By Patricia Frischer
In a zoom
webinar in November, American
from the Arts (AFTA) arranged a panel of speakers to try to give us a clearer
picture of what the future might mean for the arts post-election. These last
days before the end of the year are always called the Lame Duck session, and
very little is expected to happen until the handover. The word often used to
describe our future is uncertainty.
We know that there was a lower turn out for
this election, but Trump did manage a
bigger majority. The Republican only have a very slight majority in the House
and but now also hold the Senate. This is known as the trifecta and is very
powerful. Although cabinet appointments from the house and senate could affect these balances, only time will tell.
Bill Harper, partner Harper Downing, helped us understand that Trumps may well shift arts funding priorities with major cuts expected:
·
Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion policies will be discontinued
· America’s
250th birthday celebration plans in 2026 will be ramped up. (Maybe a
big opportunity for the arts)
· An emphasis
on art programs that reach more rural areas and veterans
· Even
more support of small businesses
· More individuals
will be helped by the arts, especially those loyal to Trump.
David Reed, Policy Director Brownstein, tacked the subject of the Reconciliation
process: this is a special way to fast track certain budget legislation in the
Senate by enabling just majority (instead of a 60-vote supermajority) for
budget issues only with no filibuster from the Senate allowed. Reconciliation cannot affect the NEA which is
discretionary funding. But caps could be put on spending and tax reduction in
general could ultimately affect the arts. Then there is Schedule F, which is a
way to fire civil servants and gov appointed positions, and that could
undermine the arts. Good news is that tax deductions for charity donation might
come back for non-itemizers.
Americans for the Arts sees the Republican strategy as one
to raise disruption where ever possible. But we all know the government could
strive for more efficiency. There will
probably be work force reduction and re-locations, and a mandate to come back
to in person office work but with a smaller government. Some describe this a death by a thousand cuts.
Time will tell as the civil service is a well organized body that goes through
political and appointed leadership changes over and over.
There was then a presentation of the new
members and the old guard that are supporters of the arts in the House and
Senate by Tooshar Swain, Public Policy Director AFTA, and Olivia Tarpley., Public Policy Manager AFTA, There was a lose of some key
champions for the arts and lots of unknowns. But the bipartisan Senate Cultural
Caucus leadership is still very strong with Susan Collins (R Maine) and David
Reed (D Rhode Island) and House Art Caucus with Mike Turner (R Ohio) and Chellie Pingree (D Maine) with good track
records.
When it comes to Governors and Mayors, although
there were changes, the balance stayed about the same and almost equal. There
are just a few more split legislatures. Split legislatures made for good government
in general so that may be a good sign.
You have to remember that the local not federal
agencies are the largest funders for the arts. But there was speculation that
if the NEA was somehow eliminated, then those states that gave matching funds
to the NEA might also stop their funding. Good news is that the few ballot initiatives
for funding the arts around the county did pass, although AFTA did say it was
hard to track this information. If you know of any others, please contact jay@artsusa.org.
Finally there was a strong please for extra
support through advocacy and engagement.
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Here is the link to see the Webinar slide show yourself: https://www.americansforthearts.org/advocate/2024-post-election-webinar-impact-on-the-arts
Here is the link to add your support: https://www.artsactionfund.org/arts-action-center?vvsrc=/campaigns/119049/respond
The is the link to the June AFTA conference in Ohio: https://afta2025convention.org/
If you want to know more specifics about California then
The
State of Funding and Legislation for Arts, Culture & Creativity in
California is on Dec 11 at noon PT presented by Californian for the
Arts. With the 2024 election, more than 25% of the CA legislature is new,
Federal Funding resources are increasingly uncertain and the California state
budget remains unstable.
There is a further Americans for the Arts Webinar on Jan 22
at noon PT: Advocacy
101: Introduction to the new 119th Congress
