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Dear Advocates in WA's Fourth Congressional District,
We need your help. You live in the fourth Congressional District (Central WA) which means you have a unique ability to make an impact on future cultural funding through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
As you know, 2025 funding for the NEH and NEA has been slashed by DOGE and future funding is uncertain. This week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee (which recommends funding for the NEA and NEH) included in their budget package a 2026 funding level of $135 million, a 35% reduction in funding relative to 2025 funding at $207 million. This issue is different from the "Big Beautiful Bill" and the Budget Recission package that Congress approved on July 17 which resulted in devastating impacts on Corporation of Public Broadcasting/NPR.
Already, NEA and NEH have undergone severe cuts to staff and cancellation of open grants; further drastic cuts of the NEA and NEH budgets would result in severe losses of public access to the arts and humanities and critical employment that sustains artists, scholars, and administrators in communities throughout the country. In Washington state, this would mean cuts to the budgets for ArtsWA and Humanities WA, which in turn impact hundreds of cultural organizations, businesses, and individuals.
We have learned that Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine intends to offer an amendment at next week's Appropriations Committee meeting that would restore NEA and NEH funding to $207 million each, an amount equal to what Congress appropriated in 2025. Representative Dan Newhouse serves on this committee and should hear from his constituents about the importance of this funding to local communities.
Here's what you can do to help and make a difference – every voice, email, call, letter, and social media post counts!
1. Complete the editable Action Alert below and include a few sentences about who you are and why this issue matters to you.
2. Forward this action alert to your networks in Central Washington and ask them to sign and send this letter to Rep Newhouse.
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