In any normal year, spring can be a very busy time in Congress as advocates for nearly every federal program make their case to legislators. In case you haven’t heard, this is not a normal year. The tension, the uncertainty, and the stakes on Capitol Hill have all been ratcheted up even further; in part by a new president whose preliminary budget proposes deep cuts across a wide range of federal agencies. But despite these conditions, museum advocates have managed to once again make their voices heard. Last week, a record 166 U.S. Representatives joined a letter calling for robust funding in Fiscal Year 2018 for the Office of Museum Services (OMS) at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

“It is gratifying to see such a strong display of bipartisan support, with a record number of Democrats and a record number of Republicans standing up for the Office of Museum Services,” said Alliance President and CEO Laura Lott. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but now is a great time to take a moment and thank your legislators who signed this letter. We also couldn’t have built this support without four of our champions in Congress: U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko, Leonard Lance, Louise Slaughter, and David McKinley.”

This progress in Congress is possible in part due to a record-breaking showing at Museums Advocacy Day 2017, when over 380 museum supporters from all 50 states made the case in 423 congressional offices. Advocates continued to make the case online, responding to Alliance advocacy alerts this year with more than 23,000 emails and calls to their legislators. Letters in support of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities also received impressive support in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thank you to all of the partner organizations and advocates who took action!

What You Can Do: Thank Legislators on Social Media

Legislators need to know that their actions are noticed and appreciated by the museums they represent. So here’s the best way to thank them:

1. Use our Legislator Lookup page to find your Representative and their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
2. Check the list at the bottom of this alert to see if your Representative signed.
3. Say “Thank You!” You can use our sample posts to get started. Be sure to use #museumsadvocacy. Also tag the Alliance (@AAMers) and your legislators in your posts and tweets.

Sample Social Media Posts:

• Facebook – Museums are essential! We join the American Alliance of Museums in thanking [Rep. _______________ ] for signing on to this year’s OMS letter and for your support of [your museum]. #museumsadvocacy

• Facebook – [Your museum name] is essential in our community. We join the American Alliance of Museums in thanking [Rep. _______________ ] for signing this year’s OMS letter in support of funding for museums. #museumsadvocacy

• Twitter – [Your museum] thanks [Rep. _______________ ] for signing on to this year’s OMS letter! Museums are essential. #museumsadvocacy

• Twitter – Thank you [Rep. _______________ ] for signing on to this year’s OMS letter and supporting [your museum name]! @AAMers #museumsadvocacy

Coming Soon: Senate Letter of Support

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After a strong showing in the House of Representatives, this effort now moves to the United States Senate, where we expect a similar letter of support to begin circulating very soon. If you haven’t already done so, please help maintain this momentum by urging your Senators to sign on.

Tell Senators: Sign on to Support the Office of Museum Services

FY 2018 House Office of Museum Services Letter Signers

Letter leaders in bold below.     

