For the second straight year, President Trump proposed to eliminate federal funding for arts programs and public media and broadcasting as part of the government's budget plan for the next year. And, for the second straight year, he failed -- and funding will actually increase for arts programs in the proposed spending bill the president signed on Friday (March 23), helping to avoid another possible government shutdown at the 11th hour.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) -- the latter of which funds public television and public radio stations -- will all receive full funding in the final version of the federal spending plan revealed this week, with the NEA and NEH each receiving $152.8 million and the CPB receiving $445 million. For the NEA and NEH, that represents a $3 million boost apiece from the prior year's budget.
The spending bill further allows $20 million for "costs associated with replacing and upgrading the public broadcasting interconnection system and other technologies and services that create infrastructure and efficiencies within the public media system." At a combined total of $465 million, the CPB's level of funding will remain flat year-over-year.