Advocacy Alert – February 28, 2019

House Appropriations Letter Now Circulating – Ask Your Representative to Sign On Today!

Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), Andy Barr (R-KY), Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and David McKinley (R-WV) are now circulating a letter calling for robust funding for the Office of Museum Services (OMS) at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It just takes a couple of minutes to use our template and ask your Representative to sign on today. These letters are a key measure of legislators’ support for federal funding for museums, and they are especially important now to build on our momentum from Museums Advocacy Day. The deadline for Representatives to sign this letter is Friday, March 8. Reach out to contact your Representative today. And please stay tuned, a Senate letter will be coming shortly.

Congratulations Museum Advocates!

This week we took Capitol Hill and social media by storm, sharing information about key legislative priorities and critical data about the Economic Impact of Museums and the deep public support for them. We heard from legislators, a former legislator, a congressional chief of staff, federal agency leaders and partner policy experts about the unique value of museums and the importance of advocating for them and the federal programs that support museums.

And on Tuesday, 300 museum advocates made 365 visits to Congressional offices. Check out #museumsadvocacy2019 to see posts from advocates and legislators on Capitol Hill. What a wonderful way to kick-off our advocacy work for the rest of 2019! Thank you to all of our 2019 Supporters and the advocates who helped make Museums Advocacy Day 2019 a success.

You can join the cause today using our updated Advocate from Anywhere tools to: download and share the updated Museum Facts Infographic, invite your legislators to meet locally with our step-by-step guide and Contact Congress to tell your legislators the story of your museum, learn about policy issues affecting museums and get the 2019 Advocate Materials.

AAM and Ford W. Bell Testify Before House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee

Also on Tuesday, February 26, Ford W. Bell, DVM, immediate past President and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. Bell testified in support of at least $167.5 million each in Fiscal Year 2020 (FY 2020) funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well as sufficient funding for the Smithsonian Institution. Bell and AAM also requested support for the Historic Preservation Fund, including at least $60 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs), $20 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs) and $15 million for competitive grants to preserve the sites and stories of the Civil Rights Movement. Testimony also requested funding of $15 million for the Save America’s Treasures program. We appreciate Dr. Bell’s participation and the opportunity to testify before this important committee.

Watch Dr. Bell testify during Museums Advocacy Day (starting at the 24:35 minute mark) and see his full written testimony.

Please visit www.aam-us.org/advocacy to learn more about AAM’s advocacy for museums.