Amendment to Prohibit Funds for Arts in Economic Stimulus Package

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has introduced an amendment (filed as Amendment No. 175) to prohibit funds in the economic stimulus bill from going to museums, theaters, and arts centers. This amendment may be offered as early as today, Wednesday, February 4, 2009. To learn more and join in a discussion about this, visit The Performing Arts Alliance. (Click here to read the The Performing Arts Alliance and Cultural Advocacy Group’s proposed suggestions for the economic recovery package.)

UPDATE: On February 6, 2009, the United States senate approved Tom Coburn’s amendment to the economic recovery bill by a vote margin of 73 to 24. The precise wording in the amendment prohibiting arts funding is as follows: “None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project.” (There continues to be a heated discussion weighing the pros and cons of including the arts in the economic stimulus package going on over at Greg Sandow’s ArtsJournal blog.) —FJO