Kerry Washington Testifies before U.S. House Appropriations Committees Subcommittee on NEA and NEH Funding

The Creative Coalition board member and actor Kerry Washington testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. Ms. Washington asked Congress to increase year-to-year funding for the National Endowment for the Arts by 41% and the National Endowment for the Humanities by 25%. Washington’s testimony will include her own anecdotal experiences growing up in the Bronx and how the arts opened doors for her personal success.

Throughout the day on Thursday, today, a delegation of Creative Coalition members representing the United States arts and entertainment industry will meet with key policymakers urging them to appropriate $53 million for the Arts in Education programs in the FY08 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. The Creative Coalition will also urge members to reject cuts to funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“President Bush, Democrats and Republicans in Congress, and other policy leaders all realize the exponential value of keeping arts in education. This Congress needs to ‘pay it forward’ by investing necessary funding to keep arts alive in our public schools and throughout communities. It is not just an investment in this generation, it is an intrinsic asset in the future of the United States — the positive impact of the arts in a citizen’s life is vital to a thriving democracy,” said Robin Bronk, Executive Director of The Creative Coalition.