Advocacy Alert – June 17, 2022

In this Alliance Advocacy Alert:

• #InviteCongress: Invite Congress to Visit Your Museum is August 15-19!
• Take Action: Urge Your Representative to Support the Office of Museum Services (OMS)
• Making the Case for Federal Funding: AAM Submits Testimony in Support of Funding for Museums

Invite Congress to Visit Your Museum is August 15-19!

Since 2012, the national, fieldwide #InviteCongress effort has encouraged and empowered museums of all types and sizes to invite their federal, state, and local legislators and stakeholders in to the museum for a firsthand look at the powerful work of museums and museum professionals. As Congress actively considers funding and other issues affecting museums, it is critical that you continue to make the case for federal, state, and local support for museums to legislators.

We continually hear from Congressional staff and offices how much they value connecting with local community organizations such as museums and directly with you, their constituents. Other key reasons to participate in #InviteCongress include the opportunity to develop critical relationships with legislators, raise the visibility of your museum and its important role in community infrastructure, and build your own advocacy skills. AAM’s How-To Guide makes it easy to get started today.

Don’t forget to let us know what visits you are planning!

You don’t have to wait until August. You can use the How-To Guide to host your legislators in-person or virtually during the upcoming July state and district work periods:

• House of Representatives: July 4-8
• Senate: Jun 27-July 8

#InviteCongress to Visit Your Museum!

Urge Your Representative to Support the Office of Museum Services (OMS)

The annual congressional appropriations process is ramping up. The House FY 2023 Labor-HHS-Education and Related Agencies appropriations measure, which includes funding for OMS within the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), is currently expected to be considered June 23 by the relevant subcommittee and June 30 by the full House Appropriations Committee.

Ask Congress to Support FY 2023 OMS Funding Now

What You Can Do

Now is a critical time to make sure your Representative knows how much their support of this funding matters to constituents like you. We urge you to take a moment right now, using our quick and easy template, to contact your Representative in support of OMS funding at IMLS, especially if they are a member of the Labor-HHS-Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds OMS, listed below. It takes just a few clicks to personalize and send your message.

You can use AAM’s Legislator Directory to find your legislators.

Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT-03), Chair

Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40)

Barbara Lee (D-CA-13)

Mark Pocan (D-WI-02)

Katherine M. Clark (D-MA-05)

Lois Frankel (D-FL-21)

Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17)

Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12)

Brenda L. Lawrence (D-MI-14)

Josh Harder (D-CA-10)

Tom Cole (R-OK-04), Ranking Member

Andy Harris (R-MD-01)

Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03)

Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-03)

John Moolenaar (R-MI-04)

Ben Cline (R-VA-06)

AAM Submits Testimony in Support of Funding for Museums

As part of our ongoing advocacy for museums, AAM submitted testimony in support of museum funding to the House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittees (IMLS-OMS) and the House and Senate Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittees (NEH, NEA, Historic Preservation, and Smithsonian).

In other appropriations news, on June 8, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Chair Shelly Lowe, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chair Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, and National Gallery of Art Director Kaywin Feldman testified before the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee on their FY 2023 budget requests. Their remarks were met with strong bipartisan support from members of the subcommittee. You can watch a recording of their testimony here.

Visit http://www.aam-us.org/advocacy to access all of AAM’s advocacy resources.