Alma	Adams	(D-NC)
Karen	Bass	(D-CA)
Joyce	Beatty	(D-OH)
Ami	Bera	(D-CA)
Donald	Beyer Jr.	(D-VA)
Sanford	Bishop Jr.	(D-GA)
Earl	Blumenauer	(D-OR)
Suzanne	Bonamici	(D-OR)
Brendan	Boyle	(D-PA)
Robert	Brady	(D-PA)
Susan	Brooks	(R-IN)
Anthony	Brown	(D-MD)
Julia	Brownley	(D-CA)
Cheri	Bustos	(D-IL)
G. K.	Butterfield	(D-NC)
Michael	Capuano	(D-MA)
Salud	Carbajal	(D-CA)
Tony	Cárdenas	(D-CA)
André	Carson	(D-IN)
Kathy	Castor	(D-FL)
Judy	Chu	(D-CA)
David	Cicilline	(D-RI)
Yvette	Clarke	(D-NY)
Wm. Lacy	Clay	(D-MO)
Emanuel	Cleaver	(D-MO)
Mike	Coffman	(R-CO)
Steve	Cohen	(D-TN)
Chris	Collins	(R-NY)
Barbara	Comstock	(R-VA)
Gerald	Connolly	(D-VA)
John	Conyers, Jr.	(D-MI)
Joe	Courtney	(D-CT)
Kevin	Cramer	(R-ND)
Charlie	Crist	(D-FL)
Danny	Davis	(D-IL)
Susan	Davis	(D-CA)
Peter	DeFazio	(D-OR)
Diana	DeGette	(D-CO)
John	Delaney	(D-MD)
Mark	DeSaulnier	(D-CA)
Theodore	Deutch	(D-FL)
Debbie	Dingell	(D-MI)
Lloyd	Doggett	(D-TX)
Dan	Donovan	(R-NY)
Mike	Doyle	(D-PA)
Keith	Ellison	(D-MN)
Eliot	Engel	(D-NY)
Anna	Eshoo	(D-CA)
Elizabeth	Esty	(D-CT)
Dwight	Evans	(D-PA)
John	Faso	(R-NY)
Bill	Foster	(D-IL)
Marcia	Fudge	(D-OH)
Tulsi	Gabbard	(D-HI)
Ruben	Gallego	(D-AZ)
John	Garamendi	(D-CA)
Jenniffer	González-Colón	(R-PR)
Josh	Gottheimer	(D-NJ)
Raul	Grijalva	(D-AZ)
Luis	Gutiérrez	(D-IL)
Colleen	Hanabusa	(D-HI)
Alcee	Hastings	(D-FL)
Denny	Heck	(D-WA)
Brian	Higgins	(D-NY)
James	Himes	(D-CT)
Jared	Huffman	(D-CA)
Will	Hurd	(R-TX)
Sheila	Jackson Lee	(D-TX)
Pramila	Jayapal	(D-WA)
Hakeem	Jeffries	(D-NY)
Eddie Bernice	Johnson	(D-TX)
Henry	Johnson, Jr.	(D-GA)
William	Keating	(D-MA)
Robin	Kelly	(D-IL)
Joe	Kennedy	(D-MA)
Ruben	Kihuen	(D-NV)
Dan	Kildee	(D-MI)
Ron	Kind	(D-WI)
Raja	Krishnamoorthi	(D-IL)
Ann McLane	Kuster	(D-NH)
Leonard	Lance	(R-NJ)
James	Langevin	(D-RI)
John	Larson	(D-CT)
Brenda	Lawrence	(D-MI)
Al	Lawson	(D-FL)
Barbara	Lee	(D-CA)
Sander	Levin	(D-MI)
John	Lewis	(D-GA)
Ted	Lieu	(D-CA)
Dan	Lipinski	(D-IL)
Dave	Loebsack	(D-IA)
Zoe	Lofgren	(D-CA)
Alan	Lowenthal	(D-CA)
Ben Ray	Luján	(D-NM)
Michelle	Lujan Grisham	(D-NM)
Stephen	Lynch	(D-MA)
Carolyn	Maloney	(D-NY)
Sean Patrick	Maloney	(D-NY)
Doris	Matsui	(D-CA)
A. Donald	McEachin	(D-VA)
James	McGovern	(D-MA)
David	McKinley	(R-WV)
Jerry	McNerney	(D-CA)
Gregory	Meeks	(D-NY)
Gwen	Moore	(D-WI)
Seth	Moulton	(D-MA)
Stephanie	Murphy	(D-FL)
Tim	Murphy	(R-PA)
Jerrold	Nadler	(D-NY)
Richard	Neal	(D-MA)
Donald	Norcross	(D-NJ)
Eleanor Holmes	Norton	(D-DC)
Tom	O’Halleran	(D-AZ)
Beto	O’Rourke	(D-TX)
Frank	Pallone, Jr.	(D-NJ)
Bill	Pascrell, Jr.	(D-NJ)
Donald	Payne, Jr.	(D-NJ)
Ed	Perlmutter	(D-CO)
Scott	Peters	(D-CA)
Collin	Peterson	(D-MN)
Chellie	Pingree	(D-ME)
Stacey	Plaskett	(D-VI)
Mark	Pocan	(D-WI)
Jared	Polis	(D-CO)
Mike	Quigley	(D-IL)
Kathleen	Rice	(D-NY)
Cedric	Richmond	(D-LA)
Ileana	Ros-Lehtinen	(R-FL)
Jacky	Rosen	(D-NV)
Dennis	Ross	(R-FL)
C.A. Dutch	Ruppersberger	(D-MD)
Bobby	Rush	(D-IL)
Linda	Sánchez	(D-CA)
John	Sarbanes	(D-MD)
Jan	Schakowsky	(D-IL)
Adam	Schiff	(D-CA)
Bradley	Schneider	(D-IL)
David	Scott	(D-GA)
Robert	Scott	(D-VA)
Pete	Sessions	(R-TX)
Carol	Shea-Porter	(D-NH)
Kyrsten	Sinema	(D-AZ)
Albio	Sires	(D-NJ)
Louise	Slaughter	(D-NY)
Adam	Smith	(D-WA)
Darren	Soto	(D-FL)
Jackie	Speier	(D-CA)
Elise	Stefanik	(R-NY)
Eric	Swalwell	(D-CA)
Mark	Takano	(D-CA)
Mike	Thompson	(D-CA)
Scott	Tipton	(R-CO)
Dina	Titus	(D-NV)
Paul	Tonko	(D-NY)
Niki	Tsongas	(D-MA)
Marc	Veasey	(D-TX)
Filemon	Vela	(D-TX)
Nydia	Velazquez	(D-NY)
Tim	Walz	(D-MN)
Bonnie	Watson Coleman	(D-NJ)
Peter	Welch	(D-VT
Frederica	Wilson	(D-FL)
Joe	Wilson	(R-SC)
John	Yarmuth	(D-KY)
Ted	Yoho	(R-FL)
Don	Young	(R-AK)