration sees the humanities are tied to its overarching priorities, including advancing racial equity and providing economic relief in the wake of COVID-19.
Under the budget request, the NEH would receive $177.5 million, a $10 million increase. The NEH foregrounded the administration’s priorities throughout their budget justification: “The Administration’s priorities for NEH fall into five categories: advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities; confronting the climate emergency; restoring America’s global standing; responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis; and strengthening our democracy.”
The National Archives and Records Administration would receive $403 million, an increase of $26 million and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission would receive $9.5 million, an increase of $3 million. In their budget justification, the National Archives states they will further racial equity by addressing “staffing needs across the agency and funds targeted recruitment activities to ensure a diverse pool of applicants.” Additionally, an increase in funding would also “provide online, electronic access to one of NARA’s most prominent collections of U.S. Government records associated with underserved communities.”
One disappointment in the budget request was that it included only level funding for the Department of Education’s international education programs Title VI and Fulbright-Hays despite the crucial role these programs play in ensuring that higher ed institutions provide a robust education in world cultures and languages.
We welcomed more good news in June and July as the House released its appropriations bills and passed them out of committee. The House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill contained an even more robust increase for the NEH, proposing an increase of $201 million.
The House Financial Services and General Government, meanwhile, matched the president’s request and included $403.6 million for the National Archives and Records Administration, an increase of $26 million, and an additional $9.5 million for NHPRC, an increase of $3 million.
Unlike the administration, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill included an increase for the Department of Education’s international education programs—Title VI received $79.4 million, a $10 million increase, and Fulbright-Hays received $13.8 million, a $5 million increase.
In late July, the full House passed an omnibus of appropriations bills including the three bills that fund each of our priorities.
The Senate began their portion of the appropriations process the first week of August. Given the FY22 Dear Colleague Letters written in support of the NEH, NARA, and Title VI and Fulbright-Hays that have garnered support in the Senate, we anticipate support for funding increases.
While the prospect for robust funding increases are better than they have been the last four years, advocacy remains important in making clear how the humanities connect to all of the challenges of our current moment. We will continue to keep our members up to date about when and if any action is needed to increase support for the federally funded humanities. If you are interested in receiving occasional email updates about upcoming events, the appropriations process, and when we need advocates to take action, please visit our website, www.nhalliance.org, to sign up for our email list.
Old Memos
Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee passed the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill containing increases for both the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Department of Education’s international education programs (Title VI and Fulbright-Hays).
IMLS received $282 million, an increase of $25 million over FY 21 and $17 million more than requested in the President’s Budget Request (PBR).
Title VI received $79.4 million, a $10 million increase, and Fulbright-Hays received $13.8 million, a $5 million increase. Both of these amounts are above the level funding requested in the PBR.
Last month, the House Appropriations Committee passed bills that included increases for both the NEH and the National Archives.
All 12 House appropriations bills have now been passed out of committee. Seven of the twelve bills will be considered on the House floor the week of July 26, including the Interior bill (which includes the NEH), the Financial Services and General Government bill (which includes the National Archives), and the Labor-H bill (which includes IMLS and Title VI and Fulbright-Hays).
The Senate has yet to announce when they will begin to release their versions of the FY 22 appropriations bills.
We will continue to update you and notify you when your action is needed.
Over the past week, the House appropriations subcommittees have begun releasing bills and passing them out of subcommittee. Yesterday, the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee passed its FY 22 appropriations bill containing $201 million each for the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. This reflects an increase of $33.5 million for each agency. When the President’s Budget Request was released a few weeks ago, it included a more robust increase for the NEA than the NEH. We have spent the past several weeks working closely with our Hill allies to ensure that the NEH receives the same increase and are pleased to see that it did in the House bill.
The bill also includes increases for the Woodrow Wilson Center and the National Park Service National Recreation and Preservation program and Historic Preservation Fund.
Additionally, last Friday, the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill was passed out of subcommittee with $403.6 million for the National Archives and Records Administration, an increase of $26 million, and an additional $9.5 million for NHPRC, an increase of $3 million. These proposed increases match the amounts in the President’s Budget Request. If passed into law, these increases would be particularly welcome after years of budget stagnation.
Both bills will come before the full Appropriations Committee later this week. In the coming weeks, we expect to see a draft bill from the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee, which will include funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Department of Education’s Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs. The Senate has yet to announce when they will begin to release their versions of the FY 22 appropriations bills.
We will continue to update you and notify you when your action is needed.
On Friday, the Biden administration released its FY 22 budget request. Under the request, many of our priorities would receive increases. The NEH would receive $177.5 million, a $10 million increase. The Institute of Museum and Library Services would receive $265 million, an increase of $8 million. The National Archives and Records Administration would receive $403 million, an increase of $26 million, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission would receive $9.5 million, an increase of $3 million.
The Department of Education’s international education programs Title VI and Fulbright-Hays would receive level funding at $69.4 million and $8.8 million respectively.
For more information, please see ourfunding chart.
Congress will now begin drafting spending bills. We expect to see draft bills from the House towards the end of June and from the Senate later this summer.
One note regarding the funding amounts for the cultural agencies: the request for the NEA is $201 million. This would be a break with the tradition of parity in funding for the endowments. While we are certainly pleased to see this requested increase for the NEA, we will work on Capitol Hill to ensure that NEH also receives $201 million in funding in appropriations bills given the at-least equally strong case for humanities funding at this time.
