Advocacy Alert – April 3, 2024
In this Alliance Advocacy Alert:
- Contact Congress: Urge Your Representative to Support FY 2025 OMS Funding Now!
- Final FY 2024 Appropriations: Good News for Museums
- Be a Blue Star Museum!
- President Biden Releases Budget Request for FY 2025
- Join the Cause: Advocate from Anywhere
Contact Congress: Urge Your Representative to Support FY 2025 OMS Funding Now!
Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), Andy Barr (R-KY), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) are circulating a letter to their House colleagues calling for robust funding for fiscal year (FY) 2025 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. The letter is a key measure of legislators’ support for federal funding for museums, and it is especially important now to build on our momentum from Museums Advocacy Day. We also urge museum advocates who participated in congressional meetings during Museums Advocacy Day to follow up with their congressional contacts and encourage their Representative to sign on.
Legislators need to hear from you—the people they represent—about how their decisions affect museums and museum people.
Final FY 2024 Appropriations: Good News for Museums
Good news! The IMLS Office of Museum Services (OMS) will retain its FY 2023 $8 million increase to $55.5 million for FY 2024 in the most recent appropriations package signed into law March 23. Congress finally completed the FY 2024 appropriations process that has been extended well beyond the October 1 fiscal year start date. Museum grant programs are funded as follows:
- $30.3 million for Museums for America grants;
- $9.3 million for National Leadership grants;
- $3.8 million for Native American/Hawaiian Museum Services grants;
- $6 million for Museum Grants for African American History & Culture; and
- $6 million for Museum Grants for American Latino History & Culture.
A previous spending package signed by President Biden earlier this month included $207 million each for the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, amounts level with FY 2023 funding for these agencies.
It also included $189 million for the Historic Preservation Fund. Within this amount, $62 million for State and $23 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, $25.5 million for Save America’s Treasures grants, $24 million for the African American Civil Rights Grants, $5 million for History of Equal Rights grants, $1.2 million for grants to underserved communities, $11 million for grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and $7 million for the National Park Service’s Semiquincentennial Preservation Grants. In addition, funding for the Department of Education includes $20 million for American History and Civics National Activities.
Thank you very much for your steadfast advocacy efforts. Your advocacy on behalf of museums and museum professionals makes a huge difference. We look forward to continue advocating together throughout this year!
Be a Blue Star Museum
The National Endowment for the Arts has opened registration for the Blue Star Museums Program, in partnership with Blue Star Families. The program encourages museums of all types, including historic houses, zoos, botanical gardens, etc. to offer free admission to active-duty military personnel and up to five family members. The program will launch on May 18—Armed Forces Day. It will run through Labor Day. This program is a great way to express appreciation for their service and sacrifice, and a great way to recruit lifetime museum goers! Sign up to participate.
President Biden Releases Budget Request for FY 2025
The Biden Administration released its FY 2025 budget proposal March 11, which requests Congress fund the IMLS Office of Museum Services at $46.7 million. If enacted by Congress this would be a surprising and disappointing $8.8 million funding cut. (Recommended library program funding, if enacted, would see a similar cut.) In addition the budget request, if enacted, would also cut funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities by $7 million to $200.1 million. On a positive note, the proposal would add an additional $3 million for a total of $210.1 million for the National Endowment for the Arts.
The President’s budget proposal marks the beginning of the annual federal appropriations cycle. It is important to recognize that the President’s budget is a funding recommendation, and that it is Congress that ultimately decides how much to appropriate. The museum field must continue to work with its allies in Congress on both sides of the aisle to ensure support for museums is expanded. We are committed to helping ensure that all legislators understand that museums are essential community infrastructure, and will continue to bolster the efforts of thousands of museum advocates nationwide through Alliance Advocacy Alerts in the weeks and months to come.
Advocate from Anywhere
Museums Advocacy Day is just the beginning of our efforts to advocate for museums in 2024. You can speak up for museums with our updated Advocate from Anywhere tools, including:
- Download and share updated Museum Facts and Data
- Contact Congress about key issues affecting museums
- Learn about your legislators and find your legislators‘ social media information
- Engage your board in advocacy for museums
- Get the 2024 Advocate Materials
- Stay tuned for further updates from AAM with important and timely opportunities to advocate this spring.
- P.S. National Civic Learning Week was March 11-15. Check out #CivicLearningWeek on social media and see the available free resources and classroom activities.
Your steadfast advocacy efforts make a critical difference in building needed support for museums and museum professionals.
Looking for more advocacy tools and resources? Visit the Advocacy section of our newly updated Resource Library today!
Visit http://www.aam-us.org/advocacy to learn more about AAM’s advocacy for museums.
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